256 JOURS (2007)

Overview

The director Jordan Feldman followed the French artist Xavier Veilhan for 256 days, on an almost daily basis. Shot from a deliberately lighthearted point of view this documentary, in which the camera is eventually forgotten, shows the life of a contemporary artist in his environment—emotional, relational, and professional. From projects’ utopic beginnings to their realization determined by economic realities and institutional techniques, we follow Xavier Veilhan to the heart of the contemporary art world, from his studio to the gallery and the museum, in the company of all the protagonists who make up this milieu. In 90 minutes his journey takes us from Lyon to Bordeaux, where the artist is making public sculptures, and then to Paris for the preparations for the opening of his exhibition at the Centre Georges Pompidou.