Films

Michka Saäl wrote and directed 13 films in her 30-year career, the last two completed after her death in 2017. Click on a “Learn more” to explore her work. You`ll find links to trailers, excerpts or the film itself; highlights of reviews from journals and newspapers, including several links; and behind-the-scenes stories about her films collected from interviews, articles, and many members of her film crews.

Mavericks

“A film about characters whose luminosity shines somewhere between life and creation, and between ethics and aesthetics. What they do best is live their life.”

China Me

“my gaze, however informed by my research, remains a Western point of view — personal, partial and fragmented — on a Chinese reality. And I claim the right to be subjective.”

The Violin on the Canvas

“Like me, Eleonora is a foreigner and Jewish, and an artist. She is the focus, but through her, I am also speaking of myself.”

New Memories

« Je pense qu’il y a là une histoire de vie et de mort, d’art et de survie, qui en vaut, littéralement, la peine. »

Prisoners of Beckett

"Certain moments are more 'documentary' than others. Ultimately, it's this endless slipping between reality and fiction that excites me the most."

Tragedia

“a film of 'confused feelings', of blood and tears, of talking about sex and making love, and of PROSCIUTTO, cafe latte and panettone..." 

Far from Where?

“The cold, the snow, winter in black and white, all to reinforce missing the warmth, colours and scents of Tunisia."

A Great Day in Paris

"Beyond stories of discrimination, racism and exile, a film about how the traditions of jazz get transmitted and expanded. What if the real identify of these musicians lies in their music itself?" 

Zero Tolerance

“The abuse, harassment and racism that minorities were facing from certain officers woke me up to the fact that people have a right to their differences.”

The Sleeping Tree Dreams of its Roots

“When you transplant a tree, you bring the roots. Otherwise it dies. The same is true for immigrants. They carry their past and their culture as an intimate part of themselves.”

Spoon

“I see Spoon as a tentative answer to a question I still ask myself: Does writing poetry erase steel bars, defy time, justify survival and create space for inner freedom?”

The Snail Position

“we came up with the idea of a snail as a typical immigrant who carries his house on his back. At the same time, the title refers to a scene that’s a little erotic.”

Nowhere, the Sea

“an image of a woman running through the forest covered in blood, which, once it entered my consciousness, would not let go.”

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