ABOUT THE SERIES Following in the footsteps of fellow British director David Lean, Joe Wright has built a formidable career blending the intimate and the epic in a series of passionate films that blend literature, painting, and dance to create a unique form of cinema all his own. Wright’s stunning 2005 debut PRIDE & PREJUDICE garnered four Academy Award nominations and introduced international audiences to his deliriously romantic camerawork, a style he developed further in his even more acclaimed follow-up, ATONEMENT. Since then Wright has shown his versatility with forays into genre filmmaking (HANNA) and the historical biography picture (THE DARKEST HOUR). Wright’s latest film, CYRANO, is his most audacious and original yet, a musical overflowing with exuberance and exquisite heartache, anchored by a career best performance by Peter Dinklage. The American Cinematheque is pleased to present a tribute to Wright that includes an early look at his newest masterpiece. Program Notes by Jim Hemphill.