Annie Ernaux, je suis née quelque part

The Perfumed Garden(ar)

THE PERFUMED GARDEN is an exploration of the myths and realities of sensuality and sexuality in Arab society, a world of taboos and of erotic literature. Through interviews with men and women of all ages, classes, and sexual orientation, the film lifts a corner of the veil that usually shrouds discussion of this subject in the Arab world. Made by an Algerian-French woman director, the film begins by looking at the record of a more permissive history, and ends with the experiences of contemporary lovers from mixed backgrounds. It examines the personal issues raised by the desire for pleasure, amidst societal pressures for chastity and virginity. The film discusses pre-marital sex, courtship and marriage, familial pressures, private vs. public spaces, social taboos (and the desire to break them), and issues of language.

Les Scandales de « La Religieuse »(fr)

Released in 1796 posthumously, The Nun, a novel that Diderot did not dream of publishing during his lifetime, as he knew it to be revolutionary, caused the same explosion in the 19th century France as in that of the 1960s, when Jacques Rivette decided to adapt it, with Anna Karina in the title role. “This film is banned and it will remain so!” said the General de Gaulle. Exploration of an indictment of incredible modernity which, through the tragedy of the young Suzanne, locked up in the convent against her will, denounces the inequity of a society denying women all moral, political and sexual freedom.

I Was Only 14(nl)

Filmmaker Froukje van Wengerden’s 86-year-old grandmother shares a powerful memory from 1944, when she was just 14. As her story unfolds, we see a group of contemporary 14-year-old girls. Their procession of portraits permits the spectator to see simultaneously forward and back, into the future and towards the past. A miraculous testimonial that uses eye contact to focus the viewer inward and evoke unexpected emotions.

Personal Drawing of a French Mercenary(fr)

Portrait of a French mercenary working in Libya, hired by the Phalange to train the militias. War leaves its traces; and for some, who see death as part of the job, it’s a vocation.

Flannery(en)

Explore the life of Flannery O’Connor whose provocative fiction was unlike anything published before. Featuring never-before-seen archival footage, newly discovered journals, and interviews with Mary Karr, Tommy Lee Jones, Hilton Als, and more.

Andreas Gabalier – 10 Jahre Volks-Rock'n'Roller: Das Portrait(de)

Thomas Hardy: Fate, Exclusion and Tragedy(en)

A portrait of the British writer Thomas Hardy (1840-1928), who, although he had radical instincts, hated hypocrisy, was of great poetic brilliance, had a tragic perception of life and a calm outward appearance, was at heart a man of seething and somber darkness.

Il mio nome è Battaglia(it)

Margaret Atwood: A Word After a Word After a Word Is Power(en)

The views and thoughts of Canadian writer Margaret Atwood have never been more relevant than today. Readers turn to her work for answers as they confront the rise of authoritarian leaders, deal with increasingly intrusive technologies, and discuss climate change. Her books are useful as survival tools for hard times. But few know her private life. Who is the woman behind the stories? How does she always seem to know what is coming?

Ekerwald - Education and Lust(sv)

The author Carl-Göran Ekerwald has written more than 50 books. At the age of 87, a new chapter in his life begins when he meets the journalist and author Sigrid Kahle. Ekerwald is a man of eductation and lust.

The Long Road Through Balkan History(en)

Bosnian Croat writer Miljenko Jergović and Serbian writer Marko Vidojković replace one another by the steering wheel of Yugo, a symbol of their common past while driving on the Brotherhood and Unity Highway that stretched across five of six republics of Yugoslavia.

Milan Kundera: From the Joke to Insignificance(cs)

The brilliant Czech writer Milan Kundera has not given an interview in thirty years; nor does he appear in public. How did he become a legendary author? What is so unique about his books?

Lorena: Light-Footed Woman(es)

A young woman of the Tarahumara, well-known for their extraordinary long distance running abilities, wins ultramarathons seemingly out of nowhere despite running in sandals.

Jack Kerouac's Road: A Franco-American Odyssey(fr)

Part documentary, part drama, this film presents the life and work of Jack Kerouac, an American writer with Québec roots who became one of the most important spokesmen for his generation. Intercut with archival footage, photographs and interviews, this film takes apart the heroic myth and even returns to the childhood of the author whose life and work contributed greatly to the cultural, sexual and social revolution of the 1960s.

Who's Afraid of Kathy Acker?(en)

Documentary tracing the extreme life of outlaw writer, performance artist and punk icon, Kathy Acker. Through animation, archival footage, interviews and dramatic reenactments, director Barbara Caspar explores Acker's colorful history, from her well-heeled upbringing to her role as the scribe of society's fringe.

Jorge Semprún, la plume au poing(fr)

The Last Days With Eliane(ar)

A portrait of the Director’s maternal grandmother, Eliane, a French woman who lived her entire life in Tunisia. The film shows her last moments at home with her family before her passing due to Alzheimer's disease.

Wuthering Heights: Love, Hate and Vengeance(fr)

In 1847, British writer Emily Brontë (1818-48), perhaps the most enigmatic of the three Brontë sisters, published her novel Wuthering Heights, a dark romance set in the desolation of the moors, a unique work of early Victorian literature that stunned contemporary critics.

I carve smiles into mountains' wounds(fr)

Achour is thirty. Night and day, he walks. Rebellious soul, he crisscrosses Alger and its neighborhoods, stays at friends' houses and often leaves the city to meet the nearby montain in Kabylia, his alter-ego. In this environment, marked by war and terrorism, his resistance continues, mobile and ascending. Algerian hardcore-punk musician, Achour once screamed his anger against the country's regime and sang "Anarchytecture". But the movement died down, friends went their separate ways. His Facebook wall became his notebook, his window open to the world. It represents a scream aimed towards the echo of the mountains, between virtual wall, infinite facades of large complexes and the strata of mineral cliffs. A scream comes back at us.

Hello My Dear(tr)

The documentary is titled after Arkadaş Z. Özger’s poem “Hello My Dear” which had caused much controversy in the period it was first published. Considered to be in defiance of heteronormativity, the said poem includes references to the poet’s personality, his family, his relationship to the society, and his “unexpected” death, which came three years after its publication. Today, 50 years after it was written, the documentary follows these same lines in the poem utilising cinematic elements. The documentary also rediscovers the poetics; reaches out to the family, the comrades, the friendships, departing from the official historical accounts, cognizant of his experience of otherness, in pursuit of the “lost” portrait of Arkadaş Z. Özger.