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Born in Brussels in 1950 to parents who had survived the Holocaust, Chantal Akerman directed more than 40 films (short, medium and feature-length) over almost 50 years, spanning fiction, documentary, musical comedy and literary adaptation. Today, she is regarded as one of the most important and influential directors of her generation. Akerman’s personal, non-conformist body of work has resonated with cinephiles globally and become increasingly relevant since her death in 2015, with filmmakers including Joanna Hogg (The Eternal Daughter), Céline Sciamma (Petite Maman), Alice Diop (Saint Omer) and Jacques Audiard (Emilia Pérez), among others, citing her radical and experimental approach to cinema as a direct inspiration.
Although best known for her landmark second narrative feature, Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975), which topped the Sight and Sound Greatest Films of All Time Poll in 2022 (becoming the first female-directed film to take the number one spot since the poll’s inception in 1952), Akerman never stopped rebelling, continuously experimenting throughout her career to challenge the formal and narrative boundaries of film.
The Films
INSAS entrance exam films: Bruxelles 1&2, Knokke 1&2 (1967), Saute ma ville (1968), L’Enfant aiméou Jejoueà êtreune femme mariée (1971), La Chambre (1972), Hôtel Monterey (1972), Hanging Out Yonkers (1973), Le 15/8 (1973), Je tu il elle (1974), Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975), News From Home (1976), and Les Rendez-vousd’Anna (1978)
Extras:
Five Blu-ray set featuring 14 landmark films by Chantal Akerman
Audio commentaries on Saute ma villeand Jetu il elle by So Mayer and Selina Robertson of the queer feminist film curatorial collective Club des Femmes
Audio commentary on Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles by Kate Rennebohm and Simon Howell of the Akerman Year podcast
Audio commentary on Les Rendez-vousd’Anna by Kate Rennebohm
Chantal Akerman 1976: An Interview (1976, 59 mins): the filmmaker discusses her early films with B Ruby Rich
Autour de Jeanne Dielman (1975, 69 mins): insightful documentary by Sami Frey showing the working relationship between Akerman and Delphine Seyrig
Entretien avec ma mère, Natalia Akerman (2007, 30 mins): Chantal Akerman talks to her mother, Natalia
Interviews with Babette Mangolte and Aurore Clément (2007, 53 mins total)
Leaving Home – New World Vision (2024, 14 mins): artist Sarah Wood meditates on News From Home in a newly commissioned video essay
72-page perfect bound book featuring new essays by Lillian Crawford, Catherine Bray, Diana Cipriano, Justine Smith, Daniella Shreir, Pamela Hutchinson, Jerry White, Sarah Wood and Hannah Strong plus archive articles by Janet Bergstrom and Laura Mulvey
Limited edition of 2,000 copies
Chantal Akerman