Remembering Chantal Akerman (With Justine Smith)

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She was born to Holocaust survivors and grew up poor in Belgium. She made her first film at 18. She came to New York with barely an understanding of English at the age of 21, where entering the world of avant-garde cinema. At 24, she made what is considered one of the greatest film's of all time, a break through for both minimalist cinema and feminist cinema. Her next feature ranks among the greatest documentaries ever made. Her career lasted almost 50 years, until last week, when Chantal Akerman died at the age of 65, leaving an array of masterpieces: Jeanne Dielman, News From Home, Rendezvous With Anna, Golden Eighties, and Almayer's Folly (among many more waiting to be discovered). In this special bonus issue, Peter Skypes (No Home Movie-style) with Montreal based critic Justine Smith on the legacy and impact of one of cinema's most essential heroes.

Six films by Chantal Akerman are featured for free on Hulu, including News From Home and Jeanne Dielman. Almayer's Folly is currently streaming on YouTube. 
More writing by Justine Smith can be found on her blog and her Twitter.

Notes and Links from the Conversation
—Audio the interview with Chantal Akerman is taken by permission from Ricky D'Ambrose's 2013 interview with her.
—Justine Smith on No Home Movie from the Locarno Film Festival premiere.
—More on I Don't Belong Anywhere: The Cinema of Chantal Akerman
—Peter's (old) writing on Jeanne Dielman: initial viewing, the "milk scene," and discoveries of 2012.
—Cindy Sherman's film programming at the MoMA.
—Stream Akerman's One Day Pina Asked... on Amazon.
—Darren Hughes's 2011 interview with Akerman
—A brief biography of Akerman by Dinita Smith in 1998.
—La Chambre (1972).

Theme Music: “Forward” by Northbound

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