Catherine Belkhodja

On the outskirts of civilisation, three young women, Magalie, Marie-Steph and Barbara live a desperate life together. Drowning in alcohol, they both lust for and hate one another, coupling like animals. Yet gradually they become enmeshed in a complex game of love and domination. Magalie, the ringleader, subjugates through her male power, and bestial charisma. Simple Marie-Steph, her younger sister, remains in the background, and Barbara, unaware of her own prettiness, has joined the pack because she loves Magalie. One day, at Magalie’s instigation, and almost out of boredom, they hold up a bakery and kill the baker with a buckshot gun. Life gradually resumes, but nothing is the same.

Marion is a 14 year old girl, on holidays at the sea. She is in conflict with her mother and family. She meets a man there, to whom she feels close. Back in Paris, she goes to see him again. For the first time, she is going to make love.

The French computer programmer Laura inherits the task of making a computer game of the Battle of Okinawa in Japan during World War 2. She searches the Internet for information on the battle, and interviews Japanese experts and witnesses. The extraordinary circumstances of the Battle of Okinawa lead Laura to reflect deeply on her own life and humanity in general, particularly the influence of history and memories.

A cinematic haiku by Chris Marker.

A collection of three short 'haiku videos' by Chris Marker. The first haiku, 'Yanka / Tchaika', shows the river Seine passing under a bridge. A bird in flight stays motionless in the air. The second haiku, 'Owl Gets in Your Eyes', shows Catherine Belkhodja smoking a cigarette while a superimposed shot of an owl in flight fades in and out over her face. The third haiku is a tribute to the Lumière brothers. In an homage to their style, Marker documents an event of daily life in only a minute, choosing to film work on the Petite Centure (a Parisian railway) in May 1994. Due to the work, no train actually passes and we are simply shown desolate train tracks, making the haiku a dry parody of 'L'Arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat'.

Some months after the fall of the Berlin wall, during the time of federal elections in Germany in 1990, Chris Marker shot this passionate documentary, reflecting the state of the place and its spirit with remarkable acuity.

When Éric and Marie go to meet their parents at the harbor for the holidays, the latter are victims of an overnight hit-and-run. Marie hides the truth from Éric, investigates the accident alone, and soon finds the presumed culprit.

Jean is a successful painter who leaves his mistress, though he stops intermittently to phone her with explanations. Sometimes she is responsive but other times hangs up on him. Meanwhile, a 16-year-old male prostitute with whom Jean had a brief homosexual affair stalks the painter.

Antoine is an accountant, uptight and withdrawn, married to Edith, who picks out his clothes and shoes. He's assigned to a fitness gymnasium for a month to straighten out their books. The owner, M. Roland, encourages Antoine to use the facilities, including the massages, so Antoine goes to Dominique, a muscular African. In these sessions, Antoine discovers that the pain is comforting, and Dominique finds the accountant ideal for his own sadism. When Dominique breaks Antoine's arm and then goes to the hospital to take Antoine away, Antoine confesses his fascination with and fear of death. With Dominique's help, the accountant breaks all earthly ties to confront his fear.

A bank clerk is given an unusual retirement gift, a high class call girl. Unaware that he has been 'set up' by colleagues the man goes with the girl to Venice where he enjoys his new found virility.