The British Film Institute (BFI) has announced a groundbreaking celebration of Chantal Akerman, a visionary filmmaker whose work continues to inspire and challenge contemporary cinema. Known as a rebel who reshaped film with her bold, nonconformist style, Akerman’s career will be commemorated in a comprehensive retrospective at BFI Southbank from February to March 2025. Highlights of the season include the re-release of Akerman’s landmark film, Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles, restored in 2K and set for UK cinemas on February 7, 2025. The celebration extends across multiple platforms with screenings, a touring cinema package, Blu-ray collector’s editions, and a curated collection on BFI Player, making her work widely accessible to UK audiences for the first time.
Akerman, a Belgian filmmaker born in 1950, broke cinematic boundaries with her focus on themes of identity, belonging, and the complexity of everyday life, often with an autobiographical edge. Her best-known work, Jeanne Dielman, a methodical and minimalist portrait of a housewife’s life, achieved iconic status in 2022, becoming the first female-directed film to top the Sight and Sound Greatest Films of All Time poll. While Jeanne Dielman remains a cornerstone of her legacy, the BFI retrospective will reveal a more nuanced view of Akerman’s prolific career, from her experimental early shorts to her later contemplative documentaries and literary adaptations.
To mark this tribute, the BFI will also release a two-part Blu-ray collection, Chantal Akerman Collection, with Volume 1 (1967-1978) available from February 24, 2025, and Volume 2 (1982-2015) on June 16, 2025. These volumes present restored versions of some of her most influential works, many of which have never before been available in the UK. Alongside her films, a curated BFI Player collection will accompany the retrospective, offering audiences a digital doorway into Akerman’s unique cinematic world.
Curator Isabel Stevens describes Akerman as a filmmaker who “blew up” traditional cinema with her films about women, domestic spaces, and themes of displacement and confinement. Her approach has influenced directors worldwide, from Céline Sciamma to Joanna Hogg, making this retrospective both timely and necessary. The BFI’s two-month season will explore the recurrent themes in Akerman’s work, such as self-portraits, identity, romance, and exile, offering audiences the chance to immerse themselves in the radical vision that defined her work.
Akerman’s rebellious spirit and bold style made her a cornerstone of feminist and avant-garde cinema. Her influence continues to resonate, as shown by the Fondation Chantal Akerman’s collaboration with BFI and CINEMATEK to bring this retrospective to life. The celebration at BFI Southbank is a fitting homage to a director whose films remain urgent, inspiring, and deeply personal. Tickets for the screenings will be available to BFI Patrons starting January 13, to BFI Members on January 14, and to the public on January 16, 2025.
