The film will be re-released in UK & Irish cinemas on the 7th February.
BFI Distribution has released a trailer for the upcoming 50th anniversary rerelease of Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles directed by Chantal Akerman.
Voted Sight and Sound’s Greatest Films of All Time in the 2022 Critics’ poll (the first time a female filmmaker has taken the number one spot since the poll’s inception in 1952), the film will be rereleased in cinemas next month central to the BFI’s major season ‘Chantal Akerman: Adventures in Perception’. The season will run from the 3rd February to 18th March followed by a BFI Blu-ray release as part of Chantal Akerman Collection Volume 1: 1967-1978, released on the 24th February 2025.
Chantal Akerman’s landmark second feature, the mesmerising Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles follows the meticulous daily routine of its titular lead over the course of three days. It was presented at the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes in 1975, and brought the then 24-year-old Akerman international recognition. A cornerstone of feminist cinema, Chantal Akerman’s cinematically radical film challenged the status quo when it was originally released and continues to do so today 50 years later.
The film was made with a mostly female crew, including cinematographer Babette Mangolte and editor Patricia Canino.
Chantal Akerman’s work has become increasingly relevant since her death in 2015, resonating with filmmakers including Joanna Hogg (The Eternal Daughter), Payal Kapadia (All We Imagine As Light), Céline Sciamma (Petite Maman), Sean Baker (Anora), Alice Diop (Saint Omer) Jacques Audiard (Emilia Pérez), Charlotte Wells (Aftersun) and Carol Morley (Typist Artist Pirate King) citing Akerman as an inspiration. Kelly Reichardt (First Cow) has said she watches Jeanne Dielman before starting any new project. Greta Gerwig is likewise enthusiastic, having said that she included the take of the mother sewing in Lady Bird as an homage.