ICA is closed from the 30 May – 3 June inclusive.
4 - 19 March 2025
For Chantal Akerman, filmmaking was a way of life—an act of living in itself. In her work Akerman regularly steps from behind the camera and into the frame, sharing her world with the audience, transforming it into something beyond her own lived experience.
In her words:
I’ll put the camera there, in front, as long as is necessary and the truth will appear. [. . .] When we show the things that the whole world has already seen, perhaps, then, at a given moment, we start to see for the first time. [. . .] Suddenly, in one blow, without warning, we feel that something appears that could be, at the same time, pleasure or fear, or a heartbeat. So either we close our eyes and leave or we accept this upheaval.
Characterised by a delicate interplay between the private and the collective, the internal and the external, the subject and the object, the author and the character, Akerman's cinema is one of ceaseless movement and reflection. From private spaces fragmented and shaped by repetition, solitude, and the passage of time, to the restless movements and transient objects of the perpetual traveller.
To coincide with the BFI's retrospective, the ICA is delighted to present a curated programme of Akerman's work, with a particular focus on her short films. The programme begins with a pair of coming-of-age tales where the streets of a city become a source of both joy and despair and concludes in the transient environs of two hotels.
For Chantal Akerman, filmmaking was a way of life—an act of living in itself. In her work Akerman regularly steps from behind the camera and into the frame, sharing her world with the audience, transforming it into something beyond her own lived experience.
In her words:
I’ll put the camera there, in front, as long as is necessary and the truth will appear. [. . .] When we show the things that the whole world has already seen, perhaps, then, at a given moment, we start to see for the first time. [. . .] Suddenly, in one blow, without warning, we feel that something appears that could be, at the same time, pleasure or fear, or a heartbeat. So either we close our eyes and leave or we accept this upheaval.
Characterised by a delicate interplay between the private and the collective, the internal and the external, the subject and the object, the author and the character, Akerman's cinema is one of ceaseless movement and reflection. From private spaces fragmented and shaped by repetition, solitude, and the passage of time, to the restless movements and transient objects of the perpetual traveller.
To coincide with the BFI's retrospective, the ICA is delighted to present a curated programme of Akerman's work, with a particular focus on her short films. The programme begins with a pair of coming-of-age tales where the streets of a city become a source of both joy and despair and concludes in the transient environs of two hotels.
Programme
Tuesday 4 March, 6.30pm
J'ai faim, J'ai froid + Portrait d’une jeune fille de la fin des années 60 à Bruxelles
The act of wandering the streets of a city becomes a source of both joy and despair in this pair of coming-of-age tales from filmmaker Chantal Akerman.
Wednesday 5 March, 6.30pm
La Chambre + Saute ma ville + Portrait d’une paresseuse + Le 15/8
A poetic exploration of domestic spaces, solitude, and daily rituals, these films capture the tension between repetition and rupture, where ordinary spaces become sites of both freedom and entrapment.
Wednesday 12 March, 8.40pm
L’Enfant aimé, ou Je joue à être une femme mariée + Je tu il elle
In these quiet explorations of alienation and desire, everyday moments become a stage for the search for connection, blurring the line between self-exposure and introspection.
Saturday 15 March, 4pm
Examen d'entrée INSAS + Toute une nuit
Akerman’s journey into filmmaking began with her first Super 8 films for her admission to INSAS. This programme brings together these early films with Akerman's poetic city symphony.
Wednesday 19 March, 8.30pm
Hotel Monterey + Hôtel des acacias
Two stories unfold within the stillness of a hotel where walls echo with the past, and corridors and windows speak of encounters, lovers and lost time.
Tuesday 4 March, 6.30pm
J'ai faim, J'ai froid + Portrait d’une jeune fille de la fin des années 60 à Bruxelles
The act of wandering the streets of a city becomes a source of both joy and despair in this pair of coming-of-age tales from filmmaker Chantal Akerman.
Wednesday 5 March, 6.30pm
La Chambre + Saute ma ville + Portrait d’une paresseuse + Le 15/8
A poetic exploration of domestic spaces, solitude, and daily rituals, these films capture the tension between repetition and rupture, where ordinary spaces become sites of both freedom and entrapment.
Wednesday 12 March, 8.40pm
L’Enfant aimé, ou Je joue à être une femme mariée + Je tu il elle
In these quiet explorations of alienation and desire, everyday moments become a stage for the search for connection, blurring the line between self-exposure and introspection.
Saturday 15 March, 4pm
Examen d'entrée INSAS + Toute une nuit
Akerman’s journey into filmmaking began with her first Super 8 films for her admission to INSAS. This programme brings together these early films with Akerman's poetic city symphony.
Wednesday 19 March, 8.30pm
Hotel Monterey + Hôtel des acacias
Two stories unfold within the stillness of a hotel where walls echo with the past, and corridors and windows speak of encounters, lovers and lost time.
no. 236848.