Who was Marguerite Duras? Decoding the dual identity of French cinema’s radical auteur

This May, Hong Kong audiences can answer this question for themselves. Marking 30 years since she died in 1996 at the age of 81, the city is celebrating both halves of her identity with a dual cinematic tribute.

The Hong Kong International Film Festival’s Cine Fan programme is screening six films adapted from her writing, while the French May Arts Festival is presenting six features she directed herself.

Taken together, these 12 films offer a comprehensive portrait of a woman who conquered the 20th century arts by refusing to be categorised. Duras was a visionary who treated the silver screen as a canvas for her haunting psychological experiments.

Understanding Duras requires looking past her reputation and stepping into the vivid, traumatic landscapes that forged her.

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