Chris Darke – författare

Since its inception in 1946, the Cannes Film Festival has embraced the high-brow and the high-glam - new cinema from Iran or China and red carpet parades from Madonna or Nicole Kidman. Who is not familiar with Cannes' famous paparazzi scrums, beachfront happenings and world premieres? But the history of Cannes is also famous for scandals and controversies, where the great nations of the world have gathered and clashed. This vivid and beguiling history reveals the best and most revelatory tales from this festival's spectacular history through previously untold first-hand accounts from key players.

Chris Marker's La Jetée is 28 minutes long and almost entirely made up of black-and-white still images. Since its release in 1964, the film – which Marker described as a 'photo-novel' – has haunted generations of viewers and inspired writers, artists and film-makers. Its spiralling narrative of post-nuclear war time-travel narrative has influenced many other films, including the Terminator series and Terry Gilliam's Hollywood 'remake' Twelve Monkeys (1995).But as Marker rarely gave interviews, little is really known about the origins of La Jetée or the ideas behind it. In this groundbreaking study, Chris Darke draws on rare archival material, including previously unpublished correspondence and production documents, to examine the making of the film. He explores how Marker's only fiction film was influenced both by his early work as a writer and by Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo (1958), and considers how La Jetée's imagery can be seen to 'echo' throughout Marker's extraordinarily diverse oeuvre.

First book in any language to focus on Alphaville, published on the 40th anniversary of its release Uses new interviews with Godard's main collaborators on the film to reveal new aspects Explores its multiple influences, on 'Blade Runner', for example, or 'Code 46' 2005 is the fortieth anniversary of Alphaville's release and there's also a major reassessment of Godard under way. So this is an ideal moment to publish this, the first ever full appraisal of Godard's highly influential classic of sci-fi noir. Chris Darke writes about how, working without sets, special effects, or even a script, Godard made a dystopian vision of a technocratic future city. He explores the film's unique combination of genres and styles, its remarkable creation the secret agent Lemmy Caution, and uses his new interviews with the director's collaborators to chronicle the film's production. He also relates Alphaville to Godard's later work, setting it in the context of his wider career and of its influence on other filmmakers and artists.