Chantal Akerman – Paris Spleen

J'ai faim, j'ai froid | Le 15/8

France, Belgium | 1984, 1973 | 55 min

Language: I’m Hungry, I’m Cold: French, Le 15/8: English, French

Subtitles: I’m Hungry, I’m Cold: English, Le 15/8: French

Suitable for all age groups

Director(s): Chantal Akerman, Chantal Akerman, Samy Szlingerbaum

Script: Chantal Akerman, Chantal Akerman, Samy Szlingerbaum

Cast: Maria de Medeiros, Pascale Salkin, Esmoris Hanibal, Chris Myllykoski

Production: J.M. Productions, Films A2

Distribution: Fondation Chantal Akerman, Fondation Chantal Akerman

Short Film | Comedy | Documentary | Black & White

Female Director Masters Classic Film History Friendship

Screenings:

In 2025, it will have been 75 years since the birth of Chantal Akerman and 10 years since her death. Espoo Ciné presents two rarely seen, Paris-based films by the Belgian director.

Le 15/8, co-directed by Akerman and Samy Szlingerbaum, may spark flickers of recognition: this documentary monologue film, shot in August 1973, is marked by the unhurried presence of a Finnish exchange student, Chris Myllykoski. There is no known information about Myllykoski’s later life, but Le 15/8 serves as a time capsule of a young woman in transition—caught in between, in a foreign city where fragile routines and connections have already begun to form.

J’ai faim, j’ai froid (1984, “I’m Hungry, I’m Cold”) was Akerman’s contribution to the multi-director anthology film Paris vu par… vingt ans après. Two Belgian teenagers run away to the City of Light, convinced that life begins in Paris. The briskly paced film features Maria de Medeiros in one of her earliest roles, alongside Pascale Salkin, also seen in Akerman’s musical Golden Eighties (1986).

Tytti Rantanen