Le Père Noël à les yeux bleus (Father Christmas Has Blue Eyes). 1966. France. Written and directed by Jean Eustache. With Jean-Pierre Léaud, Gérard Zimmermann, Henri Martinez. 35mm. 50 min. In French; English subtitles.
Le Père Noël à les yeux bleus, which was filmed with stock donated by Jean-Luc Godard from Masculin féminin and features the same lead actor, Jean-Pierre Léaud, is an autobiographical portrait of Eustache’s own miserable adolescence in a small town in the South of France, its tone of emotional, material, and sexual deprivation confirming Eustache’s singular place within the New Wave galaxy. Courtesy Janus Films
Machorka-Muff. 1963. West Germany. Written and directed by Danièle Huillet, Jean-Marie Straub. With Heiner Braun, Gino Cardella, Johannes Eckardt. 35mm. 18 min. In German; English subtitles.
After refusing to serve in Algeria and exiling himself to Germany, Jean-Marie Straub collaborated with Danièle Huillet on this ironic, bitter adaptation of a short story by Heinrich Böll, evoking the demons of Nazism in present-day Germany. Machorka-Muff reveals itself as a film at the frontiers of documentary and dream, and a singular work of sound and image. Courtesy Grasshopper Films
Les enfants désaccordés. 1964. France. Written and directed by Philippe Garrel. With Maurice Garrel, Christiane Pérez, Pascal Roy. DCP. 15 min. In French; English subtitles.
Two teenagers take flight as the warnings of their parents are heard in voiceover. Already in this first film Philippe Garrel displays the poetry and inimitable gaze that would culminate in his feature La Cicatrice intérièure. Courtesy The Film Desk