settima

france

Les félins [Joy House / The Love Cage] (René Clément, 1964)

May

14

Les félins (1964)

Barbara Hill (Lola Albright) going through Marc Borel's (Alain Delon) passport, which states Marc's date of birth as May 14. On Barbara's desk several curiosities, including a shrunken head in a glass case. DP: Henri Decaë.

Week-end (Jean-Luc Godard, 1967)

May

9

UN Global Road Safety Week

Week-end (1967)

A terrible, bloody, car crash. There's cars on fire and several injured sprawled around. A lucky survivor exclaims MY HERMÈS HANDBAG! DP: Raoul Coutard.

A traffic accident: UN Global Road Safety Week *

“My Hermès handbag!”

– Corinne

The bourgeois make their way to the countryside, and find themselves in a cacophony of car crashes, primitive urges, and political uprisings.

 

* In 2025, this actually takes places from May 12 – 18.

Le mépris [Contempt] (Jean-Luc Godard, 1963)

May

5

Europe Day

Le mépris (1963)

Michel Piccoli, director Fritz Lang, Jack Palance, and director Jean-Luc Godard behind the scenes. The clapperboard held by Godard is for the movie that Lang's working on in Le Mépris, an adaption of Homer's Odyssey. DP: Raoul Coutard.

A director from the EU for Europe Day

“Producers are something I can easily do without”

– Fritz Lang

A film in a film, the former directed by Fritz Lang, directed by Godard.

Un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut [A Man Escaped] (Robert Bresson, 1956)

May

2

Un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut (1956)

A hand with dirty nails writing on a scrap of paper with a pencil stump. It starts “Mai 2 Ma chère maman, Je suis à la pris[…]“. DP: Léonce-Henri Burel.

“With nothing to do, no news and in terrible solitude, we were 100 unfortunates awaiting our fate. I had no illusions about my own. If I could only escape, run away…”

– Fontaine

Vagabunden Karawane [Vagabond’s Band] (Werner Penzel, 1980)

Apr

16

હડતાળ

Vagabunden Karawane (1980)

A member of Embryo plays a harmonium with a bemused साधु [sadhu] sitting behind him (still via). DPs: Pitt Koch & Helge Weindler.

A film set in India in remembrance of Gandhi's હડતાળ [hartal], a peaceful protest against the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, in the form of a nationwide fast and prayer on April 16, 1919.

“I had appealed to the people to fast on April 6, and the whole nation followed my call. Who was I? But it was the voice of God… India was awakened that day.”

– Mahatma Gandhi, via

In 1979, krautrock group Embryo toured Iran, Afghanistan and India by bus, while performing with local musicians and documenting their trip.

Daïnah la métisse [Dainah the Mixed] (Jean Grémillon, 1932)

Apr

15

Titanic

Daïnah la métisse (1932)

Mechanic Michaux (Charles Vanel) and Daïnah (Laurence Clavius) on the Art Deco liner. DPs: Louis Page & Georges Périnal.

A cruise ship in remembrance of the sinking of the Titanic on April 14–15, 1912.

 

Mestiza Daïnah, who accompanies her illusionist husband on the luxury cruise ship he works on, loves to flirt and tease the other sex, including the ship's engineer Michaux. When she disappears, suspicion falls not only on Michaux, but also on her Black husband.

The Patriot Game (Arthur MacCaig, 1979)

Apr

4

MLK Jr. – 1968

The Patriot Game (1979)

A older lady calmly clips her hedges while a British soldier attempts to hide behind them (via). DPs: Arthur MacCaig & Théo Robichet.

The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.: civil rights being fought for.

“All the ideas I'd previously had were shown to be completely false. This was the first time I had really seen the strength and the power of a mass struggle; ordinary people directly participating in organizing their communities, and the defense of their communities.”

– Arthur MacCaig, title card

News from Home (Chantal Akerman, 1976)

Apr

3

Pony Express Day

News from Home (1976)

New York, a street scene. Superimposed a quote from one Chantal Akerman's mother's letters. DPs: Jim Asbell & Babette Mangolte.

Mail or a mail carrier for Pony Express Day (USA).

“Dear child,   l received your letter and hope you will write often. l hope you won’t stay away too long and that you’ve found a job by now. If you’re doing well, we’re happy. Even though we do miss you. When will you be back? Everything is fine here, but Sylviane is home with the flu. My blood pressure is low. l’m on medication for it. Today is my birthday. l feel sad. lt’s quiet at the shop. Tonight we’re going out to dinner with friends. That’s all. Your birthday is coming up. l wish you all the best. Write to me soon about your work, about New York, about everything. Lots of love from the three of us.

Your loving mother” (quote via)

Chantal Akerman reads out letters that her mother wrote to the former's stay in New York City between 1971 and 1973. The words slowly blend with the city.

Le moindre geste [The Slightest Gesture] (Jean-Pierre Daniel, Fernand Deligny + Josée Manenti, 1962–1964, 1971)

Apr

2

World Autism Awareness Day

Le moindre geste (1971)

Yves (Yves Guignard), resting. Deligny wrote a lot about the lack of words, and how it stays close to the heart of cinema. Still (and a wonderful essay) via. DP: Josée Manenti.

An autistic actor or character for World Autism Awareness Day

“Celui qui n’a jamais rien dit

a cinquante ans d’âge

et ne dira jamais rien

s’est appris à lire

dans les moindres gestes”

– Fernand Deligny, Essi & Copeaux. Derniers écrits et aphorismes, via

Fernand Deligny was an educator who promoted play and exploration, as opposed to drugs and force, to open up the lives of young nonverbal, autistic people. We follow Yves Guignard, one of Deligny's “patients”, who, in his own wordless rhythm shows us his world.

 

Over time, the film was forgotten and even lost, until it was found in a tree, then completed with a narrative and soundtrack in 1969, selected for the 1971 Cannes Film Festival and praised by Cahiers du Cinéma, lost once more, and eventually – with support of Chris Marker – restored and brought to a wider audience.