Chantal Akerman

Biography

Chantal Anne Akerman (June 6, 1950 – October 5, 2015) was a Belgian film director, artist and professor of film at the City College of New York. Her best-known film is Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975). Despite being categorised as such by others, Akerman frequently distanced herself from the feminist label, explaining, "when people say there is a feminist film language, it is like saying there is only one way for women to express themselves". Instead, Akerman acknowledged that her cinematic approach took inspiration from the writings of Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, as well as from filmmakers Michael Snow and Jean-Luc Godard. Many directors have cited Akerman's directorial style as an influence on their work. Kelly Reichardt, Gus Van Sant, and Sofia Coppola have noted their exploration of filming in real time as a tribute to Akerman.

Directed

1. Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1976) — Director
2. Je Tu Il Elle (1974) — Director
3. News from Home (1977) — Director
4. The Meetings of Anna (1978) — Director
5. The Captive (2000) — Director
6. Saute ma ville (1968) — Director
7. A Couch in New York (1996) — Director
8. La chambre (1972) — Director
9. No Home Movie (2016) — Director
10. Toute une nuit (1982) — Director
11. From the East (1993) — Director
12. Hotel Monterey (1973) — Director
13. Portrait of a Young Girl at the End of the '60s in Brussels (1994) — Director
14. Almayer's Folly (2012) — Director
15. Golden Eighties (1986) — Director
16. Tomorrow We Move (2004) — Director
17. Portrait of a Lazy Woman (1986) — Director
18. From the Other Side (2003) — Director
19. South (1999) — Director
20. Night and Day (1991) — Director
21. Down There (2006) — Director
22. The State of the World (2007) — Director
23. Seven Women, Seven Sins (1986) — Director
24. The Eighties (1985) — Director
25. Paris Seen By... 20 Years After (1984) — Director
26. The Beloved Child, or I Play at Being a Married Woman (1971) — Director
27. Le 15/8 (1973) — Director
28. American Stories: Food, Family and Philosophy (1989) — Director
29. Three Stanzas on the Name of Sacher (1989) — Director
30. The Man with the Suitcase (1983) — Director
31. Letters Home (1986) — Director
32. Tell Me (1980) — Director
33. I'm Hungry, I'm Cold (1984) — Director
34. Family Business (1984) — Director
35. One Day Pina Asked... (1989) — Director
36. Chantal Akerman by Chantal Akerman (1997) — Director
37. Moving In (1993) — Director
38. With Sonia Wieder-Atherton (2003) — Director
39. Letter from a Filmmaker: Chantal Akerman (1984) — Director
40. Lest We Forget (1991) — Director

Also appeared in

1. Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1976) — Neighbor (voice) (uncredited)
2. Je Tu Il Elle (1974) — Julie
3. News from Home (1977) — Narrator (voice)
4. Saute ma ville (1968) — The girl
5. Porto (2017) — (voice)
6. La chambre (1972) — Self - On her bed
7. No Home Movie (2016) — Self
8. What Is Cinema? (2013) — Self
9. Portrait of a Lazy Woman (1986)
10. From the Other Side (2003) — Self (Narrator - Interviewer)
11. I Don't Belong Anywhere: The Cinema of Chantal Akerman (2015) — Self
12. Delphine and Carole (2020) — Self (archive footage)
13. Down There (2006) — Self (voice)
14. Seven Women, Seven Sins (1986) — Film Director (segment Portrait d'une Paresseuse)
15. The Beloved Child, or I Play at Being a Married Woman (1971) — Herself (uncredited)
16. She Spent So Many Hours Under the Sun Lamps (1985)
17. The Man with the Suitcase (1983) — The Woman
18. Guest (2011) — Self
19. Tell Me (1980) — Self
20. ‘Rameau’s Nephew’ by Diderot (Thanx to Dennis Young) by Wilma Schoen (1974)
21. Family Business (1984) — Self
22. One Day Pina Asked... (1989) — Self (uncredited)
23. Chantal Akerman by Chantal Akerman (1997) — Self
24. The Ministries of Art (1989) — Self
25. Birth of a Nation (1997) — Self
26. Letter from a Filmmaker: Chantal Akerman (1984) — Self
27. Chantal Akerman, From Here (2010) — Self
28. Knokke: une petite fiction 2 (1967) — Self
29. Mallet-Stevens Street (1986)
30. The Day When... (1997) — Self
31. Around Jeanne Dielman (1975) — Self
32. Chantal Akerman: Always on the Road (2024) — Self (archive footage)
33. De droomproducenten (1984) — Self
34. Examen d'entrée INSAS (1967)
35. Calling the Shots (1988) — Self
36. Morceaux de Cannes (2021)
37. Les Rendez-vous du dimanche (1975) — Self
38. Pictures of Europe (1990) — Self
39. Chantal Akerman: An Interview (1976) — Chantal Akerman
40. Autour de La Folie Almayer (2022) — Self