Jacqueline De Gorter
Filmmaker and Artist, Paris
"In 1945 Henry Miller wrote a memoir of his return to the United States after living in Paris for almost a decade. The memoir is titled “Air Conditioned Nightmare” and I really wish I wrote it. I arrived in Paris in September 2018 after living in New York City for three years. There was no air conditioning: Paris was sweltering, the streets smelt of cigarettes and hot bread. Just sitting in my apartment (overpaid for that sliver of the Sacre Cœur which I could see from a petite window in my even more petite kitchen), I sweat through the three t-shirts I brought with me in my two-suitcase-move and I decided I wouldn’t be leaving this sultry, mysterious city anytime soon.
My move to Paris was instigated by my affinity for the early-20th century Parisian artistic arena and French cinema. As a young director, fresh from shooting my first short film, I asked the only two people I knew in Paris if they would have a drink with me if I visited: they said oui and I bought a flexible return ticket. I thought they might know some french film festivals I could submit my short to. They didn’t, but they took me to a lot of fumy terraces and parties. Three years, seven apartments, my film being shown in one of the biggest cinemas of Paris, and possibly one thousand glasses of Cotes du Rhone later, me voilà!
I am a filmmaker and artist documenting the mystery of the quotidian. You can find my work on my website and on Instagram."
"In 1945 Henry Miller wrote a memoir of his return to the United States after living in Paris for almost a decade. The memoir is titled “Air Conditioned Nightmare” and I really wish I wrote it. I arrived in Paris in September 2018 after living in New York City for three years. There was no air conditioning: Paris was sweltering, the streets smelt of cigarettes and hot bread. Just sitting in my apartment (overpaid for that sliver of the Sacre Cœur which I could see from a petite window in my even more petite kitchen), I sweat through the three t-shirts I brought with me in my two-suitcase-move and I decided I wouldn’t be leaving this sultry, mysterious city anytime soon.
My move to Paris was instigated by my affinity for the early-20th century Parisian artistic arena and French cinema. As a young director, fresh from shooting my first short film, I asked the only two people I knew in Paris if they would have a drink with me if I visited: they said oui and I bought a flexible return ticket. I thought they might know some french film festivals I could submit my short to. They didn’t, but they took me to a lot of fumy terraces and parties. Three years, seven apartments, my film being shown in one of the biggest cinemas of Paris, and possibly one thousand glasses of Cotes du Rhone later, me voilà!
I am a filmmaker and artist documenting the mystery of the quotidian. You can find my work on my website and on Instagram."
