Sud

Although not conceived as a unit, three of Chantal Akerman's documentary works are sometimes described in relation to one another, as a "triptych turned towards current events" (Patrick Straumann), whose connecting points lie in the experiences of borders and exclusion, and in the infiltration of the present and history.

SUD: Originally planned as a portrait of the American South, inspired by her fascination with the local landscape and her love of the works of William Faulkner and James Baldwin, Akerman completely changed her plans after three white supremacy supporters in Jasper, Texas lynched James Byrd Jr shortly before filming was to begin. In long static shots, a picture emerges of the small town, its population and a landscape marked by the violence of the past, continuing racism and oppression.