dir. Claire Denis
90 minutes
A rare screening of Towards Mathilde, a 2005 documentary feature from CLAIRE DENIS, a director beloved for her dance sequences: Denis Lavant to Corona's Rhythm of the Night in Beau Travail, Mati Diop and Grégoire Colin Commodores's Nightshift in 35 Shots of Rum.
A portrait of modern dance choreographer MATHILDE MONNIER, Towards Mathilde features music from PJ Harvey and sees Denis working alongside two all-time-great cinematographers, AGNÈS GODARD (Beau Travail, 35 Shots of Rum) and HÉLÈNE LOUVART (Alice Rohrwacher's Happy as Lazzaro, Mia Hansen-Løve's Maya) with a visual strategy that does not simply capture performance in static wide shots, but instead keep its camera in its own constant movement.
Denis's Towards Mathilde will be preceded by two short films by renowned artist BABETTE MANGOLTE—a filmmaker who has, since the 1970s, worked as both director (What Maisie Knew, The Camera: Je La Camera: I, The Sky on Location) and cinematographer (Chantal Akerman's Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles).
PROGRAMME:
Calico Mingling, dir. Babette Mangolte, 1973, 10m, B&W
Water Motor, dir. Babette Mangolte, 1978, 8m, B&W
Towards Mathilde, dir. Claire Denis, 2005, 84m, colour
"Emphasizing raw physicality, craft, and in-the-moment fervor over exposition, Towards Mathilde, from filmmaker Claire Denis (Beau Travail, 35 Shots of Rum, Let the Sunshine In), is a documentary portrait par excellence. At its center is Mathilde Monnier, whose title as head of the Montpellier National Centre for Choreography sends her and an elite group of dancers through numerous, demanding performance pieces, each captured on sumptuous 8 and 16mm images by cinematographers Agnès Godard and Hélène Louvart. Monnier’s significant talents are a clear point of fascination and admiration for the film crew, yet her mysterious aura — that of an artist totally in command of themselves and, by extension, the viewers — remains throughout." — Grasshopper Film
Doors - 5.30pm
Programme begins - 6.00pm