Charlotte Gainsbourg in attendance on January 9

The great Jewish novelist Romain Gary, also known by the pen name Emile Ajar, was one of France’s most prolific and popular writers of the mid-20th century, and the only person to win the Prix Goncourt twice. His autobiographical novel Promise at Dawn is a loose memoir, recounting his impoverished childhood in Poland, his time as a fighter pilot in WWII, early relationships in the south of France, and most of all the unyielding love between him and his single mother. The book’s drama and adventure lend themselves naturally to the big screen; this adaptation by Eric Barbier, starring Charlotte Gainsbourg and Pierre Niney, is a rollicking journey through a life richly lived. New York Premiere