May 14, 2018
Celebrating Chantal Akerman
This Doodle’s Key Themes
Today we celebrate the life of Chantal Akerman, a legend among feminist and avant garde filmmakers through history. Born in Brussels, Belgium in 1950, Akerman was especially close to her mother, a Holocaust survivor from Poland, who encouraged her to pursue a career.
This relationship between mother and daughter, as well as the daily, intimate lives of women, greatly influenced her filmmaking. Her most well-known film, Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (Jeanne Dielman, 23 Commerce Quay, 1080 Brussels), debuted on May 14, 1975 and is now considered one of the most influential pieces in feminist film. Her works brought viewers into the most intimate moments of womens’ lives, highlighting the beauty and tension women experience in the most routine chores of life.
Akerman’s works have been recognized in exhibits around the world, including the Museum for Contemporary Art in Antwerp, Belgium; MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts and the Centre George Pompidou, in Paris. Through her movies and the conversations they began, her influence on cinema and feminism live on.
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