PODCAST: Chantal Akerman

"Comparable in force and originality to Godard or Fassbinder," began the Village Voice's J. Hoberman about the hypnotic hyperrealism of a certain Belgian auteur, "Chantal Akerman is arguably the most important European director of her generation." On January 19, Criterion will release an inarguably vital Eclipse box set entitled Chantal Akerman in the Seventies, which will include "The New York Films" (La Chambre, Hotel Monterey and News From Home), her feature debut Je tu il Elle, and my personal favorite of the set—Les rendez-vous d'Anna:

Over the past four decades, Belgian director Chantal Akerman (Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles) has created one of cinema’s most distinctive bodies of work—formally daring, often autobiographical films about people and places, time and space. In this collection, we present the early films that put her on the map: intensely personal, modernist investigations of cities, history, family, and sexuality, made in the 1970s in the United States and Europe and strongly influenced by the New York experimental film scene. Bold and iconoclastic, these five films pushed boundaries in their day and continue to have a profound influence on filmmakers all over the world.

During a brief visit to New York in December, Akerman gave me the pleasure and honor of a sit-down to discuss these early films. Typically, I forewarn my podcast interviewees that I edit our audio later to make us both sound clearer, removing the uh's, hiccups, burps and spaces. I reluctantly obliged Akerman, who was against the idea, of course: "The spaces are the best part!"

We chatted about the '70s avant-garde filmmakers who inspired her during her New York residency, the strangest job she had in the "phallic city," being Andrew Bujalski's thesis advisor at Harvard, and why she now takes back a title she once rejected.

To listen to the podcast, click here. (26:50)

Podcast Music
INTRO: Univers Zero, "Célesta (For Chantal)"
OUTRO: Jacques Brel, "Bruxelles"

Posted by ahillis at January 14, 2010 11:30 PM