Catherine Robbe-Grillet

A genius inventor of forms, Alain Resnais is one of the fathers of cinematic modernity. This portrait, rich in archives, looks back on the career of a discreet non-conformist, in perpetual search of renewal to fight against anxiety.

Open details →

"Jerk" is an imaginary reconstruction – strange, poetic, funny and somber – of the crimes perpetrated by American serial killer Dean Corll who, with the help of teenagers David Brooks and Wayne Henley, killed more than twenty boys in the state of Texas during mid-70s.

Open details →

For decades, French artist and writer Catherine Robbe-Grillet – aka dominatrix Jeanne De Berg – has organised mysterious ceremonies for women. This documentary portrait explores a very particular one: the hunt. Far from a stereotypical conception of BDSM, the film presents the complexity of a nonstandard relationship of desire and inserts this into the history of painting.

Open details →

A nature-hating aesthete, Jean des Esseintes attempts to furnish and decorate a country home where he will be able to live without ever again having to deal with the outside world.

Open details →

In an extravagant house in Paris, people gather for sexual ceremonies in luxurious environments. The 83-year-old author, Catherine Robbe-Grillet is the brains and heart behind the erotic role playing. She is the dominatrix who controls what goes on and her partner, who is 31 years her junior, has promised to submit to her smallest command. Lina Mannheimer portrays a puzzling, intellectual and deeply fascinating woman who, accompanied by her husband Alain Robbe-Grillet, has dedicated herself to investigating sex both in life and in literature. The sadomasochistic ceremonies are presented with an intense presence and cinematic focus in this beautiful and thought-provoking debut film about desire, power and silk scarves.

Open details →

A short film about unfulfilled masochistic desire with a score by Scott Walker & Sunn O))).

Open details →

A woman in a dark blue burqa directs, without a word, four other women in a room. The Five Senses is a sensuous play with power and hierarchy where traditional roles and identities are challenged.

Open details →

In 2005 Beverly Charpentier declared an oath of allegiance to French writer Catherine Robbe-Grillet. In doing so she gave up her freedom for the rest of her life. The Contract portrays two strong women's unconventional love story, two women who have chosen to explore their love in a unique way, without compromise.

Open details →

Analog video by Sylvère Lotringer. Extended conversation between two dominatrixes, a younger American woman and an older French woman (Catherine Robbe-Grillet, writer and wife of Alain Robbe-Grillet).

Open details →

This feature-length documentary explores a wide range of lesbian, bisexual, and heterosexual women’s erotic fantasies and sexual practices. It reveals the conflicts and complexities of female sexuality as well as the joys and triumphs of self-discovery and personal empowerment.

Open details →

Apostrophes was a live, weekly, literary, prime-time, talk show on French television created and hosted by Bernard Pivot. It ran for fifteen years (724 episodes) from January 10, 1975, to June 22, 1990, and was one of the most watched shows on French television (around 6 million regular viewers). It was broadcast on Friday nights on the channel France 2 (which was called "Antenne 2" from 1975 to 1992). The hourlong show was devoted to books, authors and literature. The format varied between one-on-one interviews with a single author and open discussions between four or five authors.

Open details →

A young woman is questioned by the police and the judges, suspected of being a modern witch. The girl who shared her apartment has been found dead, and a pair of scissors impaled through her heart, as she lay attached to the bedposts. Apparently, the girl does have powers, to make all people around her fall prey to her spell, glissing progressively into desire, lust, and the unknown.

Open details →

Jeanne, a little secretary dreaming of love, meets Alain, a reporter-photographer with a major daily newspaper. He takes her along on his professional nocturnal activities, during which she meets a host of celebrities. One evening, Alain takes photos of the kidnapping of a diplomat, and is followed by a mysterious individual who wants the film back. Alain falls in love with Jeanne. Their embrace is passionate. During the night, he manages to get rid of the follower, then receives a new assignment: to leave for Colombia as soon as possible. He sacrifices his love for Jeanne to his ambition, and she waits in vain for him before returning to her dull life.

Open details →

N Took the Dice is essentially a reworking of Eden and After made possible by the roll of a dice (scenes from the 1970 film were combined with outtakes and additional footage in an aleatory way). Robbe-Grillet was always interested in music and since he perceived Eden and After to be serial in nature, it only made sense that its sister film would stand in opposition to that.

Open details →

A group of French students are drawn into the psychological and sexual games of a mysterious man called Duchemin. Once they sample his "fear powder" the students experience a series of hallucinations.

Open details →

A man may or may not have betrayed a resistance fighter during World War II. He has supposedly been shot down by the Nazis and wanders into town. Mourning the death of an unseen comrade, he is taken in by the family of the dead rebel. He engages in a superfluous affair and witnesses the lesbian relationship between the man's sister and a female servant. When passions subside, the family has doubts about the reliability of the man's story.

Open details →

A movie producer, director and assistant take the Trans-Europ-Express from Paris to Antwerp. They get the idea for a movie about a drug smuggler on their train and visualize it while taping the script.

Open details →

A melancholy man meets a stunning, mysterious woman while he is traveling, and discovers she may or may not be involved in a prostitution ring. She disappears after their relationship lasts a few days, and though he searches for her, those around him pretend not to know who he is speaking of.

Open details →

A woman in a dark blue burqa directs, without a word, four other women in a room. The Five Senses is a sensuous play with power and hierarchy where traditional roles and identities are challenged.

Open details →