Series Site
“Equal parts unabashed romantic and inventive formalist, prolific French filmmaker Paul Vecchiali (1930-2023) was a master of melodrama whose always surprising films draw equally on ’30s poetic realism, Jacques Demy, Jean-Luc Godard, and his unique strain of dangerous, disruptive and very queer emotion. A tireless producer, he also fostered an entire community of French directors through his company Diagonale, with particular attention paid to female and queer filmmakers at a time when the larger industry met them with indifference or hostility. Vecchiali helped Chantal Akerman change film history with Jeanne Dielman, produced unheralded masterpieces by Marie-Claude Treilhou and Liliane de Kermadec, and would break the industry-enforced taboo of silence around AIDS with his own Encore. We are proud to present this spotlight on the invigorating productions of this long-neglected visionary—one of the post-New Wave’s best-kept secrets and a key influence on contemporary auteurs including Serge Bozon, Luca Guadagnino, and Axelle Ropert.”—Series curators Bingham Bryant and Graham Carter