Chris Marker, a wildly influential French filmmaker/poet, has sadly passed away at the age of 91. His most well known work is the 1962 short film La Jetée, a mind bending science fiction story told exclusively through amazing photography.
Chris Marker’s films have been generally seen as filmic essays, in the sense that he told his stories through narration, poetry, and images. Because of this, he may not be as well known as other French filmmakers of his era such as Jean-Luc Godard or Francois Truffaut, but he definitely left a mark on the filmmaking world by exploring how movies can actually be seen and taken in. He has left behind a very diverse and intriguing span of work that went up to recent decades.
I highly recommend that, if you haven’t already, check out the Criterion blu-ray edition of La Jetée and Sans Soleil, both included on one disc. It is a great introduction to the man’s work that will show you a different side of film that is full of emotion.
Chris Marker, you will be missed.