An American in Paris

Paris in technicolor. Gershwin in full bloom.

Few films capture the exhilaration of art, romance, and postwar optimism quite like An American in Paris.

Winner of six Academy Awards — including Best Picture — this beloved MGM classic stars Gene Kelly as an aspiring American painter navigating love, ambition, and the intoxicating beauty of Paris after World War II. Featuring the unforgettable music of George and Ira Gershwin, the film glides effortlessly between Broadway spectacle, jazz-infused charm, ballet, and old Hollywood glamour.

And then comes the finale.

The film’s legendary seventeen-minute ballet sequence remains one of the most ambitious and visually stunning achievements in cinematic history — a dreamlike fusion of dance, painting, orchestral music, and color inspired by the great French Impressionists. More than seventy years later, it still feels transporting.

Presented as part of Emberlight’s Art on Film series, An American in Paris offers audiences the rare opportunity to experience one of Hollywood’s greatest movie musicals on the big screen — where every sweeping melody, dazzling costume, and Parisian street corner can fully come alive.

It’s also the perfect introduction for younger audiences discovering classic movie musicals for the very first time. With Emberlight’s free student ticket program for ages 20 and under, families can experience the joy, elegance, and cinematic magic of this timeless film together.

Elegant, joyful, and impossibly stylish, this is cinema at its most magical.