‘Être Jérôme Bel - Sima Khatami & Aldo Lee’

Choreographer Jérôme Bel, a nonconformist known for his anti-system, anti-showtime stance, and his anti-dance performances, embodies all of the above with panache, an abundance of joy, a twinkle in his eye and a strong penchant for improvisation and imperfect bodies... A socially engaged artist, his work is an open realm of possibilities. His dance performances continually question what happens on and around the stage, and the relation between artists and audiences. It is somewhat surprising, therefore, to see how easily he agrees to the exercise: being filmed while at work. He openly talks about himself. After a while, however, he balks at being filmed. Would he rather be behind the camera? Who is instructing who? Who is the film director? The filmmaker or the filmed subject? A genuine hijacking, Being Jérôme Bel is also a delightful comedy that continuously questions everyone’s role and the art of making a documentary.

Filmmaker Aldo Lee (South Africa) has made documentaries as well as fiction feature films. Among his numerous works, two were awarded best documentary: La Double vie de Dona Ermelinda at the Vues d'Afrique international film festival in Montréal, and Fermiers Blancs, Terre Noire at the Festival of the Dhow Countries in Tanzania. In addition, he has filmed many dance performances, worked with choreographers to create images for their dance pieces, and been in charge of the framing of shots on artists’ films.

Filmmaker and mixed medium artist Sima Khatami (Iran) lives in Paris. She regularly works on performances and exhibitions with choreographers such as Pierre Droulers, Yves-Noël Genod and Boris Charmatz. Her films have received awards in various festivals (FID, Cinéma du Réel, Kunsten…).