Sept 5th, 21:00 – 22:30
CINÉMA ELVIRE POPESCO

About the film

Documentary, 79’, 2019, FR
D: Sima Khatami, Aldo Lee

In 2015, the artist/choreographer Jérôme Bel gave us free reign to film him at work. But to make a film on Bel is to embark on a paradoxical project: how does one direct the work of an "anti-director"? How does one remain an author in the face of a world-renowned artist known for his work on the "death of the author"? During the shooting which took place over a long period of time, we waited for an unexpected event, an event that would push Jérôme Bel out of the character that we were busy constructing. The event took place. We seized it.

The film premiered last year at the Locarno Film Festival. In 2020 BIDFF presents the romanian national premiere of Being Jérôme Bel.

About the directors

Born in 1977 in Iran, SIMA KHATAMI lives and works in Paris. After having studied at the School of Fine Arts in Tehran and trained in dramatic art at the City of Tehran Theater, she joined the National School of Fine Arts in Paris in the workshop of Christian Boltanski. Filmmaker and visual artist, she regularly collaborates with choreographers such as Pierre Droulers, Yves-Noël Genod or Boris Charmatz in the context of performances and exhibitions, while making films awarded at festivals (FID, Cinéma du Réel, Kunsten).

ALDO LEE was born in South Africa and then went to the University of the Witwatersrand where he received the Bachelor of Arts, with honors in film studies. He started in 1993 with a fiction called Sacrifice thanks to which he received the prize for the best short film at the South African film festival. In France, he directed numerous documentaries and received the awards for best documentary with La double vie by Dona Ermelinda at the Vues d’Afrique festival in Montreal; and with Fermiers Blancs, Terre Noire at the Festival of the Dhow Countries in Tanzania. In 2010 he spent 4 years in Japan where he directed the short film Fukushima mon amour selected in several short film festivals (France, Germany, South Africa, Italy, Switzerland). In 2016 he returned there and directed Mimi, a 20 min short film. Aldo Lee has made several recordings of dance performances, collaborated with choreographers to create images for their pieces and framed for artists’ films.