Paul Vecchiali and Diagonale
Paul Vecchiali (1930-2023) may best be known in the U.S. for producing Jeanne Dielman, but his own filmmaking deserves equal consideration. Unlike others in his generation (Truffaut, Godard, Rivette), Vecchiali's work has evaded international fame, but his influence within French cinema— as filmmaker, producer, and cinephile — is undeniable.
Vecchiali first ventured into filmmaking in the early 60s (when he also briefly wrote for Cahiers), but it wasn't until the 70s that he made his most notable films. Amidst the receding tide of the French New Wave, Vecchiali struck out on his own path. His films were not radically experimental, but also not particularly conventional, drawing influences both from the French poetic realism of Grémillon and experimental acting and form, all while exploring fringe characters and not-so-straight(forward) desires. He told the story of a prostitute in Rosa la rose, two aging actresses in Femmes femmes, a gay man in Encore... not to mention, a man who murders women in L'Étrangleur.
Perhaps it was this natural inclination towards unconvetional undercurrents that drew around Vecchiali a cast of boldly independent (and, notably, some queer and women) filmmakers. He focused his cinephilia on them through his production company Diagonale (with critic Serge Daney calling him the "best French producer"), deftly pioneering works by Jean-Claude Guiget, Jean-Claude Biette, Marie-Claude Treilhou, and more, allowing them to make films even when the industry turned them away. The resulting films are certainly part of a niche, but an important one for cinema and society, advancing a unique taste for style and filmmaking that can be traced back and indebted, in no small part, to Paul Vecchiali.
The Strangler (1970)
Paul Vecchiali · 93m · DCP
A serial killer whose victims are suicidal women (Jacques Perrin), an inspector willing to resort to unconventional methods to catch him (Julien Guiomar), the thief that follows behind to rob the corpses of the victims (Paul Barge), and a woman with even more mysterious motivations (Eva Simonet) form an odd quartet in Vecchiali’s The Strangler. Often described as a 70s "French Giallo," the film both indulges in and subverts those conventions.
Thursday, October 31st 7:00 PM·
Femmes Femmes (1974)
Paul Vecchiali · 115m · DCP
In this Pasolini favorite (he would famously ask the leads to play a role in his film Salò), two aging actresses (Hélène Surgère and Sonia Saviange) fantasize and remember days gone by in a haze of wine-muddled memories. Yet as the line blurs between dream and reality, life in Paris creates very real difficulties for the two roommates. It was the success of this comedy that allowed Vecchiali to found Diagonale, his pioneering production company.
Thursday, November 7th 7:00 PM· Saturday, November 9th 9:30 PM
Encore (1988)
Paul Vecchiali · 92m · DCP
Vecchiali never shied away from queerness and pain, and definitely not so in Encore, a film about a middle-aged man, Louis, who leaves his family to explore his homosexuality. One of the first French films to address AIDS and show an HIV-positive character, Encore is also formally bold in the way it delivers its impactful blows, spanning ten years of a life over ten chapters — and shot in ten days, with fluid, but precise, choreography and camerawork.
Thursday, November 14th 7:00 PM
Simone Barbès or Virtue (1980)
Marie-Claude Treilhou · 77m · DCP
Simone is an usher in a Montparnasse porn cinema whose night takes place in triptych form — in the theater, a lesbian bar, and her ride home. The film thus depicts Simone’s queer world, and, like her, disregards the men ambling into the theater. Her nonchalance runs deeper than typical cool-french-cigarette-smoking, however; it’s defiant of the male gaze, it’s a protective defiance. The minimalism of the plot makes room for a heavily stylized atmosphere in Treilhou’s first, most celebrated, film.
Thursday, November 21st 7:00 PM· Friday, November 22nd 9:30 PM
Rosa la Rose, Public Girl (1986)
Paul Vecchiali · 92m · DCP
Rosa (Marianne Basler) is a popular, young prostitute, loved by her clients in Les Halles. However, her everyday happiness is upended when she falls in love with blue-collar worker Julien (Pierre Cosso), a love that will inevitably have consequences for herself, if not her career. Charming in its presentation, the lyricism of the film’s camera work and its command of colors recalls the work of the past greats of French melodrama, whom Vecchiali was influenced by.
