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Claire Atherton

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Claire Atherton
Claire Atherton in 2005
Born1963 (age 61–62)
San Francisco, USA
NationalityFrench, American
EducationInstitut national des langues et civilisations orientales, Paris

Institute of Foreign Language, Beijing

École nationale supérieure Louis-Lumière, Paris
Occupation(s)Film editor, conception of video installations
AwardsVision Award Ticinomoda 2019

Claire Atherton is a renowned film editor who has been a close collaborator of Chantal Akerman since the mid-1980s. Over the years, she has also worked with a wide range of international filmmakers. In 2019, she was honored with the Vision Award Ticinomoda at the 72nd Locarno International Film Festival, becoming the first woman to receive this distinction.

Biography

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Early life and education

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Born in 1963 in San Francisco, U.S., Atherton grew up in New York and later in Paris. She now lives and works in France. Her parents are Ioana Wieder, a French filmmaker of Romanian Jewish origin, and John Atherton, an American academic. Her sister is the cellist Sonia Wieder-Atherton.

Drawn early on to Taoist philosophy and Chinese ideograms,[1] she spent several months in China in 1980, studying at the Institute of Foreign Languages in Beijing. Upon returning to France, she enrolled at the National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilizations in Paris.

Her first professional experience came in 1982 at the Centre Audiovisuel Simone de Beauvoir in Paris, where she worked as a video technician. In 1984, she entered the professional program at the École Nationale Supérieure Louis-Lumière in Paris, graduating in 1986.[2] Soon after, she began working with both sound and image, collaborating notably with Delphine Seyrig and Carole Roussopoulos on projects for the Centre Simone de Beauvoir, among others.[3] From the 1990s onwards, her focus shifted primarily to film editing.

Encounter and collaboration with Chantal Akerman

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Claire Atherton met Chantal Akerman in 1984 during the stage adaptation of Letters Home: Correspondence 1950-1963 by Sylvia Plath, performed by Delphine Seyrig at the Théâtre Moderne de Paris. At the time, Seyrig—then President of the Centre Audiovisuel Simone de Beauvoir—invited Akerman and Atherton to film the production.

"I quickly sensed, when we began editing, that it would be the beginning of a long story between Claire and me," Akerman later recalled.[4]

That encounter marked the start of a creative partnership that would span over three decades.[5] In 2007, Chantal Akerman spoke openly about the deep creative connection she shared with Claire Atherton in the editing room:

"We're in such osmosis that sometimes we don't even need to talk to each other. (...) For example, a shot—the length of a shot. We look at it and both tap the table at the same moment: we see the same things, we know when to stop. (...) There's nothing logical about the length of a shot. It's all about feeling. And it's a miracle to find someone who feels the way you do."[6]

Their collaboration extended beyond cinema into the realm of video installations, a medium Akerman began exploring in 1995.[7] Atherton played a central role in shaping these works, helping to develop an editing approach that was "not only temporal but also spatial".[8] Today, she continues to oversee the conception and spatial design of Chantal Akerman’s installations, which are still exhibited in France and internationally.

Atherton contributed to nearly all of Akerman’s major works—documentaries, fiction films, and installations—up until No Home Movie[9] and NOW, the latter presented at the 2015 Venice Biennale in 2015.[10]

On November 16, 2015, ahead of the premiere of No Home Movie at the Cinémathèque française in Paris, Atherton paid tribute to her late collaborator by reading a personal text she had written in Akerman’s honor.[11]

Film editing: fiction, documentaries, video installations

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In addition to her long-standing collaboration with Chantal Akerman, Claire Atherton has worked with a wide range of filmmakers and artists, both in France and internationally. Since the 1980s, she has edited more than 80 works—including short and feature films, art films, experimental pieces, documentaries, and video installations—spanning projects from cinema to contemporary art exhibitions.[12]

In 2000, she met Luc Decaster for the editing of Rêve d’usine, and has edited all his films since.

In 2023, Noëlle Pujol spoke about their regular collaboration since 2007:

"Claire Atherton edits fiction films, documentaries and video installations. That’s why I wanted to work with her. We’ve been working together since 2007. Claire often compares the act of editing to that of sculpting. Far from using images and sounds to serve a message, she listens to them and shapes them to give birth to the film. Claire places questioning and movement at the heart of her work. She is not so much interested in providing answers as in asking questions to keep cinema alive."[13]

After the death of Chantal Akerman, she met Éric Baudelaire, an artist and filmmaker with whom she began a particularly rich collaboration starting in 2015. From then on, she became the editor of all his films, and it was with her that he began creating his first video installations.[14]

Among some of the other projects she has worked on are Mafrouza,[15] a multi-part documentary by Emmanuelle Demoris for which she edited the segments Cœur and Oh la nuit in 2007, and Au Monde by Christophe Bisson in 2013. More recently, in 2023, Atherton edited Man in Black,[16] a film by Wang Bing selected for the Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. She also worked on The Vanishing Point by Bani Khoshnoudi, which received the Burning Lights Competition Award at the Visions du Réel Festival (Nyon International Film Festival) in 2025.[17]

Work beyond editing

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Atherton is regularly invited to lead masterclasses and workshops for emerging filmmakers, both in France and internationally, at institutions such as La Fémis (Paris), HEAD – Haute école d'art et de design (Geneva), Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola (San Sebastián) or EICTV—La Escuela Internacional de Cine y TV (San Antonio de Los Baños, Cuba). She frequently contributes essays published in specialized books and occasionally online. Her essay “The Art of Editing” is featured in the anthology Montage, co-published by HEAD and MAMCO.[18]

In November 2023, she was invited to curate an exhibition of works by Chantal Akerman at La Virreina Centre de la Imatge in Barcelona. Facing The Image,[19] her first curatorial project, was later presented at Artium Museoa in Vitoria-Gasteiz in May 2025.[20]’[21]

Recognition

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In 2013, her work has been honoured with a comprehensive retrospective at the Grenoble Cinémathèque (France)[22] — an unprecedented tribute to the body of work of an editor.

In 2019, Atherton was awarded the Vision Award Ticinomoda at the 72nd Locarno International Film Festival,[23]’[24] becoming the first woman to receive the honor. Since its inception in 2013, the award "both highlights and pays tribute to someone whose creative work behind the scenes, as well as in their own right, has contributed to opening up new perspectives in film".[25]

Filmography

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Films (editing)

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Films (photography)

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  • 1986: Femmes et Musique, production of Centre audiovisuel Simone de Beauvoir (first assistant camera)
  • 1986: Rue Mallet-Stevens by Chantal Akerman (director of photography)
  • 1986: Le Marteau by Chantal Akerman (director of photography)
  • 1988: Histoires d'Amérique by Chantal Akerman (first assistant camera)
  • 1988: L'institut du monde Arabe (first assistant camera)
  • 1988: Marguerite Paradis by Chantal Akerman (director of photography)
  • 1988: Notes pour Debussy by Jean-Patrick Lebel (first assistant camera)
  • 1990: Igor by Jean-François Gallotte (director of photography)

Installations (editing and spatial design)

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  • 1995 : D’Est, au bord de la fiction[26] by Chantal Akerman
  • 1995 : Le 25e écran[27] by Chantal Akerman
  • 1998 : Selfportrait / Autobiography: A Work in Progress[28] by Chantal Akerman
  • 2001 : Woman Sitting After Killing[29] by Chantal Akerman
  • 2002 : From the Other Side[30] by Chantal Akerman
  • 2002 : A voice in the Desert[31] by Chantal Akerman
  • 2003 : From the Other Side, Fragment[32] by Chantal Akerman
  • 2004 : Marcher à côté de ses lacets dans un frigidaire vide[33] by Chantal Akerman
  • 2007 : La Chambre[34] by Chantal Akerman
  • 2007 : Je tu il elle[35] by Chantal Akerman
  • 2007 : In the Mirror[36] by Chantal Akerman
  • 2008 : Femmes d’Anvers en Novembre[37] by Chantal Akerman
  • 2008 : Décor vidéo de Chantal Akerman pour I am a mistake de Jan Fabre
  • 2009 : Maniac Summer[38] by Chantal Akerman
  • 2009 : Tombée de nuit sur Shanghai by Chantal Akerman
  • 2012 : Maniac Shadows[39] by Chantal Akerman
  • 2010 : My Mother Laughs, Prelude[40] by Chantal Akerman
  • 2014 : De la mèr(e) au désert[41] by Chantal Akerman
  • 2015 : NOW, Chantal Akerman[42] by Chantal Akerman
  • 2019 : Tu peux prendre ton temps[43] by Éric Baudelaire
  • 2021 : This Flower in My Mouth[44] by Éric Baudelaire

See also

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Published texts

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  • 2015: Tribute to Chantal Akerman.

A text written and read by Claire Atherton during the tribute to Chantal Akerman at the Cinémathèque française in Paris on November 16, 2015, before the premiere of No Home Movie. An English translation by Felicity Chaplin was published online in 2020 by the journal Sabzian. The piece also appeared in the Senses of Cinema issue "Chantal Akerman: An Intimate Passion” [45] and in Camera Obscura: Feminism, Culture, and Media Studies.[46] The text was also featured as an installation in the exhibition Facing the Image in 2023 at La Virreina Centre de la Imatge in Barcelona[47] and in 2025 at Artium Museoa in Vitoria-Gasteiz.[48]

  • 2018: Can we be in touch with what is?

This text was originally written for the publication of What is Real? Filmmakers weigh in (2018), a bilingual, illustrated volume, published to mark the 40th anniversary of the Cinéma du Réel festival and edited by Andréa Picard.[49] It was later published online in 2020 by the journal Sabzian.

  • 2019: Living Matter.

An English translation by Nicholas Elliott appeared in the Summer 2019 issue of BOMB Magazine[50] and was also published online in 2020 by the journal Sabzian. Excerpts from the text were featured under the title “About D’Est. Editing Chantal Akerman’s Film” on Versopolis, November 4, 2019.[51]

Interviews

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Talks and Masterclasses (in English / Spanish)

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References

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  1. ^ Claire Atherton (Summer 2019). "Living Matter". BOMB Magazine.
  2. ^ "Living Matter by Claire Atherton - BOMB Magazine". bombmagazine.org. 17 September 2019. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  3. ^ Justine Smith (November 18, 2019). ""Not Knowing Where You're Going": How Claire Atherton Edits Movies".
  4. ^ Chantal Akerman. Una Autobiografia / An Autobiography. Buenos Aires: Malba - Coleccion Costatini. 2005.
  5. ^ "Listening to Images: A Conversation with Editor Claire Atherton". MUBI. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  6. ^ Laure Vermeersch, Pierre Zaoui & Sacha Zilberfarb (20 April 2007). "Là-bas ou ailleurs, entretien avec Chantal Akerman" (in French).
  7. ^ "Installations". Fondation Chantal Akerman.
  8. ^ "Chantal Akerman, Now, 14 Sept. – 21 Oct. 2017" (PDF). Marian Goodman.
  9. ^ "Interview: Claire Atherton". Film Comment. 2016-11-02. Retrieved 2019-12-09.
  10. ^ "All the World's Futures / 56th Venice Biennale". Flash Art. 2015-05-21. Retrieved 2025-07-04.
  11. ^ Claire Atherton (translation by Felicity Chaplin). "Tribute to Chantal Akerman". Sabzian.
  12. ^ "Claire Atherton". IMDb.
  13. ^ Vitor Miranda (8 October 2023). "Interview with Noëlle Pujol".
  14. ^ Arindam Sen (20 April 2022). "Éric Baudelaire, Infinity Mirrors: Realities of fiction and fictive renderings of real".
  15. ^ "Mafrouza". UniFrance. Retrieved 2025-07-04.
  16. ^ "Man in Black". Cannes Film Festival. Retrieved 2025-07-04.
  17. ^ "The Vanishing Point". Visions du Réel. Retrieved 2025-07-04.
  18. ^ HEAD – Genève, MAMCO (2018). "Montage. Une anthologie (1913-2018)" (in French).
  19. ^ "Facing the Image, 18.11.2023 – 14.04.2024". La Virreina Centre de la Imatge.
  20. ^ "Facing the Image, Chantal Akerman, 30.05 – 19.10.2025, Exhibition Leaflet" (PDF). Artium Museoa, Museum of Contemporary Art of the Basque Country.
  21. ^ Artium Museoa (30 May 2025). "Chantal Akerman, Encarar la imagen" (in Spanish).
  22. ^ "« En montage avec Claire Atherton », Cinémathèque de Grenoble, 3-6 décembre 2013" (PDF).
  23. ^ "Locarno Film Festival unveils 2019 line-up". 17 July 2019.
  24. ^ "One Vision, Claire Atherton". YouTube/@locarnofilmfest.
  25. ^ "Vision Award Ticinomoda". www.locarnofestival.ch. Archived from the original on 2019-08-20. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  26. ^ D’Est, au bord de la fiction, Fondation Chantal Akerman, 1995
  27. ^ Le vingt-cinquième écran, Sabzian, 15.06.2016
  28. ^ Selfportrait/Autobiography : A Work In Progress, Bozar, Bruxelles, 7 octobre 2022-15 janvier 2023
  29. ^ Woman Sitting after Killing, Museo Reina Sofia, 2001
  30. ^ From the Other Side, Marian Goodman, 9 December 2021 - 5 February 2022
  31. ^ Une voix dans le désert, MACBA, 2002
  32. ^ De l’autre côté, fragment d’une installation, IFF Rotterdam, 30 Jan – 9 Feb 2025
  33. ^ Marcher à côté de ses lacets dans un frigidaire vide, Marian Goodman, 22 June - 24 July 2004
  34. ^ Interview: Claire Atherton, Tina Poglajen, Film Comment, November 2, 2016
  35. ^ Claire Atherton on the exhibition of C. Akerman at Marian Goodman, a conversation with Dr. Kostas Prapoglou, XIBT n°1, 2022
  36. ^ In the Mirror, La Biennale de Lyon, 2024
  37. ^ Femmes d’Anvers en Novembre, Fondation Chantal Akerman, 2008
  38. ^ Maniac Summer, Marian Goodman, 5 December 2009 - 9 January 2010
  39. ^ Maniac Shadows, La Ferme du Buisson, du 19 novembre au 19 février 2017
  40. ^ My Mother Laughs Prelude, Fondation Chantal Akerman, 2012
  41. ^ De la mère au désert, Mamuta, 2014.
  42. ^ “Now”, le présent éternel de Chantal Akerman, Télérama, 04 octobre 2017 .
  43. ^ Tu peux prendre ton temps, baudelaire.net
  44. ^ This Flower in My Mouth, baudelaire.net
  45. ^ Atherton, Claire (2015-12-08). "Tribute to Chantal Akerman by Claire Atherton". Senses of Cinema. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  46. ^ "Volume 34 Issue 1 (100) | Camera Obscura: Feminism, Culture, and Media Studies | Duke University Press". read.dukeupress.edu. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  47. ^ "Facing the Image, Chantal Akerman, 18.11.2023 – 14.04.2024, Exhibition Leaflet" (PDF). La Virreina Centre de la Imatge, Barcelona.
  48. ^ "Chantal Akerman. Facing the Image, 30 May - 19 October 2025". Artium Museoa, Museum of Contemporary Art of the Basque Country.
  49. ^ Picard, dir. Andréa (2018). What is Real? Filmmakers weigh in. Post-édition / Cinéma du Réel. pp. 13–16.
  50. ^ "Living Matter by Claire Atherton - BOMB Magazine". bombmagazine.org. 17 September 2019. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  51. ^ Beletrina, Production. "About D'Est | Versopolis". www.versopolis.com. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  52. ^ "Volume 34 Issue 1 (100) | Camera Obscura: Feminism, Culture, and Media Studies | Duke University Press". read.dukeupress.edu. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  53. ^ Roger Crittenden (2018). Fine Cuts: Interviews on the Practice of European Film Editing (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge. ISBN 9781315475134.
  54. ^ "News from Home: The Films of Chantal Akerman". TIFF. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  55. ^ "MASTERCLASS: Claire Atherton (in English) | Ji.hlava IDFF 2016". YouTube/@JihlavaIDFF. 15 June 2017.
  56. ^ "Claire Atherton - The Art of Editing 11.6.16". YouTube/TISFF. 18 Dec 2016.
  57. ^ "CHANTAL AKERMAN | THE INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM". Filmexplorer. October 26, 2016.
  58. ^ "Fluidity of Identity". YouTube/@artbasel. 15 July 2017.
  59. ^ "Claire Atherton. Filme schneiden mit Chantal Akerman – Chantal Akerman – Lecture & Film". Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  60. ^ "Spatializing Cinema, preview of the conversation between Atherton and Dana Linssen (NRC Handelsblad)". Eye Film. 3 July 2020.
  61. ^ "Eye-film programmeur Anna Abrahams interviews Claire Atherton over Chantal Akerman". Vimeo. 2 June 2020.
  62. ^ "#TIFF62 | IN THE CUT: EDITING & ITS SECRETS | CLAIRE ATHERTON • EDITING: A COMPOSITION". YouTube/@filmfestivalgr. 28 Dec 2021.
  63. ^ "MasterClass Claire Atherton". Vimeo/@Dones Visuals. 17 Dec 2023.
  64. ^ "Chantal Akerman: encarar la imagen. Entrevista Claire Atherton, montadora". YouTube/@Filmtopia_net. 9 April 2024.
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