Cinématon

Where to watch

Cinématon is a 156-hour long experimental film by French director Gérard Courant. It was the longest film ever released until 2011. Composed over 36 years from 1978 until 2006, it consists of a series of over 2,821 silent vignettes (cinématons), each 3 minutes and 25 seconds long, of various celebrities, artists, journalists and friends of the director, each doing whatever they want for the allotted time. Subjects of the film include directors Barbet Schroeder, Nagisa Oshima, Volker Schlöndorff, Ken Loach, Benjamin Cuq, Youssef Chahine, Wim Wenders, Joseph Losey, Jean-Luc Godard, Samuel Fuller and Terry Gilliam, chess grandmaster Joël Lautier, and actors Roberto Benigni, Stéphane Audran, Julie Delpy and Lesley Chatterley. Gilliam is featured eating a 100-franc note, while Fuller smokes a cigar. Courant's favourite subject was a 7-month-old baby. The film was screened in its then-entirety in Avignon in November 2009 and was screened in Redondo Beach, CA on April 9, 2010.

Gérard Courant Alain-Alcide Sudre Rose Lowder Bernard Roué Dominique Noguez Katerina Thomadaki Martine Elzingre Teo Hernández Gaël Badaud Joseph Morder Martine Rousset Michel Nedjar Babette Mangolte Raymonde Carasco Stéphane Marti Boris Lehman Raphaël Bassan Michael Snow Lionel Soukaz F.J. Ossang Gina Lola Benzina Erwin Huppert Marie-Noëlle Kauffmann Marcel Hanoun Stéphane Monclaire Howard Guttenplan Jean Douchet Joseph Losey Yvonne Rainer Show All…

Director

Producer

Cinematography

Camera Operator

Studios

Country

Language

Alternative Title

Синематон

Genre

Releases by Date

Sort by

Premiere

11 May 1978
  • Flag for France France Journées du Cinéma Militant à Rennes

Theatrical limited

20 Dec 1978
  • Flag for France France
15 Oct 1980
  • Flag for France France
04 Nov 1981
  • Flag for France France
18 Oct 1985
  • Flag for Canada Canada
10 Dec 1985
  • Flag for France France
30 May 1986
  • Flag for Canada Canada
22 Jan 1987
  • Flag for the Netherlands Netherlands
02 Mar 1988
  • Flag for France France
02 Jan 1991
  • Flag for France France
15 Sep 1995
  • Flag for France France
18 Jun 1997
  • Flag for Germany Germany
18 Sep 1997
  • Flag for Canada Canada
23 Apr 1998
  • Flag for Canada Canada
21 Sep 2010
  • Flag for Italy Italy
28 Oct 2010
  • Flag for the USA USA
16 Nov 2011
  • Flag for France France
05 Jun 2014
  • Flag for France France
13 Sep 2019
  • Flag for the UK UK

Releases by Country

Sort by
18 Oct 1985
  • Theatrical limited Festival International du Nouveau Cinéma et de la Vidéo, Montréal
30 May 1986
  • Theatrical limited Galerie Dazibao, Montréal
18 Sep 1997
  • Theatrical limited Festival International du Film Francophone en Acadie, Moncton
23 Apr 1998
  • Theatrical limited Festival Images, Toronto
11 May 1978
  • Premiere Journées du Cinéma Militant à Rennes
20 Dec 1978
  • Theatrical limited Galerie de l’Ouvertür, Paris
15 Oct 1980
  • Theatrical limited Cinémathèque Française, Paris
04 Nov 1981
  • Theatrical limited Centre Pompidou, Paris
10 Dec 1985
  • Theatrical limited La Galerie de l’Ancienne Poste, Calais
02 Mar 1988
  • Theatrical limited Centre Pompidou, Paris
02 Jan 1991
  • Theatrical limited Cinémathèque Française, Paris
15 Sep 1995
  • Theatrical limited Fête de l’Humanité, La Courneuve
16 Nov 2011
  • Theatrical limited Musée Nicéphore Niépce, Chalon-sur-Saône
05 Jun 2014
  • Theatrical limited Tri Postal, Lille
18 Jun 1997
  • Theatrical limited Festival International du Court métrage, Hambourg
21 Sep 2010
  • Theatrical limited Lucca Film Festival, Lucca
22 Jan 1987
  • Theatrical limited Cinéma Henri Alekan, La Haye
13 Sep 2019
  • Theatrical limited Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival
28 Oct 2010
  • Theatrical limited Microscope Gallery, New York