Chantal Akerman

Director

June 6, 1950 (65 years)

† October 5, 2015

Brussels, Belgium

Biography

Chantal Anne Akerman (June 6, 1950 – October 5, 2015) was a Belgian film director, artist and professor of film at the City College of New York. Her best-known film is Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975). Despite being categorised as such by others, Akerman frequently distanced herself from the feminist label, explaining, "when people say there is a feminist film language, it is like saying there is only one way for women to express themselves". Instead, Akerman acknowled…

Filmography

7.4

Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles

A lonely young widow lives with her son following an immutable order: while the boy is in school, she cares for their apartment, does chores, and receives clients in the afternoon.

5.7

The Captive

Ariane lives with Simon in his large Paris flat. Simon is obsessed with her: he wants to know everything about her, secretly follows her when she goes out, asks questions all the time, even in the most intimate moments. Ariane seems to take it all in stride, but Simon realises that she's hiding something.

6.7

Portrait of a Young Girl at the End of the 60s in Brussels

The main character, Michèle, spends the hour discussing her views of life with some old and new friends, and tries to understand her own feelings about her place in the world and her sexuality, while a camera follows along at close range.

5.9

A Couch in New York

A burnt-out New York psychoanalyst exchanges apartments with a Parisian woman. When his patients arrive, they talk to her and then pay. He returns early and becomes a patient as well.

6.5

Je Tu Il Elle

A woman suffers a subdued psychological breakdown in the wake of a devastating breakup.

5.0

All the Boys and Girls of Their Time

Tous les garçons et les filles de leur âge... is a French anthology tv series. Filmmakers were given the opportunity to portray an episode about the coming of age of young people during one of the past few decades, accompanied by music of that period.

7.0

The Meetings of Anna

Detached filmmaker Anna Silver arrives in Germany to show her latest film; over the course of some days, she encounters a variety of new and old faces, some of whom make personal revelations to her to little affect.

5.5

Seven Women, Seven Sins

Seven Women, Seven Sins (1986) represents a quintessential moment in film history. The women filmmakers invited to direct for the seven sins were amongst the world's most renown: Helke Sander (Gluttony), Bette Gordon (Greed), Maxi Cohen (Anger), Chantal Akerman (Sloth), Valie Export (Lust), Laurence Gavron (Envy), and Ulrike Ottinger (Pride). Each filmmaker had the liberty of choosing a sin to interpret as they wished. The final film reflected this diversity, including traditional narrative fiction, experimental video, a musical, a radical documentary, and was delivered in multiple formats from 16, super 16, video and 35mm.

6.6

Golden Eighties

In a lively shopping center, proprietors and customers are bustling, including three women vying for a man's heart with song and dance.

7.0

Lest We Forget

A compilation of 30 French filmmakers, Alain Resnais and Jean Luc Godard among them, who use film to make a plea on behalf of a political prisoner. Jean Luc Godard and Anne Marie Mieville's film concerns the plight of Thomas Wanggai, West Papuan activist who has since died in prison. The short films were commissioned by Amnesty International.

6.6

The Beloved Child, or I Play at Being a Married Woman

A young mother, alone with her daughter, confides in a friend who happens to be the director herself. Chantal Akerman, although she sympathizes with the mother, does not say a word.

7.0

News from Home

Impersonal and beautiful images of Akerman's life in New York are combined with letters from her loving but manipulative mother, read by Akerman herself.

7.2

Moving In

"A man stands amid unpacked boxes in his new home, delivering an extended monologue on indecision and dislocation. This rarely seen, overlooked gem created by Akerman for television explores the quotidian crises and profound feelings of alienation that run through her work." - BAM

6.5

All Night Long

Following over two dozen different individuals in the almost wordless atmosphere of a dark night in a Brussels town, acceptance and rejection in the realm of romance is examined.

5.3

The State of the World

Six directors, six independent films, six visions on the state of the world. Each carrying a unique and personal interpretation of a specific experience, their crossover creates new space for a dynamic and radical inquisitive reflection.

4.6

Paris Seen By... 20 Years After

Film comprised of six vignettes each illustrating one aspect of life in the French capital, each set in a different area of the city.

6.8

Almayer's Folly

In 1940s Malaysia, European merchant Kaspar Almayer is obsessed with finding a treasure to secure his daughter's future. His dreams fall victim to the pressure of his own greed, which becomes a torment. Compounding this is the oppressive English domination dominating the country – and that which brings ruin to the remote village where he lives.

5.8

Night and Day

Jack and Julie live in a bare Parisian flat. By day, they make love; by night, Jack is a taxi driver while Julie wanders the city. One day, Julie meets Joseph, the daytime cabbie, and soon Julie spends her nights with Joseph and her days with Jack.

7.0

From the Other Side

A documentary look at the fate of Mexicans who cross the border into the United States.

6.1

The Eighties

All of the time and effort put forth to stage a musical is chronicled here in this bright and funny French outing. The story is set at a shopping mall where people audition for an upcoming show. Afterwards, they are seen going through the grueling routines of learning the music and rehearsing.