When asked to participate in the Cinema, of Our Time series, Chantal Akerman jokingly suggested herself as subject matter. She envisioned a film consisting solely of excerpts from her films, but when pressed by the producers to include footage of herself, Akerman grudgingly agreed, and divided the film into two parts. The first part opens with Akerman in her apartment, reading from a text directly to the camera, describing the problems she encountered making this film. What emerges from this mise-en-scene is a funny, often personal, and always thoughtful confession from this extremely perceptive filmmaker. Part two lets Akerman's films speak for her, taking clips from her extensive filmography and linking them anonymously until they form a new film. There are scenes from JEANNE DIELMAN, her best-known film, but also glimpses of several other works - forays into experimental film, comedic shorts, musicals, narrative features - including an early short that stars a very young Chantal.

When asked to participate in the Cinema, of Our Time series, Chantal Akerman jokingly suggested herself as subject matter. She envisioned a film consisting solely of excerpts from her films, but when pressed by the producers to include footage of herself, Akerman grudgingly agreed, and divided the film into two parts. The first part opens with Akerman in her apartment, reading from a text directly to the camera, describing the problems she encountered making this film. What emerges from this mise-en-scene is a funny, often personal, and always thoughtful confession from this extremely perceptive filmmaker. Part two lets Akerman's films speak for her, taking clips from her extensive filmography and linking them anonymously until they form a new film. There are scenes from JEANNE DIELMAN, her best-known film, but also glimpses of several other works - forays into experimental film, comedic shorts, musicals, narrative features - including an early short that stars a very young Chantal.

Invented by the post-New Wave, the exercise is well-known: put a filmmaker in the frame, make him talk about his career, evoke his admirations, rummage in his methods, and add words to silences, spoken images to seen images. It’s always very instructive. As is the case here too. Chantal Akerman, passing through South America, talks about herself for an hour, and it’s fascinating. Even if her recalling of the relationship between the cinema and time makes up only a few rare minutes.

"My mother because, in one way or another, I talk about her constantly in my films, and often, I wonder if I have really worked so hard for her, about her, in relation to her, also my mother and her relationship with the movies, a relationship sometimes of recognition, sometimes of negation". – Chantal Akerman 　　In this 2007 interview, an off-camera Chantal Akerman interviews her mother about her films. The producers of the interview originally intended to edit out Akerman’s questions but ultimately decided to keep them in to preserve the candor of the mother-daughter rapport.

"My mother because, in one way or another, I talk about her constantly in my films, and often, I wonder if I have really worked so hard for her, about her, in relation to her, also my mother and her relationship with the movies, a relationship sometimes of recognition, sometimes of negation". – Chantal Akerman 　　In this 2007 interview, an off-camera Chantal Akerman interviews her mother about her films. The producers of the interview originally intended to edit out Akerman’s questions but ultimately decided to keep them in to preserve the candor of the mother-daughter rapport.

一扇久未开启的房门，深锁着长达半个世纪的斑斓记忆和百样情绪。黑糊糊的墙壁，和布满尘土与蜘蛛网的桌椅，静静展示着时间对一段过往无情的销蚀，就如同墙壁上早已看不清面容的照片，仿佛预示着永久遗忘的即将到来。但是总会有人搅动这潭时光的死水，试图在尘沙中淘沥属于自己那弥足珍贵的记忆宝石。游子倦鸟归林，带来的却是经花花世界打磨过的光鲜亮丽。 　　他将画板、油彩摆在窗前，轻盈勾勒出童年时候的玩具熊，并辅以梦幻般的斑斓色彩。接下来的日子里，一幅幅画作诞生，组成了一个家族的自画像……

一扇久未开启的房门，深锁着长达半个世纪的斑斓记忆和百样情绪。黑糊糊的墙壁，和布满尘土与蜘蛛网的桌椅，静静展示着时间对一段过往无情的销蚀，就如同墙壁上早已看不清面容的照片，仿佛预示着永久遗忘的即将到来。但是总会有人搅动这潭时光的死水，试图在尘沙中淘沥属于自己那弥足珍贵的记忆宝石。游子倦鸟归林，带来的却是经花花世界打磨过的光鲜亮丽。 　　他将画板、油彩摆在窗前，轻盈勾勒出童年时候的玩具熊，并辅以梦幻般的斑斓色彩。接下来的日子里，一幅幅画作诞生，组成了一个家族的自画像……

艺术家刚将手中的材料塑成圣母，还没来得及感慨，手中的准艺术品已自行变作了头上长角满脸狰狞的恶魔，并企图摆脱艺术家对它的掌控，艺术家与想脱离其手兀自立于世界的恶魔展开搏斗。 　　本动画片形象地说明了享誉世界的日本人偶动画巨匠川本喜八郎的艺术创作之路，它并非一帆风顺，相反充满尴尬和困窘，他将让人震惊的动画艺术呈现之前，必须不断地与心中的魔鬼以及种种阻挠因素作斗争。

艺术家刚将手中的材料塑成圣母，还没来得及感慨，手中的准艺术品已自行变作了头上长角满脸狰狞的恶魔，并企图摆脱艺术家对它的掌控，艺术家与想脱离其手兀自立于世界的恶魔展开搏斗。 　　本动画片形象地说明了享誉世界的日本人偶动画巨匠川本喜八郎的艺术创作之路，它并非一帆风顺，相反充满尴尬和困窘，他将让人震惊的动画艺术呈现之前，必须不断地与心中的魔鬼以及种种阻挠因素作斗争。

Directors: Sally Cruikshank, David Ehrlich, Candy Kugel, Maureen Selwood, Bill Plympton, Mati Kutt, Priit Parn, Riho Unt, Hardi Volmer, Borivoj Dovnikovic, Nikola Majdak, Josko Marusic, Dusan Vokotic, Jiri Barta, Pavel Kovtsky, Jan Svankmajer, Kihachiro Kawamoto, Renzo Kinoshita and Osamu Tezuka 　　Country: USA/Yugoslavia/СССР (Estonia)/Czechoslovakia/Japan