According to San Francisco Movie Examiner, Bonnie Steiger, French filmmaker Chris Marker was one of the most celebrated artists in the world. Wikipedia states that Chris Marker died on Sunday, July 29, 2012, his 91st birthday.
Conflicting Date and Origin
Conflicting sources say Marker died the day after, July 30th. They also disagree on where he originated, one source says Paris, France.
Cat Lover
Either way, Marker was quite talented, and from what is written about him, a cat lover too. He was a French writer, photographer, documentary film director, multimedia artist and film essayist.
Films and Photography
Marker was best known for his films La jetee (1962) and Sans Soleil (1983), A Grin Without a Cat (1977) and AK (1985) (about Japanese director Akira Kurosawa).
During his early journalism career Marker became increasingly interested in filmmaking and experimented with photography in the early 1950s.
Other Filmmakers
Marker is often associated with the Left Bank Cinema movement that occurred in the late 1950s. It included such other filmmakers as Alain Resnais, Agnes Varda, Henri Colpi and Armand Gatti.
Marker’s Travels
In January 1961 Marker traveled to Cuba and shot the film !Cuba Si!. The film promotes and defends Fidel Castro and includes two interviews with him.
Marker’s Uniqueness
“Marker is unclassifiable, because he is unique…The French Cinema has its dramatists and its poets, its technicians, and its autobiographers, but only has one true essayist: Chris Marker.” – film theorist, Roy Armes
Documentary on Marker versus Photos
Chris Marker lived in Paris and very rarely granted interviews. When asked for a picture of himself, he usually offered a photograph of a cat instead.
Thus for that reason, no photo is available of him here, but instead, a documentory of his work.
Condolences and Friend Shares
Condolences go out to family, friends and fans.
“[Chris Marker was] the prototype of the twenty-first-century man.” – by friend, Alain Resnais
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HrujmaJ5zU
