If this incredible woman became more and more notorious both nationally and internationally over the course of her life, this was undoubtedly thanks to her stubborn insistence on being herself, whatever happened and however tough this might be.
Novelist, playwright, screenwriter and director, Marguerite Duras was one the greatest French creative forces. Her work as a writer - which often included autobiographical elements - made her one of the leading lights of the nouveau roman movement. In 1984, her novel L'amant was awarded the Prix Goncourt and enjoyed worldwide acclaim.
From the end of the fifties onwards, Duras worked tirelessly in the world of cinema. She began her filmmaking career as a screenwriter working alongside people such as René Clément and Alain Resnais, who directed the acclaimed Hiroshima mon amour. In 1967, she directed her first work, La Musica, followed by a score of films, including Natalie Granger and La femme du Gange. In 1974, she shot India Song, which went on to win one of the most prestigious French Academy awards. Her work is noted for its experimental, avant-garde approach.
The theme of destruction is ever present in all her work and is used to study her as if through different mirrors, until it becomes impossible to separate autobiography from fiction.
On the tenth anniversary of her death, L'Alternativa, together with the French Institute in Barcelona, would like to pay tribute to this multifaceted and highly talented woman. The Festival programme will include several short films and her major feature films.
Supported by the French Institute in Barcelona
Feature Films
Sunday 12nd
Hiroshima mon amour. Alain Resnais. France. OVS Spanish. 35 mm. 1959
Saturday 11st and Monday 13rd
Moderato Cantabile. Peter Brook. France / Italy. OV. 35 mm. 1960
Monday 13rd
Natalie Granger. Marguerite Duras. France. OVS Spanish. 16 mm. 1972
Tuesday 14th
Son nom de Venise dans Calcutta desert Marguerite Duras, Benoît Jacquot. France. OV. 35m. 1976
Wednesday 15th
Le Camion. Marguerite Duras. France. OV. 1977
Thursday 16th and Friday 17th
Marguerite, telle qu'en elle même. Dominique Auvray. OVS Spanish. Video 2002
Friday 17th
India Song. Marguerite Duras. France. OVS Spanish. 16mm. 1975
Short films
Thursday 16th
Césaré
Les Mains négatives
Aurélia Steiner, dit Aurélia Vancouver
Aurélia Steiner, dit Aurélia Melbourne
TV Programme
Monday 13rd, Tuesday 14th and Wednesday 15th^
Les grands entretiens de Bernard Pivot. Bernard Pivot. France. DVD. 1984