Stanislas Merhar Performs Chantal Akerman's Texts at Athénée

Actor Stanislas Merhar, known for his roles in Chantal Akerman's films 'La Captive' (2000) and 'La Folie Almayer' (2011), is set to perform two of Akerman's texts at the Athénée theater in Paris. The performance, titled 'Chantal Akerman par Chantal Akerman / Le Déménagement', features Akerman's self-portrait text created in 1996 for André S. Labarthe and Janine Bazin's documentary series 'Cinéma, de notre temps', and her 1992 film 'Le Déménagement', which she made with Sami Frey for Arte. In the self-portrait text, Akerman reflects on the artifice of sincerity, shifting from 'I' to 'she', and touches on her Jewish-Polish family and her maternal grandmother, a painter. 'Le Déménagement' presents the monologue of a man alone in his apartment, recalling 'l'été 82' when three female students moved onto his landing, and the sixteen days of happiness he shared with them. The performance takes place in a minimal setting, allowing Akerman's voice to be heard through Merhar's delivery. Akerman, a major figure in modern cinema (1950-2015), focused on the everyday, time, and the intimate, and although she rarely engaged with theater, she gave public readings in her later years. This event continues the dialogue between Merhar and Akerman, bringing her texts to the stage.