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Claire Denis (born 21 April 1946) is a French filmmaker, screenwriter and occasional actress. Born in Paris, but raised in various parts of Africa, she made a career assisting other directors—primarily Costa-Gavras, Wim Wenders and Jim Jarmusch—before debuting with her own film, Chocolat, in 1988. She has since then made twelve feature films, three documentary films, in addition to several short films for anthology film series.

Known for their elliptical and sensual style, her films are often analysed in terms of tactility, corporeality and otherness. Several of her films, including Chocolat, are set in former French colonies in Africa, and examine the tension between native Africans and French authority figures.

Denis often works with the same actors and technicians, her artistic collaboration having been called "vital", "crucial", and a "keystone throughout her career". The director of photography Agnès Godard has shot almost every feature by Denis, and has said of the director that "he has the faith and the belief that an association of ideas that's concise and that is based on pure cinematography — the choice of a frame, a focal point, the climate of the light — says something, and the idea that gluing those images together is going to create a sense." Denis often collaborates with Jean-Pol Fargeau on her scripts.

Her collaboration with Stuart Staples of the Tindersticks has been particularly noted. The band has on occasion performed live renditions of their songs from Denis' oeuvre, accompanied by screenings of film clips. These live performances have been analysed as examples of Paul Ricœur's theory of discourse as performance.

Key

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Cast

Frequent collaborators include Isaach de Bankolé, Grégoire Colin, Florence Loiret Caille, Katerina Golubeva, Nicolas Duvauchelle, Michel Subor, Béatrice Dalle, Nicole Dogué, Hélène Fillières, Alex Descas, Richard Courcet, Alice Houri, Juliette Binoche and Vincent Lindon.

Crew

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Denis frequently collaborates with Jean-Pol Fargeau (script), Nelly Quettier (editing), Agnès Godard (cinematography) and Stuart A. Staples (soundtrack).

References

1. ^ Samantha Dinning, "Claire Denis," Senses of Cinema 50 (April 2009), accessed 1 September 2017.
2. ^ Jenny Munro, Riffaterrean ungrammaticality and Ricoeurian discourse as performance in the films and collaborations of Claire Denis, PhD thesis, University of Glasgow, 2014.
3. Kristin Hohenadel, "The Image as Obsession, No Matter the Method," The New York Times, 28 September 2012.
4. José Teodoro, "No Sanctuary: Claire Denis on Bastards," Cinema Scope, accessed May 25, 2020.
5. ^ Alice Gregory, "The Fearless Cinema of Claire Denis," The New Yorker, May 21, 2018.
6. Jean-Luc Douin, "Florence Loiret-Caille en quête d'une Indonésie perdue," Le Monde, September 16, 2008, accessed May 25, 2020.
7. Adam Nayman, "Best of the Decade #7: L′Intrus: Second Helpings." Reverse Shot (December 25, 2009), Museum of the Moving Image, accessed May 25, 2020.
8. Nick James, "Let the Sunshine In review: Juliette Binoche rings love’s changes," Sight & Sound (April 15, 2018), British Film Institute, accessed May 25, 2020.
9. Simran Hans, "High Life first look: Claire Denis floats Juliette Binoche and Robert Pattinson in mortal space," Sight & Sound (December 28, 2018), British Film Institute, accessed May 25, 2020.
10. David Rooney, "Bastards: Cannes Review," The Hollywood Reporter, May 21, 2013, accessed May 25, 2020.
11. Ian Murphy, "Feeling and form in the films of Claire Denis," Jump Cut: A Review of Contemporary Media, no. 54 (2012), accessed May 27, 2020.

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