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Viva Niki - The Spirit of Niki de Saint Phalle film image; woman stands next to abstract sculpture of a female body

Viva Niki - The Spirit of Niki de Saint Phalle

タロット・ガーデンへの道

Portraits

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World Premiere

One of the few female monumental sculptors of her generation, feminist artist Niki de Saint Phalle (1930-2002) is best known for her playfully vibrant, voluptuous Nana statues, which stand proudly as icons of female empowerment in multiple countries’ public spaces.

Combining photos from her own archive with new footage, director Michiko Matsumoto guides us on a joyous retrospective of Saint Phalle’s breathtaking oeuvre. Gallerists, a sociologist, friends, and family weigh in on Saint Phalle’s life and legacy, from her early avant-garde Shooting paintings to her impressive architectural structures that visitors can enter and explore, such as The Dragon, a massive playhouse in Knokke, Belgium. Saint Phalle’s masterwork, The Tarot Garden, in Tuscany, took twenty years to construct. Adorned with stunning hand-laid ceramic and mirror mosaic pieces, her dreamy outdoor sculpture garden depicts the mystical meanings of the Tarot’s 22 Major Arcana.

A portrait of a fascinating woman who rebelled against childhood trauma and the patriarchy through her inspiring works, Viva Niki is a testament to the healing power of art.

 

Presented by

Supported by

Media Partner

Director
Featuring

Niki de Saint Phalle

Credits
Country of Origin

Japan

Year

2024

Language

In English, French, Italian and Japanese with English subtitles

Film Contact
18+
75 min
Art, Music & Photography Documentary Women Directors
Niki Film Project

Book Tickets

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Credits & Director

Producer

Michiko Matsumoto

Screenwriter

Michiko Matsumoto

Cinematography

Michiko Matsumoto

Editor

Takeshi Ikeda

Original Music

Alliance de Chat Noir (Kenji Ueda & Kyoko Koizumi)

Michiko Matsumoto headshot; Viva Niki - The Spirit of Niki de Saint Phalle director

Michiko Matsumoto 松本路子

Filmmaker, photographer, and essayist, Michiko Matsumoto was born in Shizuoka, Japan in 1950. She started working as a freelance photographer after graduating from Hosei University in 1973. Matsumoto has published fifteen books of her photographs and essays including Portraits of Women Artists, DANCERS, and Portrait of Niki de Saint Phalle. Her photography is in the collections of museums internationally. Viva Niki – The Spirit of Niki de Saint Phalle is her first feature.

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