Chantal Akerman - Seminars / Workshop / Lectures

Crossing Cinematic Borders (2 Credit Workshop): Bending Time, Form and Social Existence

During Chantal Akerman’s three-day workshop at EGS, first year students are introduced to experimental concepts in documentary media through the Belgian-born filmmaker’s semi-autobiographical works. In addition to presenting her more contemporary films La Captive and Sud, Akerman exposes her classes to such classics as Jean Dielman and Portrait d'une jeune fille de la fin des annèes 60 à Bruxelles. These screenings serve as material for investigation of the spectator experience, minimalism and authenticity in cinema. Whereas most EGS professors place heavy emphasis on texts, Ms. Akerman’s seminar seeks to train her students to engage images. The course offers an introductory foundation upon which deeper film analysis can be structured. Throughout the course, students are challenged to suspend traditional notions of social relationships, aesthetics and human existence. Progress will be determined by the degree of student receptiveness and participation.

Course Requirements:
Attendance to all screenings is mandatory.
Texts must be read before the seminar in Saas-Fee.
Active participation and contribution to classroom discussions.

Readings:
Foster , Gwendolyn Audrey. Identity and Memory: The Films of Chantal Akerman. Southern Illinois University Press (Txt); (April 2003) Paperback. ISBN: 0809325136. Buy it at Amazon.com.

Akerman, Chantal, Catherine David, Michael Tarantino. Bordering On Fiction: Chantal Akerman's D'Est. Walker Art Center. Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1995, 95 pages, Paperback, ISBN: 0935640444. Buy it at Amazon.com

Akerman, Chantal, Maurice Olender and Jacques Sojcher (eds). La séduction. Aubier-Montaigne. 220 pages, Paperback, ISBN: 270070178X. Buy it at Amazon.com

Screenings:
Hôtel Monterey. 1972. Paradise Films. 65 min.
La Chambre 1. 1972. Paradise Films. 11 min.
La Chambre 2. 1972. Paradise Films. 11 min.
Je, tu, il, elle / I, You, She, He. 1974. Paradise Films. 90 min, Starring: Chantal Akerman, Niels Arestrup, Claire Wauthion.
Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles. 1975. Paradise Films, Unite Trois; in association with Ministere de la Culture francaise de Belgique. 201 min, Starring: Chantal Akerman, Yves Bical, Jan Decorte, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, Delphine Seyrig, Henri Storck.
D'Est / From the East. 1993. Paradise Films, Lieurac Productions. 107 min.
Portrait d'une jeune fillee de la fin des annees 60, a Bruxelles / Portrait of a Young Girl from the Late Sixties in Brussels. 1993. IMA Productions. 60 min, Starring: Circe, Julien Rassam, Joelle Marlier.
SUD / South. 1999. 71 min.
La Captive. 2000. 118 min, Starring: Stanislas Merhar, Sylvie Testud, Olivia Bonamy, Liliane Rovère, Françoise Bertin, Aurore Clément.

Classroom Topics:
Seminar Day One:
Introductory notes on identity, autobiography and film
Manipulation and the documentary film
Depicting and revealing social conflict
Minimalism and film form: explosions vs. implosions in art

Seminar Day Two:
Discussion of La Captive: notes on narrative film form
Breaking temporal and spatial continuity
Repeating themes: Holocaust, the mother and borders
Film spectator reactions: attention, memory and prejudice

Seminar Day Three:
Barriers to documentary film production
Final thoughts on the creative process

Notes on the Course Format:
Whereas traditional, text-based courses adhere to rigid syllabi schedules, Ms. Akerman reserves the right to encourage tangentially relevant debate, repeat screenings, group projects, etc.

Guidelines for Student Participation:
Unlike in most lecture formats, students are advised to avoid heavy note-taking during screenings. Because minimalist and experimental films require deep concentration, students must make every effort to resist distractions. Ample time will be allotted to breaks and for lunch.
Although students may have pre-conceived notions of art, it is imperative that screened films be analyzed within their own context—not digested within the easy categories of politics, ideology, etc.