AU HASARD BALTHAZAR
Special Features: 60th Anniversary | Intro by Imani Davis, Film Programmer, American Cinematheque, on Sun, June 14, 7:00 p.m.
When mining the annals of cinema for bleakness, Robert Bresson’s original donkey-starring spiritual allegory AU HASARD BALTHAZAR is top of mind. Born in the French Pyrenees and dubbed “Balthazar” by three children, a young donkey is thrown into a life of successive labors and abuses at the hands of different owners, periodically enjoying moments of love and tenderness in the hands of Marie (Anne Wiazemsky), a young woman whose path crisscrosses several times with Balthazar’s, and whose own troubles in life parallel those of this soulful spirit animal. Writing for the New York Times, critic Manohla Dargis called AU HASARD BALTHAZAR “one of the greatest films in history” and said that it “stirs the heart and soul as much as the mind." DIR/SCR Robert Bresson; PROD Mag Bodard. France/Sweden, 1966, b&w, 95 min. In French with English subtitles. NOT RATED
About Imani Davis
Imani Davis is film programmer at the American Cinematheque in Los Angeles, and also a producer and writer. At the American Cinematheque, a 501c3 nonprofit boasting over 1,600 film screenings a year, Imani has worked to put on events with A-list filmmakers and talent such as Timothée Chalamet, Sofia Coppola, Spike Lee, Sean Baker, Jordan Peele, Daniels (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert), Damien Chazelle, Christopher Nolan and many more. Imani is also the founder and lead programmer of the American Cinematheque's short film festival called PROOF, the only festival completely dedicated to proof-of-concept short films, which has resulted in projects coming to fruition and premiering at festivals such as Sundance and Rotterdam.
Run Time: 95 Minutes
Opening Date: Sunday, June 14, 2026
Genre: Drama
Introduction