Chris Marker

This silent film shows the jury voting for Chris Marker, who receives the Louis Lumière award for his film ¡Cuba sí!

Filmmaker William Klein documents the Paris student riots that occurred in May of 1968.

A desktop documentary about the online afterlife of the late French filmmaker, Chris Marker.

A woman narrates the thoughts of a world traveler, meditations on time and memory expressed in words and images from places as far-flung as Japan, Guinea-Bissau, Iceland, and San Francisco.

A document of Perestroika, to be viewed as (nearly) unedited rushes of a voyage to Moscow, preserved by compatriot Costa-Gavras. Says Émilie Cauquy of the French Cinémathèque, "Astonishing unpublished travel diary, shot by Chris Marker in analog video on the occasion of a screening of L'Aveu in Moscow in 1990 [...] Armed with his camcorder, Marker films and records the comments, takes on the role of contemporary capital according to this unique ethnographic method that he has perfected".

Agnès Varda travels around the world to meet friends, artists and filmmakers for an expansive view of the global contemporary art scene.

Ten years after the death of iconic French filmmaker, Chris Marker. A filmmaker, hoping to rediscover that unique sensibility against the uncertainty of the new century, returns to the places synonymous with those incomparable and unforgettable films-- From the cat cemetery of Sans Soleil, to the mausoleum of The Last Bolshevik; The caves of Level Five to the rooftops of The Case of the Grinning Cat. A biographical portrait of one of the 20th century's greatest and most misunderstood filmmakers.

Chris Marker’s portrait of Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky documents the director at work on his final film, The Sacrifice, during the last year of his life. Interweaving behind-the-scenes footage with excerpts from Tarkovsky’s earlier works, Marker crafts a moving reflection on the artist’s vision, methods, and enduring legacy.

An intimate chronicle of the shooting of Ran (1985), a film directed by the legendary Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa.

Posthumous portrait of Chris Marker, the elusive French filmmaker- essayist, traveller, photographer and cat-lover. Two filmmakers, Jean-Marie Barbe and Arnaud Lambert, propose a chronological journey through his thoughts and cinematographic work: from the cartography of new political utopia in the 1950s, from Siberia to La Habana, to its relentless defeat, starting with Chile; from his review of cinéma-verité to the great television experience in "L'Héritage de la chouette", which traces a journey through classical Greece, organized into twelve words.

German director Wim Wenders tries to explore the Tokyo that was depicted in the films of Yasujiro Ozu and finds a very different city.

Filmmaking icon Agnès Varda, the award-winning director regarded by many as the grandmother of the French new wave, turns the camera on herself with this unique autobiographical documentary. Composed of film excerpts and elaborate dramatic re-creations, Varda's self-portrait recounts the highs and lows of her professional career, the many friendships that affected her life and her longtime marriage to cinematic giant Jacques Demy.

Two friends (and legendary French New Wave filmmakers) meet in real and virtual worlds.

What was your first desire? What did you long for most? Arielle Dombasle put these questions to a wide circle of famous people.

Chris Marker’s Tokyo Days follows the filmmaker and actress Arielle Dombasle as they wander through Tokyo, beginning with an encounter with a live mannequin in a shop window. Mixing casual observation with playful edits, Marker captures everyday scenes—from subways to markets—in a personal video diary of the city.

Filmed during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, Chris Marker’s The Koumiko Mystery follows Koumiko Muraoka, a young Japanese woman born in Manchuria and educated in France. As Marker films her wandering through Tokyo, she reflects on identity, memory, and what it means to be Japanese in a rapidly changing world.

This 1973 French documentary explores the conflict between modern values and material comforts in Japan and the more traditional obligations (giri) and culture which are still the real backbone of the society. Among the topics touched on are the Osaka Expo, battles against pollution, and Japanese leftist movements.

Laura, a French programmer, inherits the task of creating a game about the World War II Battle of Okinawa. Her research and interviews with Japanese experts and witnesses prompt her to reflect on life, humanity, and the lasting influence of history and memories.

Candid interviews of ordinary people on the meaning of happiness, an often amorphous and inarticulable notion that evokes more basic and fundamentally egalitarian ideals of self-betterment, prosperity, tolerance, economic opportunity, and freedom.

A faceless traveller takes a journey through the barren reaches of a Siberia caught between tradition and modernity, imparting his philosophical musings on its people and places, wildlife and culture.

Chris Marker and François Reichenbach document the massive anti–Vietnam War protest held in Washington, D.C., on October 21, 1967, where more than 100,000 demonstrators gathered at the Lincoln Memorial before marching on the Pentagon. Filmed amid the crowd, the short captures the tension, idealism, and growing radicalism of the American peace movement.

A woman narrates the thoughts of a world traveler, meditations on time and memory expressed in words and images from places as far-flung as Japan, Guinea-Bissau, Iceland, and San Francisco.

A woman narrates the thoughts of a world traveler, meditations on time and memory expressed in words and images from places as far-flung as Japan, Guinea-Bissau, Iceland, and San Francisco.

A man confronts his past during an experiment that attempts to find a solution to the problems of a post-apocalyptic world caused by a world war.

A man confronts his past during an experiment that attempts to find a solution to the problems of a post-apocalyptic world caused by a world war.

Chris Marker’s documentary traces the course of the Cuban Revolution, from its early optimism to the aftermath of the Bay of Pigs invasion. Through on-the-ground footage and interviews—including two with Fidel Castro—the film captures the spirit and contradictions of a nation in transformation.

Chris Marker’s documentary traces the course of the Cuban Revolution, from its early optimism to the aftermath of the Bay of Pigs invasion. Through on-the-ground footage and interviews—including two with Fidel Castro—the film captures the spirit and contradictions of a nation in transformation.

Chris Marker’s documentary traces the course of the Cuban Revolution, from its early optimism to the aftermath of the Bay of Pigs invasion. Through on-the-ground footage and interviews—including two with Fidel Castro—the film captures the spirit and contradictions of a nation in transformation.

A personal history of France, told through photos by French photographer Denise Bellon.

A personal history of France, told through photos by French photographer Denise Bellon.

An historical "if"

In 1978, just after Le fond de l'Air Est Rouge, which mercilessly analyzed the previous ten years of the revolutionary left's momentum until its collapse, Chris Marker made this complementary piece entitled Quand le Siècle a Pris Forme (Guerre et Révolution).

What else ?

Commissioned by the journal Présence Africaine, this short documentary examines how African art is devalued and alienated through colonial and museum contexts. Beginning with the question of why African works are confined to ethnographic displays while Greek or Egyptian art is celebrated, the film became a landmark of anti-colonial cinema and was banned in France for eight years.

Part of Chris Marker’s Bestiaire (Petit Bestiaire) collection, Cat Listening to Music simply observes a cat responding to the sound of a piano.

A personal history of France, told through photos by French photographer Denise Bellon.

A document of Perestroika, to be viewed as (nearly) unedited rushes of a voyage to Moscow, preserved by compatriot Costa-Gavras. Says Émilie Cauquy of the French Cinémathèque, "Astonishing unpublished travel diary, shot by Chris Marker in analog video on the occasion of a screening of L'Aveu in Moscow in 1990 [...] Armed with his camcorder, Marker films and records the comments, takes on the role of contemporary capital according to this unique ethnographic method that he has perfected".

Chris Marker’s A Grin Without a Cat is an epic political essay tracing the rise and decline of the global left from the 1960s to the 1970s. Through archival footage and commentary, the film examines revolutionary movements in France, Latin America, and beyond, reflecting on the ideals, failures, and fading hopes of a generation.

Chris Marker’s A Grin Without a Cat is an epic political essay tracing the rise and decline of the global left from the 1960s to the 1970s. Through archival footage and commentary, the film examines revolutionary movements in France, Latin America, and beyond, reflecting on the ideals, failures, and fading hopes of a generation.

Laura, a French programmer, inherits the task of creating a game about the World War II Battle of Okinawa. Her research and interviews with Japanese experts and witnesses prompt her to reflect on life, humanity, and the lasting influence of history and memories.

Laura, a French programmer, inherits the task of creating a game about the World War II Battle of Okinawa. Her research and interviews with Japanese experts and witnesses prompt her to reflect on life, humanity, and the lasting influence of history and memories.

Filmed along the Emeryville Mudflats near San Francisco, Junkopia captures a landscape of sculptural installations made from driftwood and discarded materials. Chris Marker, John Chapman, and Frank Simeone transform these ephemeral artworks—set against highways and the distant city—into a quiet meditation on art, decay, and the modern environment.

Filmed along the Emeryville Mudflats near San Francisco, Junkopia captures a landscape of sculptural installations made from driftwood and discarded materials. Chris Marker, John Chapman, and Frank Simeone transform these ephemeral artworks—set against highways and the distant city—into a quiet meditation on art, decay, and the modern environment.

Filmed along the Emeryville Mudflats near San Francisco, Junkopia captures a landscape of sculptural installations made from driftwood and discarded materials. Chris Marker, John Chapman, and Frank Simeone transform these ephemeral artworks—set against highways and the distant city—into a quiet meditation on art, decay, and the modern environment.

A documentary on Soviet filmmaker Aleksandr Medvedkin, examining his tumultuous career, the rediscovery of his masterpiece Happiness, and Russia's struggles over the course of the 20th Century.

An inventor builds a homemade spacecraft, and uses it to have various adventures, including peeping at women, visiting ‘human’ planets, and becoming involved in intergalactic warfare.

Like more and more internet users, if you didn't watch TV in 2007, you'll think twice about it in 2008. Because Guillaume-en-Egypte, Chris Marker's freelance cat, has watched it a lot; from Al Jazeera to CNN via Russian television and animal channels. And he came out unscathed, even offering us a special zapping.

Like more and more internet users, if you didn't watch TV in 2007, you'll think twice about it in 2008. Because Guillaume-en-Egypte, Chris Marker's freelance cat, has watched it a lot; from Al Jazeera to CNN via Russian television and animal channels. And he came out unscathed, even offering us a special zapping.

Chris Marker’s The Case of the Grinning Cat (Chats perchés) follows the appearance of the yellow M. Chat graffiti across Paris in the early 2000s, using it as a lens to reflect on art, protest, and politics in the post-9/11 era. Blending street imagery with footage of global and local unrest, the film serves as a playful yet pointed companion to Marker’s earlier A Grin Without a Cat.

Filmed during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, Chris Marker’s The Koumiko Mystery follows Koumiko Muraoka, a young Japanese woman born in Manchuria and educated in France. As Marker films her wandering through Tokyo, she reflects on identity, memory, and what it means to be Japanese in a rapidly changing world.

Filmed during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, Chris Marker’s The Koumiko Mystery follows Koumiko Muraoka, a young Japanese woman born in Manchuria and educated in France. As Marker films her wandering through Tokyo, she reflects on identity, memory, and what it means to be Japanese in a rapidly changing world.

After a military coup d'état, political dissidents seek refuge in a foreign embassy. Over the next few days, they are joined by more and more people who are fleeing the military assault: teachers, students, intellectuals, artists, and politicians.

After a military coup d'état, political dissidents seek refuge in a foreign embassy. Over the next few days, they are joined by more and more people who are fleeing the military assault: teachers, students, intellectuals, artists, and politicians.

Candid interviews of ordinary people on the meaning of happiness, an often amorphous and inarticulable notion that evokes more basic and fundamentally egalitarian ideals of self-betterment, prosperity, tolerance, economic opportunity, and freedom.

A faceless traveller takes a journey through the barren reaches of a Siberia caught between tradition and modernity, imparting his philosophical musings on its people and places, wildlife and culture.

Chris Marker’s documentary traces the course of the Cuban Revolution, from its early optimism to the aftermath of the Bay of Pigs invasion. Through on-the-ground footage and interviews—including two with Fidel Castro—the film captures the spirit and contradictions of a nation in transformation.

Chris Marker’s portrait of Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky documents the director at work on his final film, The Sacrifice, during the last year of his life. Interweaving behind-the-scenes footage with excerpts from Tarkovsky’s earlier works, Marker crafts a moving reflection on the artist’s vision, methods, and enduring legacy.

This half-hour documentary by Chris Marker explores Aleksandr Medvedkin’s 1930s “Cine-Train,” a mobile film studio equipped with cameras, editing rooms, animation stations, and a laboratory. Traveling across the Soviet countryside, the train’s crew documented agricultural and industrial life—from Ukrainian harvests to southern steelworks—while living and working in cramped shared quarters.

Documentary about economic development in Cuba, particularly the effort to boost output of sugar cane. This film is made from a compilation of newsreel footage from the Cuban film institute and from Santiago Alvarez's film Despegue a las 18.00 (Departure 18:00).

Olympia 52 is a 1952 French documentary film about the '52 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. Olympia 52 was produced by Peuple et Culture, a nonprofit organization, and it was the first feature-length work directed by the French filmmaker Chris Marker, who also co-wrote the narrative and served as one of the production’s four cinematographers.

Made for the centenary of France’s trade union laws, Chris Marker’s 2084 imagines a future in which a computer looks back on the labor movement of the 20th century. Mixing documentary reflection with speculative fiction, the film envisions contrasting paths for the future of workers and unions.

Chris Marker’s travel essay Sunday in Peking transforms a long-held childhood dream into a cinematic journey through Beijing. Blending documentary observation with reflective narration, Marker captures the city’s rhythms, traditions, and everyday life in mid-1950s China with his signature curiosity and lyricism.

Chris Marker’s documentary portrays Israel twelve years after its founding, blending location and archival footage to explore its diverse communities—from kibbutzim and Arab villages to Orthodox quarters and tourist sites. The “struggle” of the title reflects the nation’s search for identity in a rapidly changing region.

Chris Marker’s documentary portrays Israel twelve years after its founding, blending location and archival footage to explore its diverse communities—from kibbutzim and Arab villages to Orthodox quarters and tourist sites. The “struggle” of the title reflects the nation’s search for identity in a rapidly changing region.

Documentary on the events provoked by the systematic attack of imperialism on the Popular Unity government in Chile, presided by Salvador Allende.

This documentary chronicles an Yves Montand concert for Chilean refugees in France.

Composed entirely of still photographs taken by Chris Marker across 26 countries, If I Had Four Dromedaries presents a dialogue between three voices reflecting on the meaning of images and travel. Through this photo-essay form, Marker explores the relationship between still and moving images and the act of seeing itself.

Composed entirely of still photographs taken by Chris Marker across 26 countries, If I Had Four Dromedaries presents a dialogue between three voices reflecting on the meaning of images and travel. Through this photo-essay form, Marker explores the relationship between still and moving images and the act of seeing itself.

Chris Marker and François Reichenbach document the massive anti–Vietnam War protest held in Washington, D.C., on October 21, 1967, where more than 100,000 demonstrators gathered at the Lincoln Memorial before marching on the Pentagon. Filmed amid the crowd, the short captures the tension, idealism, and growing radicalism of the American peace movement.

Co-directed by Chris Marker and Mario Ruspoli, Three Cheers for the Whale traces humanity’s complex relationship with whales—from reverence to exploitation—culminating in a stark depiction of industrial whaling. Combining archival imagery, commentary, and documentary footage, the film offers both a historical reflection and a call for ecological awareness.

A documentary on Soviet filmmaker Aleksandr Medvedkin, examining his tumultuous career, the rediscovery of his masterpiece Happiness, and Russia's struggles over the course of the 20th Century.

A documentary on Soviet filmmaker Aleksandr Medvedkin, examining his tumultuous career, the rediscovery of his masterpiece Happiness, and Russia's struggles over the course of the 20th Century.

Artur London was arrested in 1951 in a Stalinist purge, imprisoned and tortured for two years and forced to confess in the Slansky Trial, one of the last Stalinist "show trials" in Eastern Europe. The documentary explores some of the reasons for the controversy aroused by Costa-Gavras' The Confession, which had been accused of being anti-communist, and it highlights the political importance of filmmaking which, by its nature, is a fiction intended for the general public.

An affectionate portrait of the left-wing publisher and bookshop owner François Maspero, who was a contributor to Far From Vietnam and would later publish the commentary to Le Fond de l’air est rouge. Maspero is one of the most satisfying and likeable of Marker’s films from this period, achieving an exemplary balance of quirky human warmth with a clear and inventive form of political argument.

Chris Marker’s portrait of Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky documents the director at work on his final film, The Sacrifice, during the last year of his life. Interweaving behind-the-scenes footage with excerpts from Tarkovsky’s earlier works, Marker crafts a moving reflection on the artist’s vision, methods, and enduring legacy.

Chris Marker’s portrait of Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky documents the director at work on his final film, The Sacrifice, during the last year of his life. Interweaving behind-the-scenes footage with excerpts from Tarkovsky’s earlier works, Marker crafts a moving reflection on the artist’s vision, methods, and enduring legacy.

In 1973, after the failure of wage negotiations with the management of the Lip watch factories, the workers went on strike. Marker was responsible for assembling clips from various photographers into one cohesive film.

A portrait of the Chilean artist Roberto Matta leading Marker on a wise and funny private guided tour of his solo exhibition at the Pompidou Center.

This is where sizzling fire still smoldering in a war which everybody talked a lot and which we rarely had the opportunity to hear the actors. Once removed their image of poor refugees on the roads, the Kosovars have strangely disappeared from the media world and Kosovo is again an abstraction. Bajram Rexhepi is entirely concrete. Surgeon by profession, he's a surgeon that fought the war in the ranks of the KLA, the Kosovo Liberation Army. With the upcoming of peace, his unquestioned authority made him the elected mayor of Mitrovica. The use made of this authority may undermine some misconceptions.

Made entirely on Roger Wagner's HyperStudio software, Chris Marker explores set theory, using Noah's Ark as an example.

Prime Time in the Camps is one of a series of Chris Marker’s short films on the war in Yugoslavia. Featuring behind-the-scenes footage of the camp’s TV crews in action, with interviews and excerpts from the TV programs, the film captures the importance of grassroots media and the need for people to share their stories.

Part of Chris Marker’s Bestiaire (Petit Bestiaire) collection, An Owl Is an Owl Is an Owl is a short video meditation on the gaze and movement of owls—sometimes still, sometimes in flight—observed with the quiet, rhythmic attention typical of Marker’s later video work.

An oddly rhythmic and balletic tape emerges from the juxtaposition of an elephant lumbering around his enclosure at the zoo and elegant music by Stravinsky.

Originally displayed as part of an installation consisting of one metal stand, 5 monitors, 5 laser disc players, a computer face interbox, 5 video discs with 20 min. sequences: The Journey, The Face, Captions, The Gesture, The Waltz; 18 B&W video stills, 10 film posters, and a soundtrack: "The Perfect Tapeur", solo piano pieces lasting 59 min. 32 sec.

Berlin 1990 travels the streets and the political landscape of the recently re-unified Berlin. In the tumultuous atmosphere of 1990, we watch Berliners walk through check points manned by soldiers, past street vendors selling sausages and "actual" pieces of the Berlin Wall, and watch as they watch the election results come in for another "new" Germany.

Chris Marker’s Bullfight in Okinawa is a bizarre, 4 min documentary that introduces viewers to Japan’s subterranean past time of bullfighting. Part of Markers five-film “Bestiary” series, Bullfight employs observational documentary techniques and, in particular, Marker’s camerawork is impressive — tight framed shots, free-hand pans, and quick zooms all contribute to the film’s urgent sense of tension — and, if it weren’t for the suspense inducing music, this short-gem would be damn close to pure objective documentary cinema.

A quietly observed montage of animals in captivity—seals, leopards, gorillas, wolves, monkeys, ostriches, and others—Zoo Piece shifts perspective from spectacle to confinement, reflecting on the boundaries between observation and imprisonment.

A documentary look at striking workers in a textile plant in Besançon, France, centering on interviews with workers about their motivations for becoming involved with the union and the struggles of their day to day life.

Chris Marker’s Tokyo Days follows the filmmaker and actress Arielle Dombasle as they wander through Tokyo, beginning with an encounter with a live mannequin in a shop window. Mixing casual observation with playful edits, Marker captures everyday scenes—from subways to markets—in a personal video diary of the city.

Made entirely on Roger Wagner's HyperStudio software, Chris Marker explores set theory, using Noah's Ark as an example.

A young man, who served as a peacekeeper in Bosnia and Herzegovina for a few months during the war, recounts his experiences. Throughout the film, we only see his face filmed in close-up, along with a few photos. The interview acts as a strong testimony to the failure of the international community in the Yugoslav crisis.

A collection of three short “video haikus” by Chris Marker. Yanka / Tchaika observes the Seine beneath a bridge; Owl Gets in Your Eyes features Catherine Belkhodja with an owl superimposed in flight; and Petite Ceinture pays homage to the Lumière brothers by filming empty train tracks along Paris’s disused railway.

A collection of three short “video haikus” by Chris Marker. Yanka / Tchaika observes the Seine beneath a bridge; Owl Gets in Your Eyes features Catherine Belkhodja with an owl superimposed in flight; and Petite Ceinture pays homage to the Lumière brothers by filming empty train tracks along Paris’s disused railway.

A collection of three short “video haikus” by Chris Marker. Yanka / Tchaika observes the Seine beneath a bridge; Owl Gets in Your Eyes features Catherine Belkhodja with an owl superimposed in flight; and Petite Ceinture pays homage to the Lumière brothers by filming empty train tracks along Paris’s disused railway.

Filmed during the solar eclipse of August 11, 1999, Eclipse observes adults and children across France watching the darkened sky through protective glasses. Marker captures their varied reactions—wonder, curiosity, and indifference—as day briefly turns to night.

Chris Marker’s A Grin Without a Cat is an epic political essay tracing the rise and decline of the global left from the 1960s to the 1970s. Through archival footage and commentary, the film examines revolutionary movements in France, Latin America, and beyond, reflecting on the ideals, failures, and fading hopes of a generation.

A series of 43 documentary shorts, directed (without credit) by several famous French filmmakers and each running between two and four minutes. Each "tract" espouses a leftist political viewpoint through the filmed depiction of real-life events, including workers' strikes and the events of Paris in May '68.

Chris Marker's cat and rat.

Popular neighborhoods that are open-air prisons. Where beauty flirts with violence. The kingdom of the insubordinate children, veterans of the lead. A garden of amputated flowers, which with crutches on their backs, still grow and dance.

Olympia 52 is a 1952 French documentary film about the '52 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. Olympia 52 was produced by Peuple et Culture, a nonprofit organization, and it was the first feature-length work directed by the French filmmaker Chris Marker, who also co-wrote the narrative and served as one of the production’s four cinematographers.

Chris Marker’s The Case of the Grinning Cat (Chats perchés) follows the appearance of the yellow M. Chat graffiti across Paris in the early 2000s, using it as a lens to reflect on art, protest, and politics in the post-9/11 era. Blending street imagery with footage of global and local unrest, the film serves as a playful yet pointed companion to Marker’s earlier A Grin Without a Cat.

Commissioned by the journal Présence Africaine, this short documentary examines how African art is devalued and alienated through colonial and museum contexts. Beginning with the question of why African works are confined to ethnographic displays while Greek or Egyptian art is celebrated, the film became a landmark of anti-colonial cinema and was banned in France for eight years.

Chris Marker’s work, "Zapping Zone (Proposals for an imaginary television)" was produced by the Mnam-Centre Pompidou in the framework of the exhibition "Passages de l’Image" in 1990. Composed of 13 television sets, 7 computer stations (Apple II GS), 4 luminous displays containing 80 slides and 10 photomontages, this large interactive installation marked the entry of digital script into the art field at the dawn of the World Wide Web. Up until 2007, and Chris Marker’s last presentation before his death, the artist produced endlessly, building up an archive of 183 disks of work.

A tour of Ouvroir, the virtual museum Chris Marker created in the online world Second Life with collaborator Max Moswitzer. Guided by Marker’s cat avatar, Guillaume-en-Égypte, visitors explore a 3D island of galleries, cinemas, and reading rooms inspired by Bioy Casares’s The Invention of Morel. The film documents this digital extension of Marker’s lifelong exploration of memory, art, and technology.

An experimental meditation on Times Square's marquees and iconic advertising that captures the concurrently seedy and dazzling aspects of New York's Great White Way.

The vice-minister of Foreign Affairs of Czechoslovakia, knowing he's being watched and followed, is one day arrested and put into solitary confinement.

Filmmaker Alain Resnais documents the atrocities behind the walls of Hitler's concentration camps.

Everyday life of fishermen on Brittany's Ile de Sein.

A modern Miami adaptation of the 1962 French short film "La Jetee", the film recounts Luke's (Uncle Luke, legendary rapper from the hip-hop group 2 Live Crew) rise to fame as he changes the face of hip-hop and fights for first amendment rights, and later as he ushers Miami into a golden era of peace and prosperity as Mayor. Everything changes when a nuclear meltdown at Turkey Point Power Plant turns Miami into a radioactive wasteland filled with mutants, and Luke is the only survivor left unscathed.

A mother gives her daughter a box full of old, coloured little vinyl records. The daughter may listen to them, but she should never, ever, play the green one.

Part of Chris Marker’s Three Video Haikus series, Owl Gets in Your Eyes observes owls and their young in quiet close-up, capturing their shifting expressions and watchful gaze.

A wonderful tribute to the great Simone Signoret by Chris Marker. Rare documentary, made by movie clips and narration, with many lines Simone Signoret wrote for her autobiography 'La nostalgie n'est plus ce qu'elle était' (Nostalgia is not what it was anymore).

Part of Chris Marker’s Three Video Haikus series, Tchaïka is a brief visual meditation showing an overexposed view of a bridge and the river flowing beneath it.

Part of Chris Marker’s Three Video Haikus series, Petite Ceinture is a brief visual meditation on Paris’s abandoned circular railway, filmed as an homage to the Lumière brothers.

In the fall of 1985, Christo "packed" the Pont Neuf. In the space of a week, enthusiasts, critics and curious people drastically change the perception of this place whose presence has never been felt as much as since it was veiled. And that's what Christo wanted.

A series of 43 documentary shorts, directed (without credit) by several famous French filmmakers and each running between two and four minutes. Each "tract" espouses a leftist political viewpoint through the filmed depiction of real-life events, including workers' strikes and the events of Paris in May '68.

A young man from the far future, bored by his surroundings, blasts off into space with only his cat and some robots for company. On a distant planet he discovers a serene, tranquil culture and falls in love with a girl.

After the Romanian Revolution reached its peak during the Christmas Holidays of 1989, Romania’s Communist patriarch and his wife Elena were sentenced to death by a military court and accordingly gunned down. Chris Marker’s short video-collage Détour Ceauşescu documents how the execution was depicted by France’s national TV-channel TF1.

After the Romanian Revolution reached its peak during the Christmas Holidays of 1989, Romania’s Communist patriarch and his wife Elena were sentenced to death by a military court and accordingly gunned down. Chris Marker’s short video-collage Détour Ceauşescu documents how the execution was depicted by France’s national TV-channel TF1.

An intimate chronicle of the shooting of Ran (1985), a film directed by the legendary Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa.

An intimate chronicle of the shooting of Ran (1985), a film directed by the legendary Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa.

An intimate chronicle of the shooting of Ran (1985), a film directed by the legendary Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa.

Cat film by Chris Marker

Short film about violence in London.

Short film about violence in London.

Cat film by Chris Marker

Chris Marker and François Reichenbach document the massive anti–Vietnam War protest held in Washington, D.C., on October 21, 1967, where more than 100,000 demonstrators gathered at the Lincoln Memorial before marching on the Pentagon. Filmed amid the crowd, the short captures the tension, idealism, and growing radicalism of the American peace movement.

In 1962 Joris Ivens was invited to Chile for teaching and filmmaking. Together with students he made …A Valparaíso, one of his most poetic films. Contrasting the prestigious history of the seaport with the present the film sketches a portrait of the city, built on 42 hills, with its wealth and poverty, its daily life on the streets, the stairs, the rack railways and in the bars. Although the port has lost its importance, the rich past is still present in the impoverished city. The film echoes this ambiguous situation in its dialectical poetic style, interweaving the daily life reality (of 1963) with the history of the city and changing from black and white to colour, finally leaving us with hopeful perspective for the children who are playing on the stairs and hills of this beautiful town.

In seven different parts, Godard, Ivens, Klein, Lelouch, Marker, Resnais, and Varda show their sympathy for the North-Vietnamese army during the Vietnam War.

On September the 4th, 1969, a group of Brazilian revolutionaries kidnap the U.S. ambassador. In exchange for his release, they demand that the Brazilian authorities publish a manifesto they provide, and release 15 political prisoners.

A documentary film about occupational diseases shot in 1957 at the Francolor factory in Oissel. It takes the form of a scientific investigation to discover the origin of a mysterious illness that has infected a worker at the factory.

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.

One of the first filmed portraits of a jazz musician.

Since 1995, the Viennale has invited renowned directors to create short, one-minute films as personal contributions to the festival. Ranging from home movies to political essays, musical sketches to abstract studies, these “little films” form a unique anthology of cinematic moments. 20 Little Films collects a selection of these works, premiering together for the Viennale’s 50th anniversary at the Locarno Film Festival.

In seven different parts, Godard, Ivens, Klein, Lelouch, Marker, Resnais, and Varda show their sympathy for the North-Vietnamese army during the Vietnam War.

The two memories

Set in Zaire, the film follows an expedition exploring the crater of the Niragongo volcano of the Virunga chain, whose eruptions are known for their violence and their massive lava flows.

In seven different parts, Godard, Ivens, Klein, Lelouch, Marker, Resnais, and Varda show their sympathy for the North-Vietnamese army during the Vietnam War.

In seven different parts, Godard, Ivens, Klein, Lelouch, Marker, Resnais, and Varda show their sympathy for the North-Vietnamese army during the Vietnam War.

An absolute unknown work among Marker’s collaborations, made by filmmakers Bill Stephens, Paul and Carole Roussopoulas with Eldridge and Kathleen Cleaver, Congo Oyé was never completed and long-believed lost by all involved.

Made shortly after the death of Brazilian revolutionary Carlos Marighella, this documentary reconstructs his life and political struggle through interviews with friends and comrades. It examines his role in the resistance against Brazil’s military dictatorship and his death in a 1969 police ambush.

Salvador Allende interviewed by Régis Debray in 1971.

After a sleepless night, Obama's victory flashes on frontpages around the world.

After a sleepless night, Obama's victory flashes on frontpages around the world.

Rhytmics of a revolution.

Rhytmics of a revolution.

Pictures, collages, well, call'em XPLUGS

In a small fishermen's village in the Azores, an enormous whale is being jointed, carved and stocked. Once this task is over, the whalers ready themselves for another hunt, a fascinating but trying and dangerous experience...

In the year 2035, convict James Cole reluctantly volunteers to be sent back in time to discover the origin of a deadly virus that wiped out nearly all of the earth's population and forced the survivors into underground communities. But when Cole is mistakenly sent to 1990 instead of 1996, he's arrested and locked up in a mental hospital. There he meets psychiatrist Dr. Kathryn Railly and the son of a famous virus expert who may hold the key to the Army of the 12 Monkeys; thought to be responsible for unleashing the killer disease.

Catherine Varlin's 27-minute Playtime in Paris (1962) is almost a practice run for Le joli mai, a sampling that starts in a classroom and then observes various subjects from afar. A woman is compared to a cat, and then we see a little girl on a playground, kissing, hugging and swatting a little boy companion as if he were a doll-plaything. A supermarket is compared to a flea market; an upscale equestrian event is compared to a soccer match, a comic bullfight and other attractions. Marker edited and Lhomme was the cameraman.

Chris Marker’s Tokyo Days follows the filmmaker and actress Arielle Dombasle as they wander through Tokyo, beginning with an encounter with a live mannequin in a shop window. Mixing casual observation with playful edits, Marker captures everyday scenes—from subways to markets—in a personal video diary of the city.

Candid interviews of ordinary people on the meaning of happiness, an often amorphous and inarticulable notion that evokes more basic and fundamentally egalitarian ideals of self-betterment, prosperity, tolerance, economic opportunity, and freedom.

Laura, a French programmer, inherits the task of creating a game about the World War II Battle of Okinawa. Her research and interviews with Japanese experts and witnesses prompt her to reflect on life, humanity, and the lasting influence of history and memories.

Filmed along the Emeryville Mudflats near San Francisco, Junkopia captures a landscape of sculptural installations made from driftwood and discarded materials. Chris Marker, John Chapman, and Frank Simeone transform these ephemeral artworks—set against highways and the distant city—into a quiet meditation on art, decay, and the modern environment.

A woman narrates the thoughts of a world traveler, meditations on time and memory expressed in words and images from places as far-flung as Japan, Guinea-Bissau, Iceland, and San Francisco.

A woman narrates the thoughts of a world traveler, meditations on time and memory expressed in words and images from places as far-flung as Japan, Guinea-Bissau, Iceland, and San Francisco.

A woman narrates the thoughts of a world traveler, meditations on time and memory expressed in words and images from places as far-flung as Japan, Guinea-Bissau, Iceland, and San Francisco.

A woman narrates the thoughts of a world traveler, meditations on time and memory expressed in words and images from places as far-flung as Japan, Guinea-Bissau, Iceland, and San Francisco.

This documentary chronicles an Yves Montand concert for Chilean refugees in France.

Part of Chris Marker’s Three Video Haikus series, Tchaïka is a brief visual meditation showing an overexposed view of a bridge and the river flowing beneath it.

In a port city, a youth plays a computer game that determines the fate of a woman (whose interracial romance is threatened by white punks) and other residents.

The life and work of Russian film director Andrei Tarkovsky is celebrated and explored in three documentary films: Tempo Di Viaggio (1983) directed by Andrei Tarkovsky and Tonino Guerra, Moscow Elegy (1988) directed by Alexander Sokurov, and One Day In The Life Of Andrei Arsenevitch (2000) directed by Chris Marker.

On September the 4th, 1969, a group of Brazilian revolutionaries kidnap the U.S. ambassador. In exchange for his release, they demand that the Brazilian authorities publish a manifesto they provide, and release 15 political prisoners.

Set in Zaire, the film follows an expedition exploring the crater of the Niragongo volcano of the Virunga chain, whose eruptions are known for their violence and their massive lava flows.

Made shortly after the death of Brazilian revolutionary Carlos Marighella, this documentary reconstructs his life and political struggle through interviews with friends and comrades. It examines his role in the resistance against Brazil’s military dictatorship and his death in a 1969 police ambush.

Made shortly after the death of Brazilian revolutionary Carlos Marighella, this documentary reconstructs his life and political struggle through interviews with friends and comrades. It examines his role in the resistance against Brazil’s military dictatorship and his death in a 1969 police ambush.

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.

A young man, who served as a peacekeeper in Bosnia and Herzegovina for a few months during the war, recounts his experiences. Throughout the film, we only see his face filmed in close-up, along with a few photos. The interview acts as a strong testimony to the failure of the international community in the Yugoslav crisis.

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.

A young man, who served as a peacekeeper in Bosnia and Herzegovina for a few months during the war, recounts his experiences. Throughout the film, we only see his face filmed in close-up, along with a few photos. The interview acts as a strong testimony to the failure of the international community in the Yugoslav crisis.

A radical re-imagining of French auteur Chris Marker's masterpiece.

Laura, a French programmer, inherits the task of creating a game about the World War II Battle of Okinawa. Her research and interviews with Japanese experts and witnesses prompt her to reflect on life, humanity, and the lasting influence of history and memories.

Chris Marker’s Stopover in Dubai is a found-footage documentary reconstructed from CCTV material released by Dubai State Security, documenting the 2010 assassination of Hamas co-founder Mahmoud al-Mabhouh. The footage follows a team of 26 assassins moving through hotels and corridors on the day of the killing. Marker retained the original images but replaced the broadcast’s generic soundtrack with Henryk Górecki’s music performed by the Kronos Quartet.

This 1973 French documentary explores the conflict between modern values and material comforts in Japan and the more traditional obligations (giri) and culture which are still the real backbone of the society. Among the topics touched on are the Osaka Expo, battles against pollution, and Japanese leftist movements.

Filmed during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, Chris Marker’s The Koumiko Mystery follows Koumiko Muraoka, a young Japanese woman born in Manchuria and educated in France. As Marker films her wandering through Tokyo, she reflects on identity, memory, and what it means to be Japanese in a rapidly changing world.

Filmed during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, Chris Marker’s The Koumiko Mystery follows Koumiko Muraoka, a young Japanese woman born in Manchuria and educated in France. As Marker films her wandering through Tokyo, she reflects on identity, memory, and what it means to be Japanese in a rapidly changing world.

Filmmaker Alain Resnais documents the atrocities behind the walls of Hitler's concentration camps.

A brief visual journey through the subways of major world cities. Without narration, Marker captures anonymous gestures, repetitive rhythms, and the unique atmosphere of underground urban spaces. A sensory meditation on modern life, the homogenization of environments, and the quiet beauty of places in transit.

A brief visual journey through the subways of major world cities. Without narration, Marker captures anonymous gestures, repetitive rhythms, and the unique atmosphere of underground urban spaces. A sensory meditation on modern life, the homogenization of environments, and the quiet beauty of places in transit.

Guzmán’s final installment shifts from covering the actions of Allende’s opponents to those who battled to revive & promote their toppled leader’s vision for a new Chile.

Chronicles the events immediately surrounding the CIA- supported coup itself.

Video on the mass media response to the bardo-traversing of Steve Jobs. Long live the archive and the archivist.

Excerpts from Alain Resnais' film NIGHT AND FOG served as evidence during the trial against Adolf Eichmann in Jerusalem. On the evening before the trial, the defendant Eichmann was shown the entire film. Leo Hurwitz, the director responsible for video recording the trial, filmed this unusual projection in a kind of shot-countershot procedure without sound and in black and white. Nearly fifty years later, French filmmaker Chris Marker, who had already worked as an assistant director on NIGHT AND FOG, assembled these shots with the original color images and sounds of the French film: Henchman Glance.

Chris Marker’s travel essay Sunday in Peking transforms a long-held childhood dream into a cinematic journey through Beijing. Blending documentary observation with reflective narration, Marker captures the city’s rhythms, traditions, and everyday life in mid-1950s China with his signature curiosity and lyricism.

At the end of the 1950s, French documentarian François Reichenbach spent eighteen months traveling the United States, documenting its diverse regions, their inhabitants, and their pastimes. The result is a journey through a multitude of different Americas, filtered through a French sensibility.

Co-directed by Chris Marker and Mario Ruspoli, Three Cheers for the Whale traces humanity’s complex relationship with whales—from reverence to exploitation—culminating in a stark depiction of industrial whaling. Combining archival imagery, commentary, and documentary footage, the film offers both a historical reflection and a call for ecological awareness.

Co-directed by Chris Marker and Mario Ruspoli, Three Cheers for the Whale traces humanity’s complex relationship with whales—from reverence to exploitation—culminating in a stark depiction of industrial whaling. Combining archival imagery, commentary, and documentary footage, the film offers both a historical reflection and a call for ecological awareness.

Co-directed by Chris Marker and Mario Ruspoli, Three Cheers for the Whale traces humanity’s complex relationship with whales—from reverence to exploitation—culminating in a stark depiction of industrial whaling. Combining archival imagery, commentary, and documentary footage, the film offers both a historical reflection and a call for ecological awareness.

Guzmán’s final installment shifts from covering the actions of Allende’s opponents to those who battled to revive & promote their toppled leader’s vision for a new Chile.

Chris Marker’s Tokyo Days follows the filmmaker and actress Arielle Dombasle as they wander through Tokyo, beginning with an encounter with a live mannequin in a shop window. Mixing casual observation with playful edits, Marker captures everyday scenes—from subways to markets—in a personal video diary of the city.

A follow-up to Be Seeing You (À bientôt, j’espère), this collective work—initiated by Chris Marker and the Medvedkin Group—was made in collaboration with workers at the Yema Watch Factory in Besançon. It follows a female worker who becomes active in labor organizing, depicting everyday struggles and the growing consciousness within the French labor movement.

This film is considered lost. Chris Marker described it as his first film, shot in Berlin on an 8mm movie camera purportedly borrowed from André Bazin. A decade and a half later, Marker would recycle some of Berlin photographs in a montage sequence in La Jetée evoking a post–­World War III Paris. In Abrahamic religions, Gabriel is an archangel with power to announce God’s will to men. He is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and the Quran. It is Gabriel who announces to the Virgin Mary that she would have a child. Alain Resnais recalled: “It was a sequence of images that weren’t always identifiable, he used a lot of out of focus shots and techniques like that, but the commentary was fabulous and I was completely swept away by this film”.

This film is considered lost. Chris Marker described it as his first film, shot in Berlin on an 8mm movie camera purportedly borrowed from André Bazin. A decade and a half later, Marker would recycle some of Berlin photographs in a montage sequence in La Jetée evoking a post–­World War III Paris. In Abrahamic religions, Gabriel is an archangel with power to announce God’s will to men. He is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and the Quran. It is Gabriel who announces to the Virgin Mary that she would have a child. Alain Resnais recalled: “It was a sequence of images that weren’t always identifiable, he used a lot of out of focus shots and techniques like that, but the commentary was fabulous and I was completely swept away by this film”.

This film is considered lost. Chris Marker described it as his first film, shot in Berlin on an 8mm movie camera purportedly borrowed from André Bazin. A decade and a half later, Marker would recycle some of Berlin photographs in a montage sequence in La Jetée evoking a post–­World War III Paris. In Abrahamic religions, Gabriel is an archangel with power to announce God’s will to men. He is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and the Quran. It is Gabriel who announces to the Virgin Mary that she would have a child. Alain Resnais recalled: “It was a sequence of images that weren’t always identifiable, he used a lot of out of focus shots and techniques like that, but the commentary was fabulous and I was completely swept away by this film”.

This film is considered lost. Chris Marker described it as his first film, shot in Berlin on an 8mm movie camera purportedly borrowed from André Bazin. A decade and a half later, Marker would recycle some of Berlin photographs in a montage sequence in La Jetée evoking a post–­World War III Paris. In Abrahamic religions, Gabriel is an archangel with power to announce God’s will to men. He is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and the Quran. It is Gabriel who announces to the Virgin Mary that she would have a child. Alain Resnais recalled: “It was a sequence of images that weren’t always identifiable, he used a lot of out of focus shots and techniques like that, but the commentary was fabulous and I was completely swept away by this film”.

Composed entirely of still photographs taken by Chris Marker across 26 countries, If I Had Four Dromedaries presents a dialogue between three voices reflecting on the meaning of images and travel. Through this photo-essay form, Marker explores the relationship between still and moving images and the act of seeing itself.

Composed entirely of still photographs taken by Chris Marker across 26 countries, If I Had Four Dromedaries presents a dialogue between three voices reflecting on the meaning of images and travel. Through this photo-essay form, Marker explores the relationship between still and moving images and the act of seeing itself.

Chris Marker's cat and rat.

Chris Marker’s portrait of Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky documents the director at work on his final film, The Sacrifice, during the last year of his life. Interweaving behind-the-scenes footage with excerpts from Tarkovsky’s earlier works, Marker crafts a moving reflection on the artist’s vision, methods, and enduring legacy.

A documentary on Soviet filmmaker Aleksandr Medvedkin, examining his tumultuous career, the rediscovery of his masterpiece Happiness, and Russia's struggles over the course of the 20th Century.

Chris Marker’s Tokyo Days follows the filmmaker and actress Arielle Dombasle as they wander through Tokyo, beginning with an encounter with a live mannequin in a shop window. Mixing casual observation with playful edits, Marker captures everyday scenes—from subways to markets—in a personal video diary of the city.

Chris Marker and François Reichenbach document the massive anti–Vietnam War protest held in Washington, D.C., on October 21, 1967, where more than 100,000 demonstrators gathered at the Lincoln Memorial before marching on the Pentagon. Filmed amid the crowd, the short captures the tension, idealism, and growing radicalism of the American peace movement.

Jean Ravel's A Distant Gaze (D'un lointain regard) is a 12-minute observance of people on the streets backed by Michel Legrand music.

Chris Marker’s travel essay Sunday in Peking transforms a long-held childhood dream into a cinematic journey through Beijing. Blending documentary observation with reflective narration, Marker captures the city’s rhythms, traditions, and everyday life in mid-1950s China with his signature curiosity and lyricism.

A faceless traveller takes a journey through the barren reaches of a Siberia caught between tradition and modernity, imparting his philosophical musings on its people and places, wildlife and culture.

A man confronts his past during an experiment that attempts to find a solution to the problems of a post-apocalyptic world caused by a world war.

Looking for a long lost friend, Madeleine talks to a Stalker so that he can take her to «the zone» and help her look into her memories to find him at last. Essay-film hommage to Chris Marker.

This half-hour documentary by Chris Marker explores Aleksandr Medvedkin’s 1930s “Cine-Train,” a mobile film studio equipped with cameras, editing rooms, animation stations, and a laboratory. Traveling across the Soviet countryside, the train’s crew documented agricultural and industrial life—from Ukrainian harvests to southern steelworks—while living and working in cramped shared quarters.

This half-hour documentary by Chris Marker explores Aleksandr Medvedkin’s 1930s “Cine-Train,” a mobile film studio equipped with cameras, editing rooms, animation stations, and a laboratory. Traveling across the Soviet countryside, the train’s crew documented agricultural and industrial life—from Ukrainian harvests to southern steelworks—while living and working in cramped shared quarters.

Chris Marker’s Stopover in Dubai is a found-footage documentary reconstructed from CCTV material released by Dubai State Security, documenting the 2010 assassination of Hamas co-founder Mahmoud al-Mabhouh. The footage follows a team of 26 assassins moving through hotels and corridors on the day of the killing. Marker retained the original images but replaced the broadcast’s generic soundtrack with Henryk Górecki’s music performed by the Kronos Quartet.

After a military coup d'état, political dissidents seek refuge in a foreign embassy. Over the next few days, they are joined by more and more people who are fleeing the military assault: teachers, students, intellectuals, artists, and politicians.

A tour of Ouvroir, the virtual museum Chris Marker created in the online world Second Life with collaborator Max Moswitzer. Guided by Marker’s cat avatar, Guillaume-en-Égypte, visitors explore a 3D island of galleries, cinemas, and reading rooms inspired by Bioy Casares’s The Invention of Morel. The film documents this digital extension of Marker’s lifelong exploration of memory, art, and technology.

Made for the centenary of France’s trade union laws, Chris Marker’s 2084 imagines a future in which a computer looks back on the labor movement of the 20th century. Mixing documentary reflection with speculative fiction, the film envisions contrasting paths for the future of workers and unions.

Made for the centenary of France’s trade union laws, Chris Marker’s 2084 imagines a future in which a computer looks back on the labor movement of the 20th century. Mixing documentary reflection with speculative fiction, the film envisions contrasting paths for the future of workers and unions.

Chris Marker’s The Case of the Grinning Cat (Chats perchés) follows the appearance of the yellow M. Chat graffiti across Paris in the early 2000s, using it as a lens to reflect on art, protest, and politics in the post-9/11 era. Blending street imagery with footage of global and local unrest, the film serves as a playful yet pointed companion to Marker’s earlier A Grin Without a Cat.

Chris Marker’s The Case of the Grinning Cat (Chats perchés) follows the appearance of the yellow M. Chat graffiti across Paris in the early 2000s, using it as a lens to reflect on art, protest, and politics in the post-9/11 era. Blending street imagery with footage of global and local unrest, the film serves as a playful yet pointed companion to Marker’s earlier A Grin Without a Cat.

Chris Marker’s The Case of the Grinning Cat (Chats perchés) follows the appearance of the yellow M. Chat graffiti across Paris in the early 2000s, using it as a lens to reflect on art, protest, and politics in the post-9/11 era. Blending street imagery with footage of global and local unrest, the film serves as a playful yet pointed companion to Marker’s earlier A Grin Without a Cat.