Screenwriters: Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, Jean Cocteau

With an introduction by Chloë Cassens.

Exquisite and dreamy, Jean Cocteau’s fairy tale adaptation is a one-of-a-kind cinematic masterpiece. The story of a gentle-hearted beast in love with a simple and beautiful girl. She is drawn to the repellent but strangely fascinating Beast, who tests her fidelity by giving her a key, telling her that if she doesn’t return it to him by a specific time, he will die of grief. She is unable to return the key on time, but it is revealed that the Beast is the genuinely handsome one. A simple tale of tragic love that turns into a surreal vision of death, desire, and beauty. Achingly beautiful and soulful, you won’t want to miss this cinema essential on the big screen!

Chloë Cassens is writer, educator, and representative of the Severin Wunderman Collection, the largest in the world of works by iconoclastic French artist Jean Cocteau. She is the brains behind Sacred Monster, a platform dedicated to celebrating Cocteau and contextualizing his work for a contemporary audience

Accessibility Options: Open Captions, Amplified Audio, please see the box office for devices.