Ulrike Ottinger, then a young painter, lived in Paris in the 1960s. Now a film-maker, she looks back on that time, weaving memories of the Parisian life and the upheavals of the time into a cinematic poem with the city at its centre.
Paris Calligrammes■
Synopsis
In a rich torrent of archival audio and visuals, paired with extracts from her own artworks and films, Ottinger resurrects the old Saint-Germain-des-Prés and Latin Quarter. Amongst their literary cafés and jazz clubs, she revisits encounters with Jewish exiles; life with her artistic community; the world views of Parisian ethnologists and philosophers; the political upheavals of the Algerian War and May 1968; and the legacy of the colonial era. “I followed the footsteps of my heroines and heroes,” Ottinger narrates, “wherever I found them, they will appear in this film too.”
Credits
Rating: 15
Genre: Documentary
Director: Ulrike Ottinger
Stars: Johnny Friedlaender, Raoul Hausmann, Henri Langlois, Walter Mehring, Fritz Picard, Ré and Philippe Soupault
