“Smile, but not for long, Ladies and Gentlemen of the Patriarchy.” (Nelly Kaplan)

Born in Argentina in the 1930s, Nelly Kaplan went to France as a young woman. A stay initially planned for only three months becomes a whole life. According to her, she wanted to get away from the South American society that expected girls to be nice and reserved.

In 1950s Paris she met representatives of Surrealism such as Pablo Picasso, André Pieyre de Mandiargues and Abel Gance. It is the latter who brings her to the film. In the early 1960s she made a series of internationally award-winning short films about various artists such as Gustave Moreau, Victor Hugo and Rudolphe Bresdin. Her feature film debut La fiancée du piratefollowed in 1969. After difficulties with the age classification, she was invited to the Venice International Film Festival in 1969 and won the Golden Lion. A triumph!

Further films and a considerable body of literature followed. Next to Agnès Varda, Nelly Kaplan is one of the classics of feminist cinema. Now she has died on 12.11.2020 from the consequences of a Covid-19 infection. Her debut has reached cult status and can currently be seen in our online edition at EXPANDED.