Paris Blues Screening

Thursday, June 19 at 4:00 p.m.
Saturday, June 21 at 1:00 p.m. (Encore Screening)
Location: Redstone Theater (June 19) | Bartos Screening Room (June 21)
Tickets: $17.50 / $12 seniors & students / $10 youth (ages 3–17) / discounted rates for Museum of the Moving Image members.

As part of MoMI’s Celebrate Juneteenth programming, join us for screenings of the 1961 jazz musical Paris Blues, directed by Martin Ritt. Set in 1960s Paris, the film follows two musicians—Ram Bowen (Paul Newman), a trombonist and composer, and Eddie Scott (Sidney Poitier), a saxophonist—pursuing success amid the vibrant jazz scene. Louis Armstrong appears as trumpeter Wild Man Moore, delivering rare and electrifying on-screen performances.

The June 19 screening will be followed by a special conversation with Louis Armstrong House Museum Historian Hyland Harris, featuring archival materials highlighting Armstrong’s influential film career. The June 21 encore screening will take place in the Bartos Screening Room.

Featuring an Oscar- and Grammy-nominated soundtrack by Duke Ellington, Paris Blues is a landmark jazz film recommended for ages 13 and up (includes themes of drug use).

Juneteenth commemorates the official end of slavery in the U.S. During a time of segregation, jazz served as a vital form of resistance and expression in Black communities, including New Orleans, Louis Armstrong’s birthplace.

Ticket Information:
Tickets can be purchased online and picked up at the Museum of the Moving Image admissions desk. All seating is general admission. A $1.50 transaction fee applies to online orders. Admission fees may be applied toward same-day membership purchases.

Photo credit: Sam Shaw / Shaw Family Archives Ltd.