Marie Antoinette

The French Legation State Historic Site is screening Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette (2006) on Thursday, November 19, as part of its outdoor film series, Painted Dreams & Western Horizons. The screening is introduced by artist and author Karen Maness, who brings a specific angle to the night that goes beyond the movie itself.

Painted Dreams & Western Horizons is rooted in the site's legacy of "Cinema East," a tradition of communal open-air screenings. The series pairs films that cross continents, artistic traditions, and eras—from postwar Paris to the American frontier—and Maness introduces each one. She draws on her book The Art of the Hollywood Backdrop and her work as Assistant Professor of Practice at the University of Texas at Austin and Associate Director of Scenic Art for Texas Performing Arts, where she oversees the Texas Performing Arts Hollywood Backdrop Collection. From there, she explains how painted backdrops, many influenced by European and French traditions, helped shape Hollywood's most iconic visual worlds.

Coppola's Marie Antoinette fits right into that conversation. It's a film known for its lush, stylized production design and a vivid color palette that feels more like a painting than a traditional period piece. Watching it outdoors at the French Legation—a site that once served as the first diplomatic mission of France to the United States—adds another layer to the whole thing. The series is supported by Alliance Française d'Austin and the Texas Film Commission.

Gates open at 6:30 PM, and the screening follows. Tickets are $5 for adults, and children 17 and under are free with an adult. The French Legation is at 802 San Marcos Street in Austin.