Chris Marker — Director (37)

Movie

Eclipse (1999)
Eclipse IMDb TMDB
Flânerie visuelle autour de l'éclipse de 1999 au Jardin des Plantes. Grâce aux progrès de la technique (fonction « 0 lux »), la caméra, pendant la minute de semi-obscurité, emprunte la vision de la chouette.

TV

The Owl's Legacy (1989)
L'Héritage de la chouette IMDb TMDB
other title: Das Erbe der Eule / L'Héritage de la chouette
A 13-part documentary series by Chris Marker examining how ancient Greek ideas continue to shape modern Western thought. Each episode centers on a single Greek word—such as “democracy,” “philosophy,” or “mythology”—through conversations filmed in cities around the world. Combining symposium-style discussions with archival footage and visual motifs of the owl, Marker creates an expansive reflection on the enduring legacy of Greece.

Movie

The Train Rolls On (1971)
Le Train en marche WikiData IMDb TMDB
Chris Marker actor: Aleksandr Medvedkin / François Périer
other title: Le Train en marche / Le Train en Marche
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.

Movie

If I Had Four Dromedaries (1966)
Si j'avais quatre dromadaires WikiData IMDb TMDB
Chris Marker actor: Pierre Vaneck / Nicolas Youmatoff …
other title: Si j'avais quatre dromadaires / Si J'avais Quatre Dromadaires
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.

Movie

Cinétracts (1968)
Cinétracts IMDb TMDB
En mai 1968, des cinéastes amateurs et professionnels réalisent des films militants, muets, en noir et blanc. Tournés-montés, ces ciné-tracts sont diffusés dans la journée aux activistes.

Movie

The Embassy (1973)
L'Ambassade
other title: L'ambasciata / L'Ambassade …
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.

Movie

The Last Bolshevik (1994)
Le Tombeau d'Alexandre
Chris Marker actor: Aleksandr Medvedkin / Nikolai Izvolov …
other title: Le Tombeau d'Alexandre / El último bolchevique …
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.

Movie

One Day in the Life of Andrei Arsenevich (1999)
Une journée d'Andrei Arsenevitch WikiData IMDb TMDB
other title: Une journée d'Andrei Arsenevitch / Un día en la vida de Andrei Arsenevitch …
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.

Movie

Three Haiku Videos (1994)
Trois video haikus TMDB
Chris Marker actor: Catherine Belkhodja
other title: Trois video haikus
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.

Movie

The Sixth Side of the Pentagon (1968)
La Sixième Face du Pentagone WikiData IMDb TMDB NeoDB
Chris Marker / François Reichenbach actor: Henri de Turenne / Chris Marker …
other title: La sesta faccia del Pentagono / La Sixième Face du Pentagone …
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.

Movie

2084: Video Clip for the Trade Unions' Reflection and Pleasure (1984)
2084: Video clip pour une réflexion syndicale et pour le plaisir IMDb TMDB NeoDB
Chris Marker actor: François Périer / Bibiane Kirby …
other title: 2084: Video clip pour une réflexion syndicale et pour le plaisir
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.

Movie

Far from Vietnam (1967)
Loin du Vietnam WikiData IMDb TMDB
Jean-Luc Godard / Joris Ivens … actor: Maurice Garrel / Anne Bellec …
other title: Lontano dal Vietnam / Loin du Vietnam …
In seven different parts, Godard, Ivens, Klein, Lelouch, Marker, Resnais, and Varda show their sympathy for the North-Vietnamese army during the Vietnam War.

Movie

The Koumiko Mystery (1965)
Le Mystère Koumiko
Chris Marker actor: Chris Marker / Koumiko Muraoka
other title: Le Mystère Koumiko / El misterio Koumiko
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.

Movie

A Grin Without a Cat (1977)
Le fond de l'air est rouge
Chris Marker actor: Laurence Guvillier / Davos Hanich …
other title: Rot ist die blaue Luft / Le fond de l'air est rouge …
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.

Movie

Level Five (1997)
Level Five
Dans la pièce d'un appartement transformée en studio, une femme et un ordinateur. Elle s'adresse à un interlocuteur invisible qui est peut-être l'homme qu'elle aime et qui est disparu. De lui, elle a hérité cette tâche : terminer l'écriture d'un jeu vidéo consacré à la bataille d'Okinawa, à la fin de la Seconde Guerre mondiale. En travaillant sur ce projet, la jeune femme découvre les vérités et l'horreur de cette grande bataille...