Daniel Sunjata is attached as the Lead for Chevalier.

A talented and promising actor who combines Screen and Stage acting in his curriculum, Daniel is known for The Devil Wears Prada (2006), Melinda and Melinda (2004) on the big screen. Daniel is also in his third season as Franco Rivera in the TV hit show Rescue Me. Daniel can be seen on stage in Cyrano, starring Kevin Kline and Jennifer Garner, which opened on November 1st, a week before the Strike put the Broadway show on hold.

On November 7th, 2007 Gabriel Banat, eminent contributor to the rediscovery of the Chevalier de Saint-George, will present his latest findings on this legendary icon of the 18th-Century.
program

A brilliant violinist himself, Gabriel Banat is the ideal biographer of Saint-Georges. Born in Hungary and encouraged by Bartók, Banat spent most of World War II in hiding from the Nazis. After the war, he performed with Enesco and others, becoming a member of the New York Philharmonic in 1970. His new biography, Virtuoso of the Sword and the Bow, was called a “must read” by Today’s Books. Robert Gutman described it as “the first truly reliable account of the dazzling career of the Chevalier de Saint-Georges … a page-turner … beautifully written.”

John M. Eckert has joined forces with Griot Pictures for the development of Chevalier. As Line Producer, John is currently preparing the schedule and the budget.

A veteran Hollywood UPM and Executive Producer, John is known for Chicago (2002), The Scarlet Letter (1995) and Legends of The Fall (1994), as Line Producer or Unit Production Manager. John also did the budget for Mel Gibson’s The Patriot (2000).

Concert for the 79th Annual Convention, Milwaukee, Wisconsin :
well-renowned violinist Bernard Zinck, will present the story of Chevalier de Saint George

For more information on the American Association of Teachers of French, visit: http//www.frenchteachers.org/

on December 20th, the city of Saint-François is hosting an outdoor show celebrating the life of Chevalier de Saint-George.
Organized by the Office of Tourism, the show will combine dance, concerts and digital animations on the recently renovated Pier of Saint-François, one of the major touristic poles of the island of Guadeloupe.
Jean-Claude Halley, president of the Friends of Saint-George Society, will open the ceremony.

On November 22nd, RFO will dedicate one hour of its’ weekly program PORTRAIT CACHE to Chevalier de Saint-George.
Hosted by Robert Dieupart, the live broadcast will invite a delegation of the Friends of Saint-George Society on stage to share their knowledge and experience, and directly interact with audience and viewers.

PORTRAIT CACHE is a cultural program dedicated to influential biographies.

Choose from over 20 quality DVDs, CDs, and Books on the Chevalier de Saint-George.
Affiliated with Amazon.com and SheetMusic.com.

DVD: Le Mozart Noir
CDs: collection from Avenira Foundation, Cedille, Arion..
Books: from Alain Guede, JA Rogers, Antonia Fraser..

A World Premiere in France, on November 19th 2005.
L’Amant Anonyme, an original opera composed by Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-George.
Libretto by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos (adapted by Alain Guédé)
Conductor Marc Boss, director of the Versailles Chamber Orchestra.

the only opera composition by Saint-George fully restored today

Based on Antonia Fraser’s novel, Oscar-winner Sophia Coppola is writing and directing Marie-Antoinette starring Kirsten Dunst as the infamous French queen. The shoot has actually begun at the Chateau de Versailles (with the permission of the French government) and is expected to take 11 weeks, until around June 15th.

Curiously, Marie Antoinette’s well documented relationship with Le Chevalier de Saint-George is not mentioned in Fraser’s novel. Nonetheless, the movie should substantially increase interest in the Saint-George story.

on October 9th 2005, A World Premiere in France, Opera in two Acts
“Le Nègre des Lumières”, Libretto by Alain Guédé,

Saint-George: …Loïc Félix
Louise Fusil: …Christine Rigaud
Marie-Antoinette: …Sophie Fournier
Sophie Arnould: …Catherine Dune
Lamothe: …Rodolphe Briand
Duke of Orléans: …Didier Henry

Conductor: Bertrand Cervera
Producer: Nadine Duffaut
Choreographer: Eric Bélaud

An initiative by the Concert de Mr Saint-George Association,
Under the patronage of the city of Avignon, France

Looking to capitalize on upcoming Sophia Coppola pic, Marie-Antoinette, and recently released Phantom of the Opera, Griot Pictures Entertainment has retained screenwriter Paris Qualles (A House Divided, Tuskegee Airmen) through International Creative Management (ICM) to write “Chevalier”, based on the historical story of Le Chevalier de Saint-George, also known as The Black Mozart.

A confidant and music instructor to Marie-Antoinette, Saint-George was a superstar violinist and opera composer who influenced Mozart. He was also Europe’s fencing champion, an infamous playboy, and a military hero in the French Revolution.

Griot producers see “Chevalier” as the natural evolution in the recent explosion of period-piece fare. “Saint-George was adored by the French and British public as a music and fencing superstar, but he is only recently being re-discovered because much of his musical material was destroyed during the French Revolution, and later, by Napoleon’s regime.”

July 2006: Guadeloupe, the native French-Caribbean Island of the Chevalier de Saint-George, will be the theater of a world-class symposium in July 2006(e). The event will bring together many specialists from many different fields: historians, musicians, novelists, and screenwriters. The organizers will offer tourist discovery of the island, in particular around the site where Joseph Boulogne spent his first 10 years. The event, sponsored by the regional government, will mark the inauguration of the official site “Route de Saint-George” in Basse-Terre.

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CUBA will host a Cultural Week for Chevalier de Saint George October 24th to 29th 2005 in La HAVANE.
The program will be include:
Tuesday 25th: Concert à la Basilique Saint François d’Assise
Wednesday 26th: Conference moderated by Jean-Claude HALLEY at “La Casa de las Americas”
Friday 28th: Ballet “El Mozart Negro” by the dance company PRODANZA

June 11th 2005
For the commemoration of the Abolition of Slavery,
The General Assembly will host an international exhibition around the Chevalier de Saint-George

The program will include concerts, book forums, short films and lectures.

Attendees:
Jean-Claude HALLEY (Friends of Saint-George Society), Dominique DeLERMA (Music historian, Berkeley), Kwame RYAN (Conductor, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra).

“Le Chevalier de Saint-George Raconté Aux Enfants”, by Jean-Claude HALLEY

March 24th, 6.30pm

The Mayor of Pointe-à-Pitre (Guadeloupe) will host a conference on the Chevalier de Saint-George.

Moderator: Jean-Claude HALLEY
President of the Friends of Saint-George Society

Le Maire de Pointe-à-Pitre
Le service d’Animation du patrimoine
de la ville de Pointe-à-Pitre
vous invitent à la conférence donnée par :

Jean-Claude HALLEY
Président de l’Association des Amis du Chevalier de Saint-George

sur le thème :
Le Chevalier de Saint-George ;
au-delà du Musicien
au-delà de l’Escrimeur, l’Homme !

March 18th, 8pm
The National Symphony Orchestra of Moldavia will perform the Symphonies GO73 and GO74, by Chevalier de Saint-George

“Joseph Boulogne, Son of Naomi”, by Daniel MARCIANO

January 2005: History Channel Documentary on the Characters of the French Revolution Premieres. On January 17th at 9pm EST, the History Channel will premiere a two-hour documentary featuring the key characters of the French Revolution. The documentary, which will run multiple times in 2005, should increase interest in the Saint-George story.
DVD available.

December 2004: Based on the novel by Gaston Leroux and the musical by Andrew Llyod Webber, the film Phantom of the Opera was released. Given the Paris Opera House setting, the music, and the romantic drama, film should increase interest in the Saint-George story

August 2004: (50.000 tickets SOLD OUT in advance sales). FETES DE NUIT DE VERSAILLES (See Print Review Below) The fountains of Versailles come alive in music and fireworks, in an all-new show featuring the equestrian ballet of Bartabas in Le Chevalier de Saint-George, un africain à la cour. Bartabas, whose equestrian academy is located in the chateau’s royal stables, is a master showman. In an evening worthy of the Sun King, 40 horses and their riders will take to a floating stage surrounding the magnificent Neptune fountain to honor the Chevalier Saint-George, the son of a slave and a celebrated musician. August 28 and 29, September 2, 4, 9, and 11. Press release

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“Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges”, by Claude RIBBE

Tony Dunoyer
PRODUCER
Mr. Dunoyer is a graduate from Ecole Polytechnique in France, where he mastered in Economics and Mathematics. He also holds a Master’s degree in computer science from ENSTA, France. Mr. Dunoyer has 12 years experience on Wall Street in Banking and Trading. As a Principal at BNPParibas, the largest European bank, he runs the Latin American risks for the Proprietary Trading Unit, the bank’s internal hedge fund with over one billion dollars balance sheet.
Mr. Dunoyer joined forces with Griot Pictures in July 2004, for the development of the period piece Chevalier. Tony Dunoyer is an Executive Producer of PREMIUM, which is a co-production between Griot Pictures Entertainment, Double 7 Film and Palm-Star. Mr. Dunoyer is co-producing horror/thriller Them, and is also co-producing Vanished, a dual French/English psychological thriller/action feature that will both be independently produced in 2007.
Tony Dunoyer is a co-founder of Frere Independent, LLC, an organization specializing in contemporary art marketing. Tony Dunoyer (01-November-1964) is a native of the island of Guadeloupe.

Maguy Cohen
PRODUCER/WRITER/DIRECTOR
Maguy Cohen joined Griot Pictures in 2006 as a co-producer on the period piece Chevalier. Miss Cohen graduated at USC film school in 2000 and also attended a two years program at the Oxford School of Drama. Miss Cohen began working for Warner Bros. in various departments, also head of the music scoring stage. Over a course of 5 years, she also worked as an assistant for numerous directors and A-list actors. In 2004, she began directing commercials and music videos worldwide.
She is co-producing an independent docu-drama The Peculiar Patriot, an urban “Fahrenheit 911″ produced by Griot Pictures. Miss Cohen is preparing to direct and produce Them, her first horror thriller, and also she is producing and writing action/thriller Vanished, based on a dual French/English script, to be produced 2007. Miss Cohen has an extensive knowledge in music and productions.
A native of France, Maguy Cohen has lived in many countries – France, Switzerland, Haiti, Italy and Israel, where she was enrolled in the Israeli Army, and was put in real combat situations.

Thomas Hopkins
PRODUCER

February 2004: PBS/Thirteen TV Documentary on Saint-George
Media Group in Toronto produces a one-hour documentary on Saint-George, Le Mozart Noir (the Black Mozart), which highlights Saint-George’s musical superstardom and asserts that Saint-George directly influenced Mozart. The documentary was shown on PBS in the US and broadcast in France as well. DVD available

Street Named After Saint George
In February 2002, the Mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë renamed a street in the memory of Saint-Georges—Rue Chevalier de Saint George.

William Zick (wzick@ameritech.net) creates a database of information on composers of African descent.

Exhibition in Guadeloupe, French Caribbean. In the Memory of Joseph Bolougne. Artifacts from the French National Archives. Catalogue available.