The Darkroom Rumour

🎭 An insight into the erotic world of Frédéric Fontenoy through a photo shoot. His research with his models, his large format photography, his 1930s aesthetic and his collaboration with master printer Diamantino Quintas. In the tranquil setting of a Paris apartment, a time capsule straight out of the 1930s, three young models get ready. In the adjoining room, the photographer puts the finishing touches to a very elaborate mise en scene. Frédéric Fontenoy is considered one of the masters of contemporary fetish photography. Working with a large format view camera and assisted by his printer, he creates singular images, spending hours perfecting every detail. 🎬 𝗙𝗥𝗘́𝗗𝗘́𝗥𝗜𝗖 𝗙𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗡𝗢𝗬 𝗜 𝗜𝗡𝗦𝗜𝗗𝗘 (2017) Directed by Thomas Goupille | France | 25' Discover it now on The Darkroom Rumour !

In June 1949, Louis Aragon asks Willy Ronis to photograph the “caravans of Peace” in Oradour. Two years after the start of the Cold War, peaceful mobilization is back on the agenda and the tragic village of Oradour-sur-Glane is chosen to symbolically host the first Peace Congress. Willy Ronis unveils his unpublished archives and immerses himself in the highlights of the event, the interventions of Louis Aragon, Elsa Triolet, Picasso... The testimonies of Pierre Daix, journalist, who covered the Congress, and Pascal Plas, historian, bring this forgotten period back to life. 🎬 𝗪𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗬 𝗥𝗢𝗡𝗜𝗦 𝗜 𝗔 𝗗𝗔𝗬 𝗜𝗡 𝗢𝗥𝗔𝗗𝗢𝗨𝗥 (2011) Directed by Patrick Séraudie | France | 23’ 👉 Watch this film on The Darkroom Rumourc c

Valérie Winckler has shared the life (and the pain) of the subjects of “Peines”. Gérard, strength sapped by the anxiety of his prison cell, Michèle, alone and distraught with her children, and especially Benjamin, a “good kid” who comes in for all of life's hardships, between approved school, a father in prison, and thwarted childhood dreams. This film is a tour de force, yet it is with gentleness and respect that the photographer paints this picture of incredible humanity. 🎬 𝗩𝗔𝗟𝗘́𝗥𝗜𝗘 𝗪𝗜𝗡𝗖𝗞𝗟𝗘𝗥 𝗜 𝗣𝗘𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗦 (1991) Directed by Valérie Winckler | France | 21'

🚶‍♂️ It's a beautiful story: Lucien Clergue, lover of Arles, photography and light. We see him here simply talking about his life, happily photographing his city or his models (naked in the waves). This friend to Cocteau and Picasso was also the founder of the Rencontres d’Arles, and left us in 2014. Here, we see him entering the Académie des Beaux-Arts, a consecration for both himself and photography, for which he was the first representative. This fine portrait brings this "immortal" back to life. 🎬 𝗟𝗨𝗖𝗜𝗘𝗡 𝗖𝗟𝗘𝗥𝗚𝗨𝗘 𝗜 𝗨𝗡𝗧𝗢 𝗗𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗛, 𝗨𝗡𝗧𝗢 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 (2008) Directed by Elisabeth Aubert Schlumberger I France I 53’ Discover it now on The Darkroom Rumour.

👬 Gilbert & George cultivate paradoxes. Set back from the upscale milieu of contemporary art that reveres them, this pair of loners advocates "art for all". Serial, obsessive, sensitive, cerebral, with a British elegance that borders on parody, their provocative commandeering of the codes compels reflection. The camera follows them in their home-studio, in their neighbourhood, giving free rein to the lucid, often crude words of these working-class gentlemen about themselves and about the changes in the world that feed their creative process. 𝗚𝗜𝗟𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗧 & 𝗚𝗘𝗢𝗥𝗚𝗘 𝗜 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗔𝗟 (1997) Directed by Gerald Fox | United Kingdom I 100' 👉 Watch this film on The Darkroom Rumour

🎨 As colourful as its protagonist, this documentary, a blend of first-hand accounts and stage direction, paints an intimate portrait of Gabor Szilasi, a Hungarian-born photographer who will soon be a hundred years old. Settled in Quebec since 1957, he has devoted his life to capturing everyday moments with an eye full of curiosity and humanity. Szilasi began his career in Hungary, where he documented the 1956 revolution before fleeing to Canada. A photographer with the Quebec Film Board, he moved away from artistic photography under the influence of Cartier-Bresson and Walker Evans to devote himself to social documentary. From the 1970s onwards, he explored rural Quebec and the cultural transformations of regions such as Charlevoix and Abitibi, while capturing the commercial façades and neon signs of Montreal. His work, like his lively, resilient personality, celebrates people in all their forms. From his portraits of artists and friends to his photos of everyday life in Quebec, he continually works on the relationship between subject and lens. A dedicated teacher at Concordia University and the Cégep du Vieux Montréal, he leaves behind a prolific body of work that bears witness to Quebec's social and urban evolution, always approached with humour and kindness. 🎬 𝗚𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗥 𝗦𝗭𝗜𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗜 𝗜 𝗚𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗥 (2021) Directed by Joannie Lafrenière I Canada I 101’ 👉 Watch this film on The Darkroom Rumour

📷 In his laboratory in Perpignan, Carlos Barrantes has perfectly mastered the art of historical photographic processes, all those monochrome techniques that require incredible precision, specific tools, and a knack. The printer's know-how does not stop there. Carlos also reveals his photographic work, closely linked to the processes he uses. And by observing these variations, we can see how each method tells its story. 🎬 𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗢𝗦 𝗕𝗔𝗥𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗦 𝗜 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗦𝗧 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗦𝗔𝗡 (2014) Directed by Thomas Goupille I France I 26' 👉 Discover the world of Carlos Barrantes on The Darkroom Rumour

🔎 The real is linked to photography. But it’s a deceptive link. Photomontages, staging, angles… the truth is but an illusion. Joan Fontcuberta knows this, and he pokes fun at it with a very Catalan irony and with great erudition. F for Fontcuberta is a « documenter », stepping up the photographer’s game by real-fake interviews. In discovering here the forgotten Professor Ameisenhaufen, or the poor cosmonaut Istochnikov, we are seized by doubt: not about whether this is true or false, but why do we want to believe it? We are seized once more, by a liberating laugh at this Fontcuberta who addresses us with a mischievous wink. 🎬 𝗙 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗙𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗖𝗨𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗧𝗔 (2005) Directed by Daniele Vila Gerardo Panichi I Spain I 57’ Discover it now on The Darkroom Rumour

🍔 Discovering the profession of food photographer at Studio B Photographes, Paris, going to and fro between two sets, two photographers, in a beehive atmosphere. To arouse desire, the team (photographer, food stylist and decorator, retoucher, graphics artist) have vast know-how at their disposal, as well as a box of tricks that allows them to recreate the "natural" look. 👨‍🍳 The kitchen is but yards from the set; a fraction of a second separates shooting and post-production. A highly technical exercise, like a bee dance, that demands constant adaptation to product, format and client against a tight timetable. 🎬 𝗗𝗔𝗩𝗜𝗗 𝗕𝗢𝗡𝗡𝗜𝗘𝗥 & 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝗛𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗧 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗙𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡: 𝗙𝗢𝗢𝗗 𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗧𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗘𝗥 (2014) Directed by Thomas Goupille I France I 15' 👉 Watch this documentary on The Darkroom Rumour

🖌️ In the world of analogue photography, there is no software to remove small imperfections. Everything is done by hand. We observed Marie-Pierre Bride, a traditional retoucher, exercising her art. Because unlike spotting, which only corrects flaws, retouching is a genuine creative act. Be they black and white or colour, she has her secrets for enhancing each single edition print. She slowly brings out or conceals details revealing the image. 🎬 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗘-𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗥𝗥𝗘 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗗𝗘 | 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗘𝗧𝗢𝗨𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗥 (2013) Directed by Thomas Goupille I France I 11’ 👉 Watch this film on The Darkroom Rumour and enjoy your 7-day free trial!

More than just America, Robert Frank is a life of experimentation, of travel, of sensitivity. American by adoption, he returns to his roots in Europe, his apprenticeship and his first photos. Guided by intuition, he gravitates towards the cinema in the early 1960s, won over by the Beat Generation and its poetry. He revisits his career highlights while strolling through New York, Coney Island, places that shaped his work. He also invites us to his studio where he works "on life” with June Leaf, his wife. His photos and his films show how much his life and his work draw upon the same material. 🎬 𝗥𝗢𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗧 𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗞 | 𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗩𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗛𝗢𝗠𝗘, 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗛𝗢𝗠𝗘 (2004) Directed by Gerald Fox I United Kingdom I 85' 👉 Watch this film on The Darkroom Rumour and enjoy your 7-day free trial!

It was a carefree time for some, the age of Le Palace and Les Bains-Douches, in this 1980s Paris where celebs would mix with unknown Parisian fauna. This is the milieu where Foc Kan started as a night photographer. After studying literature, he joined this world of futility and personality portraits done cowboy-style (meaning with a flash, in hyperfocal). But behind the ready humour the job requires, there's a real kindness. And beyond the images that often have the same fate as their models, and disappear into oblivion, appear the timeless images of bored girls, or of the homeless sleeping rough in the city. As in Charles Laughton's film, appearances are sometimes deceptive, and Foc Kan's flash leaves no room for shadows. 🎬 𝗙𝗢𝗖 𝗞𝗔𝗡 | 𝗡𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗛𝗨𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥 (2011) Directed by Thomas Goupille I France I 13' 👉 Discover it now on The Darkroom Rumour !