Double Take

Johan Grimonprez

Belgium, Germany, Netherlands

2009

80 min

Retrospective: Johan Grimonprez

Synopsis

The Cold War, Hitchcock, and the rise of television are ingeniously interconnected in this collage of space-race news footage, hilarious coffee ads, and excerpts from Hitchcock’s thrillers and trailers. Was the Cold War just one huge MacGuffin?

Personal paranoia mirrors the political intrigue in which Hitchcock and his elusive double obsess over the perfect murder, in a tale of odd couples and hilarious double deals. As television rises in popularity, and the Khrushchev and Nixon kitchen debate rattles on, gender politics take off and Hitchcock is rebranded as a TV personality.

Based on a script written by award-winning novelist Tom McCarthy and inspired by Jorge Luis Borges’s essay “August 25, 1983”, Double Take targets the global rise of the culture of fear as television hijacks cinema and the way we view historical events.

Subverting an array of TV footage, Grimonprez traces catastrophe culture’s relentless assault on the home, from the inception of televised images to our present-day zapping neurosis.

Tickets & Times

Accessibility

Mon, november 18

Part of Double Take & Hitchcock Didn’t Have a Belly Button: Karen Black Interview by Johan Grimonprez

21:45 – 23:27

Het Documentaire Paviljoen: De Spiegel

Thu, november 21

Part of Double Take & Hitchcock Didn’t Have a Belly Button: Karen Black Interview by Johan Grimonprez

18:00 – 19:27

Pathé City 4

Sat, november 23

Part of Double Take & Hitchcock Didn’t Have a Belly Button: Karen Black Interview by Johan Grimonprez

14:30 – 15:57

Pathé Noord 4

Credits

80 min

color / black and white

DCP

Spoken languages: English

Director

Johan Grimonprez

Production

Emmy Oost for Zap-O-Matik

Co-production

Volya Films,

Nikovantastic Film

Volya Films,

Nikovantastic Film

Cinematography

Martin Testar,

Hans Buyse

Martin Testar,

Hans Buyse

Editing

Dieter Diependaele,

Tyler Hubby

Dieter Diependaele,

Tyler Hubby

Music

Christian Halten

Screenplay

Johan Grimonprez

World Sales

Umedia

Distribution for the Netherlands

Eye Film Institute

Screening copy

Eye Film Institute

More from the program section Retrospective: Johan Grimonprez

In homage to our Guest of Honor, IDFA presents seven films by critically acclaimed artist and filmmaker Johan Grimonprez. With his singular exploration into present-day media, his work examines how our collective imagination shapes our understanding of historical events.

View program section