CANCELED: Je tu il elle
UW Cinematheque 821 University Ave., UW Vilas Hall, Room 4070, Madison, Wisconsin
press release: In compliance with UW Madison’s policies enacted to slow the spread of COVID-19, all previously announced UW Cinematheque screenings through April 12 have been canceled. The Cinematheque programming staff is currently investigating the possibility of re-scheduling some of these screenings on future Cinematheque calendars. The Cinematheque’s free screening series is currently scheduled to resume on April 17 with Where’s Poppa?. Please visit the Cinematheque’s website (http://cinema.wisc.edu) for further updates and a schedule of screenings between April 17 and May 3.
France | 1975 | DCP | 86 min. | French with English subtitles
Director: Chantal Akerman
Cast: Chantal Akerman, Niels Arestrup, Claire Wauthion
For her first, daring narrative feature, Akerman distilled a life of concerns: the comfort and confinement of domestic space, the monster of depression, the highs and lows of queer love. Following a break-up, Julie (Akerman) flounders in her apartment, meets a truck driver in a bar, and reunites with her ex. These three acts each showcase unique minimalist styles, from deep contrast black-and-white to grungy handheld to flat, high-key lighting. Referring to her lead performance, which features self-destructive behavior and a sustained scene of lovemaking, Akerman in 2010 reflected, “I don’t act, it’s me, nothing else.”
A Celebration of Chantal Akerman: Between her wunderkind arrival in the 1970s and her tragic death in 2015, Chantal Akerman was widely revered as one of cinema's most vital and fearless artists. Drawing from art cinema, ethnographic documentary, feminist theory, Jewish culture, popular genres, and the structural avant-garde, Akerman consistently rejected labels in her pursuit of a rigorous, personal cinema. Investing minute gestures, plays of light, and time itself with meaning and emotion, Akerman’s films demand the theatrical experience. This series (re)acquaints us with the genius and audacity of this singular, pioneering Belgian filmmaker.