Central to the BFI’s celebration of Chantal Akerman, alongside a near complete retrospective at BFI Southbank, Chantal Akerman: Adventures in Perception, BFI Blu-ray is releasing a two volume limited edition Blu-Ray box set, representing the first significant release of Akerman’s work on any format in the UK. Chantal Akerman: Volume 1, 1967-1978, a 5-disc box set, features 14 landmark films spanning 11 years of Akerman’s filmography. Chantal Akerman: Volume 2, 1982-2015 will be released in June 2025.

Born in Brussels in 1950 to parents who had survived the Holocaust, Chantal Akerman directed more than 40 films (short, medium and feature-length) over almost 50 years, spanning fiction, documentary, musical comedy and literary adaptation. Today, she is regarded as one of the most important and influential directors of her generation. Akerman’s personal, non-conformist body of work has resonated with cinephiles globally and become increasingly relevant since her death in 2015, with filmmakers including Joanna Hogg (The Eternal Daughter), Céline Sciamma (Petite Maman), Alice Diop (Saint Omer), Sean Baker (Anora), Payal Kapadia (All We Imagine As Light) and Jacques Audiard (Emilia Pérez), among others, citing her radical and experimental approach to cinema as a direct inspiration.

Although best known for her landmark second narrative feature, Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975), which topped the Sight and Sound Greatest Films of All Time Poll in 2022 (becoming the first female-directed film to take the number one spot since the poll’s inception in 1952), Akerman never stopped rebelling, continuously experimenting throughout her career to challenge the formal and narrative boundaries of film.

THE FILMS:

• INSAS Entrance exam films x 4 (1967)
• Saute ma ville (1968)
• L’Enfant aime ou Je joue à être une Femme Mariée (1971)
• Hôtel Monterey (1972)
• La Chambre (1972)
• Hanging Out Yonkers (1973)
• Le 15/8 (1973)
• Je tu il elle (1974)
• Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)
• News from Home (1976)
• Les Rendez-vous d’Anna (1978)

ABOUT THE PRESENTATIONS:

The films have been restored by CINEMATEK (Royal Film Archive of Belgium), with the exception of Le 15/8, which was restored by L’Immagine Ritrovata, Bologna. INSAS entrance exam films: original 8mm materials were transferred in High Definition and are presented at 16fps. Saute ma ville: the original 35mm negative which was scanned in 2K. The original monoaural soundtrack was remastered from an optical soundtrack positive. L’Enfant aimé, ou Je joue à être une femme mariée: a 16mm duplicate positive was scanned in 2K. The original monoaural soundtrack was remastered from the 16mm magnetic final mix. La Chambre and Hôtel Monterey: the 16mm reversal positives were scanned in 2K. Hanging Out Yonkers: this incomplete film with no sound was transferred in high definition from original 16mm materials. Le 15/8: a 16mm duplicate negative and positive print were scanned in 2K. The original monoaural soundtrack was remastered from an optical soundtrack positive. Je tu il elle: the 35mm original camera negative was scanned in 2K. The original monoaural soundtrack was remastered from a 35mm optical soundtrack positive. Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles: the 35mm original camera negative was scanned in 4K and restored in 2K. The original monoaural soundtrack was remastered from a 35mm sound negative and a 35mm positive print. News From Home: a 16mm duplicate positive was scanned in 2K. The original monoaural soundtrack was remastered from the 16mm magnetic final mix. Les Rendez-vous d’Anna: the 35mm original camera negative was scanned in 4K. The original monoaural soundtrack was remastered from a 35mm optical soundtrack positive.

Chantal Akerman: Volume 1, 1967-1978 will be released as a Limited Edition (2000 copies) 5-Disc Blu-ray set by the BFI on 24 February 2025 at the RRP of £54.99.

BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES:

• Autour de Jeanne Dielman (68 mins): documentary by Sami Frey, and co-edited by Akerman, which explores the on-set relationships between Akerman, Delphine Seyrig and the crew
• Audio commentaries on Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles and Les Rendez-vous d’Anna by Kate Rennebohm, and on Jeanne Dielman by Simon Howell of the Akerman Year podcast
• Audio commentary on Saute ma ville and Je tu il elle by So Mayer and Selina Robertson
• Chantal Akerman 1976: An Interview (1976, 59 mins): the filmmaker discusses her early films with B Ruby Rich
• Interview with cinematographer Babette Mangolte (32 mins)
• Entretien avec ma mère, Natalia Akerman (2007, 30 mins): Chantal Akerman talks to her mother, Natalia
• Interview with actor Aurore Clement (18 mins)
• Leaving Home – New World Vision (2024, 14 mins): artist Sarah Wood meditates on News From Home in a newly commissioned video essay
• 72 page Perfect-bound book with new essays by Lillian Crawford, Catherine Bray, Diana Cipriano, Justine Smith, Daniella Shreir, Pamela Hutchinson, Jerry White, Sarah Wood and Hannah Strong
• Archive articles by Janet Bergstrom and Laura Mulvey