The Films of Claire Denis: Intimacy on the Border

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The films of Claire Denis probe the idea of global citizenship and trace the borderlines of family, desire, nationality and power. Her films, including Chocolat, Beau travail and White Material explore connections between national experience and individual circumstance, visualizing the complications of such dualities. Following a foreword by Wim Wenders, international contributors explore the themes she addresses in her films, such as kinship and landscape, neo-colonialism and New French Extremity. Original interviews with an editor, actor and two composers familiar with Denis's working style and with Denis herself, also reveal fresh facets of this intrepid filmmaker.

Reviews

This book compiles insightful essays and interviews concerning the work of one of the most innovative and particular narrative filmmakers of our time -- Claire Denis. I feel so lucky to have this remarkable body of films accessible to my consciousness! Thank you, Claire Denis. Jim Jarmusch Claire Denis's films are unequalled in contemporary cinema in their political rigour, sensitivity, artistic verve, and sheer sensuality. This beautiful, exploratory book responds to these films through interviews with the director and her collaborators, photographs and tributes, and through a series of coruscating critical essays from the finest writers in the field. Emma Wilson, Professor of French Literature and the Visual Arts, Cambridge University. Marjorie Vecchio has put together a stunning volume, full of intellectual verve and breathtaking insight that throws light on the work and critical impact of Claire Denis. Unpretentious yet spot on in terms of philosophical framing, the contributions will occupy a central place in the ever-growing archives of film criticism and the theoretical soundtrack that accompany every screening of our ability to think. Avital Ronell, Philosopher, New York University.

Author Bio

Marjorie Vecchio is a curator. In 2009 she was selected as the inaugural Fort Foundation Art Scholar-in-Residence at Columbus State University to work on this book.