5. Tell Me (Dis-moi) (1980)
In this 46-minute documentary made for French TV on the theme of grandmothers, Akerman sits down with three Holocaust survivors to record recollections of their grandmothers and memories that depict lost worlds. There is an affecting informality to the interactions between the filmmaker and her subjects, who welcome Akerman into their Parisian homes, offer tea and cake: “Eat, or else I won’t tell you the rest,” one bargains. The interviews are interspersed with a voiceover from Akerman’s own mother, remembering her grandmother (with whom she lived after returning from Auschwitz) with great affection. Tell Me (Dis-moi) has a gentle, intimate tone that suggests it is not a fact-finding exercise, but an exchange: tell me and I – we – will listen.
By Julia Wagner
Photos © Fondation Chantal Akerman
Header image © Micheline Pelletier/Gamma
Chantal Akerman: Adventures in Perception runs in-person and online:
London – BFI Southbank (until Tuesday 18 March) & Curzon Bloomsbury (until Sunday 30 March);
Bristol – Watershed (until Sunday 30 March);
Online – BFI Player.
There is also a one-day Chantal Akerman Symposium on Saturday 8 March at the BFI Southbank, London, SE1 8XT. whatson.bfi.org.uk
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