Chantal Akerman’s Là-bas (Down There)
Là-bas (Down There), by Chantal Akerman. Image Courtesy Icarus Films.
The inaugural screening of
CHANTAL AKERMAN: CONTRE L’OUBLI/AGAINST OBLIVION
The Spielberg Theatre at the Egyptian, 6712 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles CA 90028
The film's photographer Robert Fenz will be in person for a conversation following the screening!
Los Angeles Filmforum is pleased to present legendary filmmaker Chantal Akerman’s stunning 2006 feature Lá-bas, an intimate portrait of self and city shot through the windows of a Tel Aviv apartment. This presentation is the inaugural screening in CHANTAL AKERMAN: CONTRE L’OUBLI/AGAINST OBLIVION, a tribute to Akerman presented by Los Angeles Filmforum, Cinefamily, REDCAT, Veggie Cloud, Fahrenheit, and Human Resources.
Describing Akerman’s work J. Hoberman of the Village Voice summarized "Comparable in force and originality to Godard or Fassbinder, Chantal Akerman is arguably the most important European director of her generation." Visionary and fiercely independent, over the course of her career Akerman crafted a body of work that blended, rigorous formalism, ceaseless curiosity and raw emotionality.
Special Guest Robert Fenz filmed Lá-bas with Akerman, and will discuss her and the experience.
These programs are organized in collaboration with Paradise Films and Cinémathèque royale de Belgique and presented with the support of the Cultural Services of the French Embassy and Institut Français and with the support of the Consulate General of the Kingdom of Belgium/
Special Thanks: Sylviane Akerman, Claire Atherton, Mathieu Fournet, Amélie Garin-Davet, Séverine Madinier, Nicola Mazzanti, Adam Roberts, Véronique Siklosi, Marilyn Watelet
CHANTAL AKERMAN: CONTRE L’OUBLI/AGAINST OBLIVIVION was curated by Bérénice Reynaud (REDCAT), Alison Kozberg and Adam Hyman (Los Angeles Filmforum), William Morris (Cinefamily), Martha Kirszenbaum (Fahrenheit) and Courtney Stephens (Veggie Cloud & Human Resources). Troubleshooter emeritus: Bérénice Reynaud.
"Là-bas, which won the Grand Prize at the Marseille International Documentary Festival and was nominated for a César, is both the most fragile and most powerful of [Akerman's] works." —Film Comment
Tickets: $10 general, $6 students/seniors; free for Filmforum members.
Available in advance from Brown Paper Tickets at http://bpt.me/2522970 or at the door.
Lá-bas (Down There). Image courtesy Icarus Films
Lá-bas (Down There)
Chantal Akerman, 2006, color, sound 78 minutes.
Produced during a sojourn as a teacher in Tel Aviv, Lá-bas is both Akerman’s lone portrait of the country and an acknowledgment of the impossibility of its representation. Unfolding in a series of fixed, inquisitive shots, Lá-Bas peers through blinds at Akerman’s neighbors as she ruminates on her family, Jewish identity and daily life in her rented apartment. Stunning and demanding, Lá-bas was described by Amy Taubin as “both the most fragile and most powerful of [Akerman's] works.”