Chantal Akerman: The Quiet Revolution of Observation Chantal Akerman (born June 6, 1950, Brussels, Belgium—died October 5, 2015, Paris, France) was a Belgian filmmaker who explored the mundane details of ordinary life with a clear eye and a strong feminist sensibility. She directed over 40 films and created several art installations. Akerman’s Jewish father, Jacques Akerman, spent World War II in hiding, while her mother, Natalia Liebel, was the only member of her Jewish family to survive Auschwitz. From a young age, Akerman and her mother were exceptionally close, and her mother encouraged…