Chantal Akerman Retrospective Handbook

by Joanna Hogg, Adam Roberts, Laura Mulvey (Foreword)

Between 2013 and 2015,  A Nos Amours  presented in London a complete retrospective of the films of the celebrated film-maker Chantal Akerman, the only complete retrospective given to date. Rights and screening copies turn out to be widely scattered and incredibly difficult to access. The research needed to present this retrospective is offered in this book so that others may more easily follow suit.  Also included are the texts, journalism and blogging that was offered to the audience as a means to engage with film-works that are at once radical, wildly varied in style and content, and surprisingly often, on account of their rarity, little known. The book aims to be accurate and a reliable source of detailed information about the films. The book is intended to serve as an Akerman companion and a key reference work. Many texts are included to provide invaluable insights, from the likes of  Raymond Bellour ,  Richard Brody ,  Ivone Margulies ,  Marion Schmid  and  Ginette Vincendeau . Laura Mulvey  (whose phrase 'the male gaze' has revolutionised film theory) has written the foreword, surveying Akerman's achievement, making use of this book as an aide-mémoire for what stands as one of the astonishing bodies of work in all "As a collage of writing of many different kinds, the  Handbook  crucially bears witness to the effect that Akerman has had on the film community, from her earliest movies until her last... The high quality of the texts included in the book are all a reminder of the way that her ‘cinematic’ qualities have advanced our understanding of film." A Nos Amours was founded in London by Joanna Hogg and Adam Roberts, to present screenings, events and art shows. 

Genres: Film

244 pages, Paperback

Published September 24, 2019

Reviews

[Stephen Gillespie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Less a book and more a resource. This is the collected materials from a long form, complete retrospect of Chantal Akerman’s cinema. Akerman is one of the very finest filmmakers and her work, especially before this retrospective, did not have the reach it should. The reality of cinematic distribution and rights has a greater impact on the ‘canon’ than quality ever has. The project here was to show Akerman to the world.

While doing so, the curators also embarked upon swathes of writing — from themselves and others. This is a collection of critical thought as well as historical detail. It is a vital companion and a brilliant object. Akerman’s tragic death just before the end of the retrospective haunts the text (hauntology being a philosophical phenomenon the text deals with, and applies to Akerman’s work). This devastating fact recontextualises the book and cements its worth.

[Michael Ewins]

Between November 2013 and October 2015, the London collective À Nos Amours presented the world's first complete Chantal Akerman retrospective. This book, which collects all of the screening notes, blogs, and other writings by curators Joanna Hogg & Adam Roberts, is both a memento and a microcosm of that extraordinary event.

There's not much to say except that the writing, organised in a sensible, chronological sequence of the filmmaker's work, is often excellent, combining personal reflections on the curation and screening process, and also analysis/context for the works presented. This possibly has even more value if you weren't able to attend the screenings, as much of the book's important framing and description will be of use to people who can't access her films (there are currently no Akerman films available on DVD or Blu-Ray, or, to my knowledge, for streaming in the UK). Much deeper analysis can be found in volumes by Camera Obscura or Moving Image - or, of course, in Ivone Margulies' landmark "Nothing Happens" - but the personal reflections and precise chronology are the appeal of this book, and as a reflection on the only time her work has ever been screened to completion, it's invaluable.

[Dylan Kiewel · Rating 4 out of 5]

i traded in a stack of books that included pynchon's vineland and bolano's 2666 at powells and got a paltry $26 for my sacrifices only to spend it all on securing this book because i'm constantly drawn to making incredibly dumb decisions out of whims and lack of sense :( was it worth it? i'm afraid it probably was not. fairly enlightening on things here and there i didn't know about individual akerman films and per my own programming aspirations in particular insightful as to the practical matters of putting on a retro. however, its a gussied up printing of program notes (repetitive, broad outlines, stray notes) at the end of the day and should be cheap if not free. i mean maybe the best part was the collected blogs on various akerman film/trademark stylistic markers and that shit is online at huff po (if that's still up). still i'm deeply in tune with akerman and her work, and a few pieces here and there in this will stick with me. i'm grieving my own mother right now so akerman is a bit of a beacon. i can feel thru her work even more now. :(