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Les félins [Joy House / The Love Cage] (René Clément, 1964)
May
14
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.
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Week-end (Jean-Luc Godard, 1967)
May
9
UN Global Road Safety Week
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.
“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.
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Le mépris [Contempt] (Jean-Luc Godard, 1963)
May
5
Europe Day
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
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Un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut [A Man Escaped] (Robert Bresson, 1956)
May
2
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
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Vagabunden Karawane [Vagabond’s Band] (Werner Penzel, 1980)
Apr
16
હડતાળ
“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.”
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Daïnah la métisse [Dainah the Mixed] (Jean Grémillon, 1932)
Apr
15
Titanic
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.
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Les demoiselles de Rochefort [The Young Girls of Rochefort] (Jacques Demy, 1967)
APr
10
Siblings Day
Sisters Delphine and Solange Garnier mid-song, played by real-world sisters Catherine Deneuve and Françoise Dorléac. DP: Ghislain Cloquet.
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The Patriot Game (Arthur MacCaig, 1979)
Apr
4
MLK Jr. – 1968
“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
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News from Home (Chantal Akerman, 1976)
Apr
3
Pony Express Day
New York, a street scene. Superimposed a quote from one Chantal Akerman's mother's letters. DPs: Jim Asbell & Babette Mangolte.
“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)
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Le moindre geste [The Slightest Gesture] (Jean-Pierre Daniel, Fernand Deligny + Josée Manenti, 1962–1964, 1971)
Apr
2
World Autism Awareness Day
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.
“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
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.