''Dialogue of Shadows'' () is a 2013 French-Swiss short drama film directed by

Jean-Marie Straub Jean-Marie is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: * Jean-Marie Carroll (born 1956), English musician and composer * Jean-Marie Abgrall (born 1950), French psychiatrist, criminologist, specialist in forensic medic ...

, starring Cornelia Geiser and Bertrand Brouder. It follows a man and a woman who converse about love and the weight of history. The film is based on a short story by

Georges Bernanos Louis Émile Clément Georges Bernanos (; 20 February 1888 – 5 July 1948) was a French author, and a soldier in World War I. A Catholic with monarchist leanings, he was critical of elitist thought and was opposed to what he identified as d ...

Cast

* Cornelia Geiser as Françoise * Bertrand Brouder as Jacques

Production

Jean-Marie Straub and his partner Danièle Huillet originally planned to adapt

' 1928 short story "Dialogue d'ombres" in 1954. They made some preparations but soon abandoned the project. Straub revived the project in the summer of 2012, several years after Huilet's death. According to Straub he wanted to make the film because he found the right location on the countryside of

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

. The film was produced through Switzerland's Belva Film and France's Andolfi. The actors rehearsed for six months. Filming began on 15 June 2013 and lasted ten days. The crew consisted of eight people.

Release

The film premiered at the 2013

Vienna International Film Festival The Vienna International Film Festival, or Viennale, is a film festival taking place every October since 1960 in Vienna, Austria. The average number of visitors is about 75,000. Traditional cinema venues are ''Gartenbaukino'', ''Urania'', ''Met ...

. It was released in French cinemas on 11 March 2015, together with Straub's film ''A propos de Venise''.

References

2013 films 2013 drama films 2013 short films Films based on short fiction Films based on works by Georges Bernanos Films directed by Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet French drama short films 2010s French-language films 2010s French films French-language drama films {{2010s-France-film-stub