The film will be shown in its original version with English subtitles.

Theatre and cinema—different arts that maintain a bond of friendly rivalry; two arts that define, permeate, observe, challenge, and inspire one another. This new film series takes on a short cinematic history of theatre, or perhaps a theatre history of film.

Filmmaker Jean-Claude Biette’s Le Théâtre des Matières meticulously explores the boundaries between life and art through the lens of a small theatre troupe struggling to carve out its place beyond the dominant scene of 1970s Paris. What drives people to devote themselves to art? What makes them persevere? The film also offers a masterclass in cinematic framing—and in the very qualities that set cinema apart from theatre.

Screening and talk with Patrick Holzapfel of Jugend ohne Film