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Chantal Akerman

Chantal Akerman

Director, writer, actor and producer, also cinematographer · Died October 5, 2015, aged 65 · Brussels, Belgium

Chantal Anne Akerman (June 6, 1950 – October 5, 2015) was a Belgian film director, artist and professor of film at the City College of New York. Her best-known film is Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975). Despite being categorised as such by others, Akerman frequently distanced herself from the feminist label, explaining, "when people say there is a feminist film language, it is like saying there is only one way for women to express themselves". Instead, Akerman acknowledged that her cinematic approach took inspiration from the writings of Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, as well as from filmmakers Michael Snow and Jean-Luc Godard. Many directors have cited Akerman's directorial style as an influence on their work. Kelly Reichardt, Gus Van Sant, and Sofia Coppola have noted their exploration of filming in real time as a tribute to Akerman.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
June 6, 1950
Died
October 5, 2015 (aged 65)
From
Brussels, Belgium
Works as
Director, writer, actor and producer, also cinematographer
Titles
12 on MovieCove · 77 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 37 days to Oct 26Up 20% in 30 days

What are Chantal Akerman's films like?

Across their 14 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.

Genres

Documentary6 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 77th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Documentary movies
Drama5 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 73rd percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Drama movies
Comedy3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 64th percentile
: browse their Comedy movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
22%
Self
22%
Society
21%
Ideas
17%
Power
10%
Morality
6%
Survival
3%
Art4 titles, browse their movies with this themeRomantic love4 titles, browse their movies with this themeIsolation4 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity4 titles, browse their movies with this themeClass2 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds2 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity2 titles, browse their movies with this themeMemory2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 14 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 6 · Serious 5 · Dark 3

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 5 · Stylized 6 · Heightened 3

Gentle: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their gentle movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 11 · Charged 3 · Intense 0

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 13 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 0

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 11 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 0

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 10 · Even-paced 4 · Relentless 0

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

A split, not a type: Casual 5 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 5

Ambiguous: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their ambiguous movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 3 · Open-ended 5 · Ambiguous 6

Roles they play

1 analyzed role

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Contemplative
9
Melancholic
6
Warm
5
Tense
4
Joyful
2
Other
6

How their films linger

Thought-provoking7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteWistful7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 1 with a twist

  • Happy1
  • Bittersweet3
  • Tragic1
  • Ambiguous8
  • Cyclical1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Chantal Akerman's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 6 of their 12 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on The Criterion Channel (6).

Subscription and free streaming for Chantal Akerman's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

77 credits, 12 with a MovieCove page; 21 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Morceaux de Cannes (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)

    Actor

  • Porto(2016)

    as (voice)

    Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films

  • No Home Movie(2015)

    Director · Cinematographer · Producer · Sound · Writer · as Self

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films

  • Now (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    Director

  • What Lies Beneath the Sky (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    as Narrator(voice)

  • My Mother Laughs Prelude (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)

    Director · as Self

  • Almayer's Folly (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)

    Director · Producer · Writer

  • Les variations Dielman (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Thanks

  • On bosse ici! On vit ici! On reste ici! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Co-Director

  • Maniac Summer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)

    Director · Cinematographer · Editor · as Self

  • East with Sonia Wieder-Atherton (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)

    Director

  • The State of the World (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)

    Director · Cinematographer

  • Nightfall in Shanghai (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)

    Director

  • Interview with Aurore Clément (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)

    Director · as Self

  • Interview with Babette Mangolte (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)

    Director · as Self

  • Interview with my Mother, Natalia Akerman (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)

    Director · as Self

  • Down There (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)

    Director · Cinematographer · Sound · Writer · as Self (voice)

  • Chantal Akerman, an autobiography (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)

    Actor

  • Tomorrow We Move (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)

    Director · Writer

  • Making of Tomorrow We Move (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)

    Director · as self

  • With Sonia Wieder-Atherton (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)

    Director

  • From the Other Side (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)

    Director · Cinematographer · Writer · as Self (Narrator - Interviewer)

  • The Captive(2000)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films

  • No Vladimir (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)

    Supervising Producer

  • South (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)

    Director · Writer

  • Chantal Akerman by Chantal Akerman (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)

    Director · as Self

  • The Day When... (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)

    Director · Writer · as Self

  • A Couch in New York(1996)

    Director · Dialogue · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films

  • Portrait of a Young Girl at the End of the '60s in Brussels (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)

    Director · Writer

  • All the Boys and Girls of Their Time (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)

    Show 9 episodes · Director

  • From the East (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)

    Director · Writer

  • Monologues (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)

    Show 1 episode · Director

  • Moving In (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)

    Director · Writer

  • Lest We Forget (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)

    Director

  • Night and Day (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)

    Director · Writer

  • For Febe Elisabeth Velasquez, El Salvador (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)

    Director

  • American Stories: Food, Family and Philosophy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)

    Director

  • On Tour with Pina Bausch(1983)

    Director · Writer · as Self (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films

  • Franz Schubert's Last Three Piano Sonatas (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)

    Director

  • Three Stanzas on the Name of Sacher (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)

    Director

  • L'inhumaine (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)

    as -

  • Golden Eighties(1986)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films

  • Portrait of a Lazy Woman (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)

    Director · Writer · Actor

  • Seven Women, Seven Sins(1986)

    Director · Writer · as Film Director (segment Portrait d'une Paresseuse)

    Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all films

  • Mallet-Stevens Street (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)

    Director · Writer · Actor

  • Letters Home (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)

    Director

  • The Hammer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)

    Director

  • She Spent So Many Hours Under the Sun Lamps (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)

    Actor

  • The Eighties (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)

    Director · Writer

  • Family Business (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)

    Director · Writer · as Self

  • Letter from a Filmmaker: Chantal Akerman (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)

    Director · as Self

  • I'm Hungry, I'm Cold (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)

    Director

  • Paris Seen By... 20 Years After (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)

    Director

  • The Man with the Suitcase (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1983)

    Director · Writer · as The Woman

  • Toute une nuit (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)

    Director · Screenplay

  • Hôtel des Acacias (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)

    Co-Director · Production Supervisor · Writer

  • Tell Me (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1980)

    Director · as Self

  • Grands mères (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1980)

    Show 1 episode · Director · as Self

  • Meetings with Anna(1978)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films

  • Hotel Monterey (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)

    Director · Producer · Writer

  • News from Home(1976)

    Director · Writer · as Self - Letter Reader (voice)

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films

  • Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles(1975)

    Director · Writer · as Neighbor (voice) (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • Chantal Akerman: An Interview (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)

    as Chantal Akerman

  • Around Jeanne Dielman (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)

    Editor · as Self

  • I, You, He, She(1974)

    Director · Producer · Writer · as Julie

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films

  • 'Rameau's Nephew' by Diderot (Thanx to Dennis Young) by Wilma Schoen (1974)(1974)

    Actor

    Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films

  • Le 15/8 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1973)

    Director · Cinematographer · Editor · Writer

  • Hanging Out Yonkers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1973)

    Director · Writer

  • La chambre (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)

    Director · Producer · Writer · as Self - On Her Bed

  • The Beloved Child, or I Play at Being a Married Woman (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)

    Director · Producer · Writer · as Self (uncredited)

  • Untitled (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1970)

    Director · Actor

  • Saute ma ville (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1968)

    Director · as The Girl

  • Examen d'entrée INSAS (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)

    Director · Actor

  • Knokke: Une petite fiction 2 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)

    Director · as Self (uncredited)

  • Knokke: Une petite fiction (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)

    Director

  • Bruxelles: La soeur et la mère de Marilyn (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)

    Director

  • Bruxelles: À la Foire du Midi (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)

    Director

Career shape

A full career of 77 titles from 1967 to 2021.

Biggest box office

Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)

$43K worldwide

Highest rated

Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)

Midcredits 92nd

Film career

Top draw in 2 MovieCove titles.

  • 1968Screen debut· Saute ma ville
  • 1968First top-billed film· Saute ma ville

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting17 of 77: 8 only acting, 9 with another role · typical Midcredits score64thDirecting66 of 77: 30 only directing, 36 with another role · typical Midcredits score73rdWriting31 of 77: 0 only writing, 31 with another role · typical Midcredits score73rdProducing7 of 77: 1 only producing, 6 with another roleCinematography6 of 77: 0 only cinematography, 6 with another roleEditing3 of 77: 1 only editing, 2 with another roleOther crew4 of 77: 1 only other crew, 3 with another role

77 titles, 36 with more than one role — directing and writing overlap on 31 of them.

By decade

1960s6 · 2 acting · 6 crew1970s13 · 5 acting · 11 crew1980s22 · 6 acting · 20 crew1990s12 · crew2000s15 · 1 acting · 14 crew2010s8 · 2 acting · 6 crew2020s1 · acting

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Chantal Akerman's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 72nd percentile, the median of all 12; across their 14 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 78th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

78thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 14

Approval · how many liked their films

66thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 14

Reach · how many have seen their films

66thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 14

Midcredits score across 12 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up4
  • 50th to 74th5
  • 25th to 49th3

Shape of the crowd

7 of their 12 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser7
  • Mixed4

Most divisive · actor

'Rameau's Nephew' by Diderot (Thanx to Dennis Young) by Wilma Schoen (1974) (1974)

81st percentile spread · 26% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor, director, writer

Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)

Midcredits 92nd · 74% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 70/100 and the pacing 30/100 in their films, across 11 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Chantal Akerman's work okay for kids?

Across a limited sample of up to 3 MovieCove titles with content scores.

Their medianMedian of all films
Sex & Nudity3 titlesmedian 70 · intenseMedian of all films: 32

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.

Who does Chantal Akerman work with?

People who share at least 2 of Chantal Akerman's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Babette Mangolte shares the most, 4.

Writers

Actors

Cinematographers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles