The filmmaker’s presence in French contemporary autofiction: from filmeur/filmeuse to acteur/actrice

Abstract

ABSTRACT Autofiction as realized in cinematic practice adds a figure of identification to the literary author-narrator-character: that of actor/actress. The filmmaker, playing him/herself, employs innovative strategies in audiovisual narration to generate this autofictional identity. This article analyses these strategies as seen in French cinema, on which literary autofiction has a determining influence. My analysis of this practice is mapped along a double axis. The first classifies the films in a progressive evolution from the factualisation of the fictional (documentary’s starting point) to the fictionalisation of the factual (fiction’s starting point). The second analyses the films with regard to the filmmaker’s presence: from the filmeur/filmeuse who stands behind the camera and records the images him/herself to the acteur/actrice who exclusively appears in front of the camera. This cinematic exploration of the self thus situates the filmmaker in all possible positions so as to develop autofictional strategies for exploring postmodern identity and alterity, using parody and irony as effective tools. In this laboratory of the self, filmmakers experiment with the topics they address – reflection on cinema, artistic exploration, self-knowledge, ideological reasoning, and sociopolitical criticism – as well as create valuable screen manifestations of resilience, empathy, sorority, and even pedagogy.