TXT

Portrait d’une paresseuse seems one of Chantal Akerman’s more playful and lighter works—a skit in which she acts out a filmmaker’s creative process of attempting (and failing) to make a film about being lazy.

Lounging on a small bed, Chantal Akerman’s posture seems casual and relaxed at first glance, but the repetitive tilts of her head—to the left and then back to center—contrasting with the smooth glide of the camera suggest otherwise. Restlessness is in the air, yet before we can discern it, the image is already on the move, retracing its steps for a second time.

Greek filmmaker Jacqueline Lentzou does not look for inspiration; inspiration finds her. In her artistic practice, vague ideas slowly develop into something more comprehensible, more tactile. In The End of Suffering (A Proposal), she renders the mere act of “understanding” palpable.