The first
episodic films appeared a few decades ago. Well-known directors joined forces to unite their talent around a common theme: Short individual pieces were made and later linked together in a single production. Examples include:
'Bocaccio 70',
'Histoires extraordinaires',
'Les quatre vérités' and
'New York Stories'.
Renowned filmmakers such as
Vittorio de Sica, Federico Fellini, Luchino Visconti, Louis Malle, Luis García Berlanga, Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen and
Francis Ford Coppola participated in cinematic experiments with a common format: the creation of feature-length films
joining several short films together, with a common theme.
This type of work seemed to have disappeared from the world of cinema until recently when a spattering began to appear on the listings. Some have brought directors together to denounce a particular subject, as in
'11'09''01 - September 11' and
'Todos íbamos en ese tren', in protest against the 11-S and 11-M terrorist attacks respectively.
Some commemorate
specific events and others just link viewpoints on a particular
common subject matter. This is the case of
'Paris, Je t'aime', a feature-length film in
ALCINE37's new
'Short Cuts' section. A range of filmmakers offer us their outlook on the city of Paris, its streets, everyday stories, surprise meetings, separations and hidden corners. The result is a series of
short portraits shot without the restrictions imposed by the commercial side of the industry.
