
Thursday, January 12, 6pm | $15
with Paul Barnes
SOLD OUT
As the inaugural event for CCA’s new, engaging series, Closer Looks: Cinema + Conversation, series curator Paul Barnes has selected the 1956 seminal classic from French auteur Robert Bresson, A Man Escaped. Regarded as one of the most suspenseful jailbreak films of all time, A Man Escaped is noted for its incredible impact with the simplest of techniques.
Based on the account of an imprisoned French Resistance leader, this unbelievably taut and methodical marvel follows the fictional Fontaine’s single-minded pursuit of freedom, detailing the planning and execution of his escape with gripping precision.
Paul Barnes speaks of his selection, “…Bresson’s film is not merely about process—it’s also a work of intense spirituality and humanity.”
This special event kickoff will feature hors d’oeuvres and refreshments, and the program is followed by an in-depth discussion and open conversation on the film’s importance among the series curators and audience. To learn more about Closer Looks and this new initiative to bring cinemaphiles both seasoned and new into a social setting that is both fun and informative, click here.

Paul Barnes is a documentary Producer and Editor who has had a career that spans 43 years. He is best known for working with Ken Burns for 34 of those years on such documentary series as The Civil War, The National Parks, and The Roosevelts. In 2004, Barnes won an Emmy for producing Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson. He also edited the groundbreaking documentary The Thin Blue Line for director Errol Morris and the award-winning classic about gospel music, Say Amen, Somebody. Barnes is a lifelong fan of all kinds of films and is fascinated with the history of cinema.