Sinematek/Sinema Evi presents a selection of 10 films by Louis Malle, one of French cinema’s most distinctive directors, as part of its main program running from April 28 to July 3. Having achieved success in Hollywood as well, Malle stands out as a prolific director who traversed various genres throughout his career, conveying intense emotions and melancholy through an understated cinematic language.

Although a connection is felt, Malle is often positioned outside the French New Wave, and his cinema is frequently described as “eclectic”; he has produced films spanning a wide range from documentary to comedy. In addition to conventional dramatic narratives, he has also turned to experiments that push the boundaries of narrative structure. Although his films are distinct from one another, the director’s enduring interest in misfits and the fragile, complex aspects of human nature is clearly evident.

The program features Louis Malle’s first feature film, Elevator to the Gallows, considered one of the pioneers of the New Wave; The Lovers, a lyrical tale of love; The Fire Within, a harrowing elegy on the fragility of existence; May Fools, which portrays the May 1968 uprisings through the lens of a bourgeois family portrait; Lacombe, Lucien, which examines the banality of evil; Murmur of the Heart, which questions the boundaries of intimacy through a mother-child relationship; the experimental comedy Zazie in the Metro, one of his most popular films; Dinner with Andre, a significant example of American independent cinema; and the documentary Phantom India, which serves as an autobiographical travel diary.