Directors on Directors

Directors on Directors

7 Episodes

Storied auteurs are seen through the lens of fellow filmmaking greats in these revealing director-on-director portraits that stand as distinctive works of art in their own right. Whether it’s Agnès Varda filming a walk with Pier Paolo Pasolini through 1960s Time Square, Ken Jacobs turning fellow avant-garde hero Jonas Mekas into the star of a stroboscopic still life, or Elem Klimov paying moving tribute to his late wife Larisa Shepitko, these by turns candid and carefully crafted miniatures reflect both the creative work of their subject and the unique eye of the filmmaker behind the camera.

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Directors on Directors
  • Pier Paolo Pasolini – Agnès Varda – New York – 1967

    Episode 1

    Directed by Agnès Varda • 2022 • France
    Starring Pier Paolo Pasolini, Agnès Varda

    Agnès Varda takes a walk with Pier Paolo Pasolini through 1960s Times Square and records his thoughts on aesthetics, religion, and reality vs. fiction.

  • Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe

    Episode 2

    Directed by Les Blank • 1980 • United States

    As a result of a lost bet with his assistant, Errol Morris, director Werner Herzog must eat his own shoe.

  • My Dad Is 100 Years Old

    Episode 3

    Directed by Guy Maddin • 2005 • Canada
    Starring Isabella Rossellini

    Guy Maddin’s centenary tribute to Roberto Rossellini stars the great neorealist filmmaker’s daughter, Isabella Rossellini.

  • Larisa

    Episode 4

    Directed by Elem Klimov • 1980 • Soviet Union
    Starring Larisa Shepitko, Oleksandr Dovzhenko, Elem Klimov

    Director Larisa Shepitko’s husband, Elem Klimov, made this short documentary a year after the death of his wife in 1979. Using footage from her films, including the last image she ever record...

  • Behind the Scenes: The Making of CEDDO

    Episode 5

    Directed by Paulin Soumanou Vieyra • 1981 • Senegal
    Starring Ousmane Sembène

    In this chronicle of the making of a masterpiece, Paulin Vieyra captures Senegalese cinema titan Ousmane Sembène during the production of his 1977 historical drama CEDDO, which would go on to be banned under the Senghor...

  • Abbas Kiarostami: Truths and Dreams

    Episode 6

    Directed by Jean-Pierre Limosin • 1994 • France
    Starring Abbas Kiarostami

    This documentary by Jean-Pierre Limosin was broadcast as the November 28, 1994, episode of the French television show “Cinéma, de notre temps.” Featuring footage of Abbas Kiarostami returning to the Koker region, it chroni...

  • Godard 1980

    Episode 7

    Directed by Jon Jost, Donald Ranvaud, and Peter Wollen • 1980 • United Kingdom

    The following short film from 1980, featuring director Jean-Luc Godard, was made by Jon Jost, Don Ranvaud, and Peter Wollen, in association with the magazine “Framework: The Journal of Cinema and Media.”