Singular vision of world
Series salutes breadth, influence of filmmaker Chantal Akerman.
Though already underway, the retrospective tribute series “Chantal Akerman: Contre l’Oubli / Against Oblivion” is just hitting its stride. Featuring more than 20 pictures at multiple venues across Los Angeles, the series captures both the breadth of Akerman’s work and the depth of her inf luence as a filmmaker.
“This was done with a certain sense of urgency,” said Bérénice Reynaud, cocurator at REDCAT, one venue for the series. “I think people need to regroup. It’s why I wanted to title the series “Against Oblivion”; this is about people being clearly
shocked and really wanting to commemorate her. The work is talking to people.”
Born in Brussels, Akerman died in Paris last fall at age 65. Best known for her landmark 1975 f ilm “Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles,” made when she was not yet 25, Akerman created an outsize body of work that included f iction features and documentaries, short f ilms, personal f ilms, political films, films with both professional and nonprofessional performers and those featuring herself and her family.
In addition to REDCAT, the series is unspooling at Cinefamily, the Los Angeles Film Forum, Fahrenheit, Veggie Cloud and Human Resources. It will conclude with a weeklong run in May at Cinefamily of Akerman’s f inal f ilm, 2015’ s “No Home Movie,” an intimate portrait of her ailing mother.
“This is definitely the biggest and quickest and most enthusiastic response we’ve seen for a filmmaker tribute in Los Angeles,” said William Morris, assistant programmer at Cinefamily.
One spotlight event of the program is set for Monday at REDCAT. “Against Oblivion” is a 1991 short produced for Amnesty International featuring Catherine Deneuve. “I Am Hungry, I Am Cold” is a rarely screened 1984 short starring Maria de Medeiros and Pascale Salkin. The Monday program will also include a screening of Akerman’s 2000 feature “La Captive,” an adaptation of a volume of Proust’s “Remembrance of Things Past” starring Sylvie Testud and Aurore Clément.
On Wednesday, Cinefamily will feature a program including Akerman’s f irst short f ilm, “Saute Ma Ville” ( Blow Up My Town), in which she stars. Also screening that night will be her 1972 documentary “Hôtel Monterey,” a look at a New York residence hotel. Among other films screening at Cinefamily will be the 1986 musical “Golden Eighties” ( April 9), 1989’ s “Histoires d’Amerique” ( American Stories) on April 13, 1993’ s “D’Est” ( From the East) on April 17 and “Je Tu Il Elle” ( I You He She), Akerman’s 1975 debut feature ( April 19).
The Fahrenheit will screen the documentary “Chantal Akerman par Chantal Akerman” along with a panel discussion on her work on April 13.
Though Akerman may never have had mainstream commercial success, her reputation among filmmakers goes deep. Hungarian director Béla Tarr has noted how “Jeanne Dielman” deeply inf luenced his own debut f ilm, “Family Nest.” American director Andrew Bujalski recently called it “one of my life’s extraordinary good fortunes” to have had Akerman as his thesis advisor during the only year she taught at Harvard. Todd Haynes dedicated a screening of his “Carol” at the New York Film Festival to Aker- man shortly after her death.
“I’ve never talked to a person who watched a Chantal Akerman f ilm who came out of it and was neutral in any way,” said Morris. “There are people who don’t like it, of course, but most people have such a visceral, personal response to her work. Personally, I think it’s because Chantal Akerman is one of the only filmmakers who was always able to make fiercely personal, often autobiographical f ilms, but they’re never solipsistic. They are always very giving.”
Akerman frequently re- jected labels, but her careerlong focus on women found her work most often read through the lens of feminism. Her “Jeanne Dielman” was such a towering achievement — Reynaud said, “Sometimes, it’s the tree that hides the forest” — that for many, it is the beginning and the end of what they know of Akerman’s work.
“She represents a certain manner of positioning feminism, but it’s totally nondogmatic. It’s funny, it’s irreverent and it’s original. She described herself as a female Charlie Chaplin, and there is a sense of goofiness that a lot of women relate to. You can be very true to your female identity and not be a superwoman, being imperfect.”
Though the series is far from a complete retrospective, organizers hope it points curious viewers toward other works.
Reynaud said, “There is a sense that Chantal Akerman is a difficult filmmaker, and really she’s not. It’s very accessible work. It’s not commercial work, but it’s work about people, about life and desire.”
Bujalski, whose f ilms include “Computer Chess” and “Results,” recently spoke at an Akerman tribute in New York City. He provided a copy of his remarks to The Times.
In noting how often he is asked about any inf luence she had on his work, he said, “The truth is that her inf luence was much deeper and harder to quantify, and it was entirely personal. It was the inf luence of seeing an artist navigate a world that’s rarely easy on artists, and doing so uncompromisingly, unapologetically and — this is the most important part — generously.”