Nostalgia for the Future
- Runtime75 min
- DirectorBrecht Debackere
- GenreDocumentary
- ReleasedReleased
Guided by the narration of Charlotte Rampling, Nostalgia for the Future is a descent into the labyrinthine world of Chris Marker, the “bestknown author of unknown films,” who spent a lifetime concealing himself behind a veil of pseudonyms and images of cats.
Moving through a constellation of personal documents and film fragments, an archivist attempts to decode the man through the material traces he left behind. By repurposing and recontextualizing Marker’s own body of work, the film treats his images as “time machines,” transforming the archive into a landscape of living memory. Nostalgia for the Future is a meditation on memory, identity, and the power our past images hold over the futures we imagine.
Written & Directed by BRECHT DEBACKERE
Narrated by CHARLOTTE RAMPLING
Editor BEPPE LEONETTI | Original Music RUTGER ZUYDERVELT
Cinematography ALEXI VAN HENNECKER | BEN GRINAND | JÉRÔME DE GERLACHE
Sound Design BORIS DEBACKERE | FRANCESCO MOROSINI | Mixing DIEGO VAN UDEN
Colorist CHIARA PONTUALI | Graphics & Motion Design FLORIS DEERENBERG | GIJS KUIJPER
Archive Research & Clearances ISABELLE ERRERA | DOCS & STOCK
A VISUALANTICS production
co-produced by SERIOUSFILM | COBRA FILMS | GHIRIGORI
Executive Producer STEVEN DHOEDT | Co-Producers MARC THELOSEN | DANIEL DE VALCK | ERIKA ROSSI
supported by EURIMAGES – COUNCIL OF EUROPE | VLAAMS AUDIOVISUEEL FONDS (VAF) | NEDERLANDS FILMFONDS (NFF) | CENTRE DU CINÉMA ET DE L’AUDIOVISUEL DE LA FÉDÉRATION WALLONIE-BRUXELLES (CCA) | FONDO AUDIOVISIVO FRIULI VENEZIA GIULIA | BELGIAN TAX SHELTER VIA FLANDERS TAX SHELTER
in the media
Criterion | David Hudson
Charlotte Rampling’s narration is a seventy-five-minute letter to Marker from Debackere, who has taken an eight-year deep dive into the archive
Read the full articleMoveable Fest | Stephen Saito
Marker’s innate and perpetual curiosity, … , deserves celebration and Debackre delivers a worthy one.
Read the full reviewFred.fm | Angelo Acerbi
The director Brecht Debackere talks with us about his approach to that material and the way he decided to tell the story of Chris Marker from his archives, not in a classic way, for sure.
Listen to the full interviewFestival de Cannes | Tarik Khaldi
Brecht Debackere shies away from telling Marker’s life story in favor of an almost abstract essay, an attempt to capture a state of mind, whose lyrical imagination was graced with an ethical depth.
Read the full articleSentieri Salvaggi | Riccardo Balocco
Debackere non cerca mai le istruzioni perdute di Chris Marker, non vuole lanciarsi a caccia della busta gialla. E dopo Nostalgia for the Future possiamo esser certi che, foss’anche esistita, sarebbe stata rubata da un gatto rosso con un ghigno sul volto.
Read the full review (in Italian)ICS | Shahran Morshed
Nostalgia for the Future is like the ultimate tribute from a teacher to an eternal student of cinema, an invitation to discover Chris Marker all over again.
Read the full reviewBusiness Doc Europe | Nick Cunningham
Seven documentaries selected for Cannes Classics 2026
Read the full articleThe Film Stage | Jordan Raup
As part of the impressive Cannes Classics lineup this year, a new documentary examining the vast world of the legendary, late Chris Marker will premiere.
Read the full articleCannes Classics 2026 | Press Release
The section features five documentaries on cinema and its history, highlighting major figures such as Bruce Dern, David Lean, Vittorio De Sica, and Chris Marker,…
Read the full articleRE>CONNEXT – Nick Cunningham
“It should be said, making a traditional documentary that sketches an overview of this versatile artist – active in various media for more than 70 years – has never been my intention,” Flemish filmmaker Brecht Debackere tells BDE of his Chris Marker feature doc project.
Read the full interview here-
- 2026
- Festival de Cannes
- Cannes Classics | Official Compeition
- Runtime75 min
- DirectorBrecht Debackere
- GenreDocumentary
- ReleasedReleased
in the media
Criterion | David Hudson
Charlotte Rampling’s narration is a seventy-five-minute letter to Marker from Debackere, who has taken an eight-year deep dive into the archive
Read the full articleMoveable Fest | Stephen Saito
Marker’s innate and perpetual curiosity, … , deserves celebration and Debackre delivers a worthy one.
Read the full reviewFred.fm | Angelo Acerbi
The director Brecht Debackere talks with us about his approach to that material and the way he decided to tell the story of Chris Marker from his archives, not in a classic way, for sure.
Listen to the full interviewFestival de Cannes | Tarik Khaldi
Brecht Debackere shies away from telling Marker’s life story in favor of an almost abstract essay, an attempt to capture a state of mind, whose lyrical imagination was graced with an ethical depth.
Read the full articleSentieri Salvaggi | Riccardo Balocco
Debackere non cerca mai le istruzioni perdute di Chris Marker, non vuole lanciarsi a caccia della busta gialla. E dopo Nostalgia for the Future possiamo esser certi che, foss’anche esistita, sarebbe stata rubata da un gatto rosso con un ghigno sul volto.
Read the full review (in Italian)ICS | Shahran Morshed
Nostalgia for the Future is like the ultimate tribute from a teacher to an eternal student of cinema, an invitation to discover Chris Marker all over again.
Read the full reviewBusiness Doc Europe | Nick Cunningham
Seven documentaries selected for Cannes Classics 2026
Read the full articleThe Film Stage | Jordan Raup
As part of the impressive Cannes Classics lineup this year, a new documentary examining the vast world of the legendary, late Chris Marker will premiere.
Read the full articleCannes Classics 2026 | Press Release
The section features five documentaries on cinema and its history, highlighting major figures such as Bruce Dern, David Lean, Vittorio De Sica, and Chris Marker,…
Read the full articleRE>CONNEXT – Nick Cunningham
“It should be said, making a traditional documentary that sketches an overview of this versatile artist – active in various media for more than 70 years – has never been my intention,” Flemish filmmaker Brecht Debackere tells BDE of his Chris Marker feature doc project.
Read the full interview here