Two International Artists, One Daring Adventure
- Juliette Binoche & Akram Khan join forces to create In-I, a new work of dance theatre
- Launch of Jubilations, a retrospective of Juliette Binoche's 25 year film career and exhibition of her paintings at BFI Southbank

4 July 2008: Oscar-winning actress Juliette Binoche and internationally acclaimed contemporary dancer & choreographer Akram Khan have joined forces to create a major new work of dance theatre, In-I which will have its world premiere at the National Theatre in London on 18 September before touring internationally. Turner prize-winning artist Anish Kapoor has designed the set for this exciting new production and award-winning composer Philip Sheppard has created the original score. Accompanying In-I is Jubilations, a retrospective of Juliette Binoche's 25 year film career and exhibition of her paintings at BFI Southbank. In-I is co-produced and sponsored by Fondation d'entreprise Hermès, and produced by Khan Chaudhry Productions and Jubilation Productions. In-I and Jubilations global tour is sponsored by SG Private Banking.

In-I takes both artists in new directions: Juliette Binoche is dancing having never danced on stage before and choreographer and dancer Akram Khan is acting and singing. Throughout their careers, Juliette Binoche and Akram Khan have both sought out surprising and challenging collaborations. Akram Khan has always taken an inter-disciplinary approach to dance and his collaborators range from the French prima ballerina Sylvie Guillem to pop star Kylie Minogue to writers, artists and musicians including Hanif Kureishi, Antony Gormley and Nitin Sawhney.

Jubilations, the retrospective of Juliette Binoche's 25-year film career and an exhibition of her paintings is at the BFI Southbank from 1 September until 5 October. The film retrospective showcases a wide range of films Binoche has starred in, from internationally successful films such as The English Patient, Chocolat and Dan in Real Life, to artistically daring choices with directors such as Krzysztof Kieslowski, Michael Haneke, Hou Hsiao Hsien and André Téchiné. In recent films, Juliette Binoche has worked with two exciting French directors, Cédric Klapisch on Paris and Olivier Assayas on Summer Hours (L'Heure d'Eté). She has been passionate about painting for years, and in this public art exhibition, she showcases portraits that she has made of influential film directors she has worked with as well as self-portraits of the characters she has played. In addition, a book has been published to accompany Jubilations featuring paintings by Juliette Binoche of directors she has worked with as well as poems she has written to them.

Juliette Binoche said: "With Akram, I felt that we could confront and share new desires, hopes and visions through our respective arts by inventing a common language. I don't know the result yet, but I know the path that we're taking is changing me radically. I never know what I'm capable of before I do it. I secretly hope that faith will take over. Any artistic expression is a means to an opening which doesn't belong to anyone but links us to each other in a mysterious and necessary way."

Akram Khan said: "Throughout my career, I have sought out unexpected collaborations with other artists to explore ideas and themes that are important to me. The project with Juliette has pushed me in unexpected directions and has been one of the most challenging experiences of my life. I think we are both moving outside our comfort zones through working together to create something completely new."

In-I plays in repertoire at the National Theatre, London from 6 September to 19 October, with a press night on 18 September.

Following its premiere in London, In-I will tour to Luxembourg, Rome, Brussels and Paris as part of the European Cultural Season organised by Culturesfrance, which runs from 1 July - 31 December 2008 to mark the French Presidency of the EU. For six months, the different cultures of the 27 European states will be celebrated throughout France in dance, theatre, music, science, visual arts, cinema and literature. In-I has been chosen as the flagship Franco-British artistic event for the European Cultural Season. Akram Khan has agreed to be the UK Cultural Ambassador for the season.

In-I is also one of the highlights of Paris Calling-Theatre, a Franco-British season, and a transchannel celebration of international theatre arts.

In addition to Luxembourg, Rome, Brussels and Paris, In-I will also tour to Montreal, Abu Dhabi, Sydney, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai, Beijing and New York.

Jubilations will tour from London to Paris, Brussels, Tokyo and New York.

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For further press information please contact:
www.kallaway.co.uk/akram-khan.htm or www.akramkhancompany.net

Anna Cusden
Kallaway
020 7221 7883
anna.cusden@kallaway.co.uk

Katie Jackson
Kallaway
020 7221 7883
katie.jackson@kallaway.co.uk

BFI Southbank
Ilona Cheshire
Press Officer
020 7957 8986
ilona.cheshire@bfi.org.uk


Culturesfrance
Culturesfrance, bridging the world's cultures, is the operator delegated by the French ministries of Foreign and European Affairs and Culture and Communications for international cultural exchanges. This agency works in the fields of contemporary creative arts (visual arts, architecture, design, dance, music, theatre and street art), books and the written word, cinematographic heritage, collections of documents and cultural engineering. At the core of the necessary discussions and exchanges between French and world cultures, Culturesfrance affirms the scope and diversity of the dialogue with more than 140 countries worldwide, notably by implementing foreign cultural seasons in France and abroad. More information: www.culturesfrance.com.

In-I and Jubilations Global tour sponsored by: SG Private Banking.
SG Private Banking is proud to be sponsoring Jubilations the innovative artistic project featuring Juliette Binoche.

The private bank of the Société Générale Group has always attached great importance to creation and innovation in the arts as well as in the finance sector. SG Private Banking has been supporting the promotion of French Cinema for a number of years now and when Juliette Binoche proposed that we sponsor Jubilations we were immediately seduced by the inter-disciplinary character of the project. We are very pleased to be associated with Juliette Binoche and Akram Khan, two internationally renowned, multi-talented artists, who are today taking on an original and innovative challenge, much like those that SG Private Banking takes on every day in the search for unique solutions for its High Net Worth clients.


Fondation d'entreprise Hermès
The decision to be part of the In-I production stems, first of all, from loyalty to an artist already known by Hermès: in 2006, Akram Khan, in collaboration with the dancer Sylvie Guillem, participated in a "dance show", an event produced by Hermès Japan. Everyone still remembers how wonderful it was. This first encounter with the choreographer and dancer, among the best known on the British stage, had to continue. Today, the Fondation d'entreprise Hermès is assisting with a project that teams Akram Khan with the brilliant and talented Juliette Binoche. The involvement of Anish Kapoor, a magician of shapes and colours, for the set design, is another guarantee that this will be a captivating artistic adventure. Three strong personalities are coming together to create a piece in which feelings and imagination combine, meeting with artistic expressions and breaking down the boundaries. Our commitment is a token of our respect for and our confidence in these talented and generous artists. It is a way of showing our faith in this project's success.

The goal of the Fondation d'entreprise Hermès, created in April 2008, is to support contemporary artistic creation in its various forms. Thus, the In-I project naturally finds a place within this vision. This production is one of the first projects that the Fondation d'entreprise Hermès has decided to undertake in a big way.

Paris calling ¦theatre
a transchannel celebration of international theatre arts
The French Embassy in the United Kingdom, the British Council in Paris and Culturesfrance are proud to present an unprecedented partnership, Paris calling ¦theatre, a transchannel celebration of international theatre arts. For the first time ever, around 50 venues across the United Kingdom and France will be gathered under a single umbrella, Paris calling ¦theatre, which will bring together an extraordinary diversity of well-established authors, actors, artists and emerging talents. Throughout the first half of 2009, this event will showcase the best of a constant flourishing contemporary theatre arts scene.

In-I is co-directed and performed by Juliette Binoche and Akram Khan with visual design by Anish Kapoor, and music composed by Philip Sheppard.

In-I is made possible by the generous support of the following partners:
Co-producers:
Fondation d'entreprise Hermès
National Theatre, London
Theatre de la Ville, Paris
Grand Theatre de Luxembourg
Romaeuropa Festival, Rome
La Monnaie, Brussels
Sydney Opera House, Sydney
Curve, Leicester

Supported by:
Culturesfrance
Arts Council England
The Bell Cohen Charitable Foundation

Global tour sponsored by:
SG Private Banking
Fondation d'entreprise Hermès



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