Chantal Akerman by Chantal Akerman

When Chantal Akerman was invited to participate in a French series on filmmakers portrayed by other filmmakers (Cinéastes de Notre Temps), all the directors she chose had already been picked by others. Jokingly, she suggested herself as subject and it was accepted. Her idea was to take excerpts of the work she had amassed thus far and cut them into a self-portrait. However, her sponsors insisted on having her in the image as well, speaking and introducing herself. “And that,” she claims, "was when my problems began." The film is composed as though it were a letter in two parts; the first part, a written one and the second, composed of her images.