About Me
Chris Marker is a French film director, writer, multimedia artist, and photographer, best known for his seminal science fiction film essay, "La Jetée" and groundbreaking documentary film "Sans Soleil." He was born Christian Francois Bouche-Villeneuve in Paris, France in 1921. Marker got the inspiration for his nom de plume, literally from looking at a pen.
Even though he has often been referred to as one of the greatest filmmakers of the 20th century, his humility has become the stuff of legends. Only a few photos of him exist, and he almost never grants interviews. However, he did have this to say about the famous little Tokyo bar named after his masterpiece "La Jetée" in a 2003 interview conducted by mail. "To know that for almost 40 years, a group of Japanese are getting slightly drunk beneath my images every night - that's worth more to me than any number of Oscars!"
Jean-Luc Godard once famously declared that "cinema is truth at 24 frames per second." Chris Marker can be said to have turned that notion on its head, as he is often credited with creating a cinematic genre known as the "film essay." "La Jetée," his most well-known film essay and one of the most influential science fiction films ever made, is a 28-minute short film composed entirely of black and white still photographs, except for one hanting close-up in which a woman flutters her eyelids. As with most of Marker's works, it explores the themes of time and memory. "Twelve Monkeys" by Terry Gilliam is an adaptation of "La Jetée."
"He knew that there was no way out of time. The haunted moment he had been granted to see as a child was the moment of his own death." -- the narrator's last words from "La Jetée."
"La Jetée" is one of the strangest movies ever conceived, and also one of the most beautiful and sad. -- Senses of Cinema
"Sans Soleil" is a handbook of the infinite ways in which it is possible to experience the world..."La Jetée" is one of the most haunting pictures ever made. -- Time
"La Jetée" is ranked #66 by The Village Voice on its "100 Best Films of the 20th Century" list.
Chris Marker is one of the great cineastes of our time. -- Film Comment
Chris Marker is one of the most radical artists of the 20th and now 21st centures. - Filmmaker
