If I Had Four Camels

A narration of experiences accompanied by some of the countless still images Chris Marker captured through his photo camera, while travelling to 26 countries. A few years following the futuristic short film La Jetée, Marker once again took a stab at inserting still images, this time on the occasion of a documentary, as part of his experimentation on the genre’s form. The outcome went far beyond the definition of a travel diary, as Marker’s narration and the miscellaneous images (from Mount Athos all the way to China) become the components of a tight montage that conjoins smaller stories for the sake of the bigger picture – an analysis of the social political and cultural contrasts that become evident in the eyes of the visitor, while joining the dots of our small planetary village.

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Direction: Chris Marker

Cinematography: Chris Marker

Editing: Chris Marker

Sound: Antoine Bonfanti

Music: Lalan, Trio Barney Wilson

Production: Norddeutscher Rundfunk, Apec, Slon

Narration: Pierre Vaneck, Nicolas Yumatov, Catherine Le Couey

Format: Digital File

Color: B&W

Production Country: France, West Germany

Production Year: 1966

Duration: 49'

Contact: Iskra

Chris Marker

Filmography

1957 Lettre de Sibérie | Letter from Siberia
1962 La Jetée (short fiction)
1966 Si j'avais quatre dromadaires | If I Had Four Camels
1977 Le fond de l'air est rouge | A Grin Without A Cat
1982 Sans Soleil
1996 Level Five