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| Chantal Akerman's groundbreaking film Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai Du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles |
The Belgian filmmaker, artist and academic Chantal Akerman has died at the age of 65. Known for singular woks like Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai Du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles and A Couch In New York, she carved out a place in the industry at a time when it was exceedingly difficult for women and for experimental directors alike, and she has been cited as a major influence by the likes of Gus Van Sant.
Having lost her grandparents and come close to losing her mother in Auschwitz, Akerman faced significant barriers in her early life, but she managed to study at the Institut National Supérieur des Arts du Spectacle et des Techniques de Diffusion and made her first film, Saute Ma Ville, at the age of 18. She produced her most famous works in the Seventies while living in New York, where she was hailed for her distinct feminist voice. Perhaps on account of her past, she was fiercely resistant to labels and refused to let he work be shown at LGBT film festivals, despite it featuring positive LGBT characters. In both her short work and her feature work, she argued fiercely for diversifying the mainstream.
Akerman served on Juries at the Venice Film Festival and Berlinale, and taught at Harvard University, continuing to work until the end of her life.
Catherine Breillat, Atom Egoyan, Fabian Constant and others pay tribute.
