Film Screening

Multiple Dates
Chantal Akerman Shorts

Phyllis Wattis Theater
Saturdays, January 03 and 10, 2009, 1:00 p.m.

Saute ma ville
1968, 11 min.

La Chambre
1972, 11 min.

Hôtel Monterey
1972, 65 min.

Chantal Akerman's shorts explore interiors — the psychological interiors of people, and the spatial interiors of places. Saute ma ville — which can be seen as a precursor to Jeanne Dielman — follows a young woman (played by Akerman) as she frantically moves through her apartment, completing her domestic tasks in what amounts to an emotional downward spiral. In La Chambre the camera moves slowly around a room, along walls and past objects, but the scenes are intermittently and increasingly punctuated by shots of a woman in bed. Hôtel Monterey, Akerman's first longer film, has three main characters — the camera, a hotel, and silence — and can be seen as a study on architectural space, light, reflections, and time.

Part of Chantal Akerman.

$5 general; free for SFMOMA members or with museum admission (requires a free ticket, which can be picked up in the Haas Atrium). Double features: films offered on the same date are included in one ticket. Tickets are available at the museum (with no surcharge) or online.

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