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Sophie Calle in “Between Worlds”
Descriptive audio version available here.
With a mischievous smile on her face, one of the most influential artists of our time, Sophie Calle, roams the galleries of her exhibition at the Musée Picasso Paris before arriving at her temporary office in the museum where hundreds of fans and admirers get to meet the artist and leave her messages each day. This documentary short explores over five decades of often autobiographical and profoundly touching work that’s inspired generations of artists and art admirers. Across countless works of photography, film, writing, and installation, the artist sets strict rules and rituals for her work, playfully exploring the universal themes of love, death, connection, and loss. Whether appraising all her earthly belongings, burying years’ worth of damaged artworks and personal effects in an ancient underground cavern, or installing her life’s work compiled in a retrospective at the Walker Art Center, Calle models a career that uniquely blurs the boundaries between art and life. “There is no method,” says Calle. “I’m used to using parts of my life, I don’t wonder why I do it. I just do it.”
This film was directed by Bryan Chang and Leah Galant, produced by Zeshawn Ali and Bryan Chang, edited by Zara Serabian-Arthur, and photographed by Eric Phillips-Horst.
Credits
Directors: Bryan Chang, Leah Galant. Executive Producer: Tina Kukielski. Series Producer: Nick Ravich. Producers: Zeshawn Ali, Bryan Chang. Editor: Zara Serabian-Arthur. Director of Photography: Eric Phillips-Horst. Associate Producer: Andrea Chung. Associate Curator: Jurrell Lewis. Design & Animation: Momentist, Inc. Composer: Andrew Orkin.
Production Services: Meerkat Media. Field Producers: Véronique Bernard, Lauriane Koch. Additional Cinematography: Thomas Bataille. Assistant Camera: Cedric Paillard. Location Sound: Owen Brafford, Yolande Decarsin, Ludivuc Elias. Production Assistants: Cyan Jayr, Tibo Pinsard.
Additional Art21 Staff: Makda Amdetsyon, Lauren Barnett, Hannah DeGarmo, Lolita Fierro, Ian Forster, Grace LeCates, Emma Nordin, Jessica Svenson, Noor Tamari, Nora Wimmer.
Finishing Services: Skyline Finishing. Colorist: Stewart Griffin. Online Editor: Ben Kiviat. Re-Recording Mixer & Dialogue Editor: Annie Medlin. Sound Effects Editor: Mike Frank. Finishing Producer: Wendi Litteral. Additional Finishing Services: Cut + Measure. Additional Finishing Producers: Mary Grace Duffy, Alex Laviola. Audio Description & Captions: Sasha Hecht, Andre Kelman. Quality Control: Adam Stout. Translation: Sarah Lagneaux. Narration: Louise Eliasof. Additional Music: Trey Toy. Additional Video Editor: Regina Spurlock. Assistant Editors: Stephanie Cen, Tristan Daley, Michelle Hanks.
Artwork Courtesy: Sophie Calle, Paula Cooper Gallery, Perrotin Gallery.
Legal Counsel: Donaldson Callif Perez.
Archival Material: Artists Rights Society, Richard Baltauss, Hamburger Kunsthalle, Vinciane Lebrun, Siglio Press.
Interns: Candice Cirilo, Emma Kanne, Billie Lam, Asante Marie Owusu-Brafi, Aarya Silwal, Maria Syville, Emilia Copeland Titus.
Special Thanks: The Art21 Board Of Trustees, Henriette Huldisch, Rachel Joyce, Rencontres D’Arles.
Filming Locations Provided By: Musée Picasso Paris, Walker Art Center.
Series Created By: Susan Dowling and Susan Sollins.
Original Production Funding Provided By: The Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation, Lambent Foundation, Agnes Gund, Melony and Adam Lewis, National Endowment for the Arts, Teiger Foundation, Sarah Arison, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Dealer Tire, Arts, Equity, & Education Fund™, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, Elyse and Lawrence B. Benenson, Stephanie and Tim Ingrassia, Tim and Lauren Schrager Family Foundation.
This program is a production of Art21, Inc. which is solely responsible for its content.
©2025 Art21, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Closed captionsAvailable in English, German, Romanian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Italian
Through the Art21 Translation Project, multilingual audiences from around the globe can contribute translations, making Art21 films more accessible worldwide.
Interested in showing this film in an exhibition or public screening? To license this video please visit Licensing & Reproduction.
Sophie Calle was born in 1953 in Paris, France, and lives and works in Malakoff, France. Working across photography, installation, text, performance, and video, Calle playfully explores themes central to the human experience, such as death, desire, love, and loss, often with the assistance of collaborators who may or may not know they are participating in the work. In her practice, Calle constructs specific conditions to create her works: inviting friends and strangers to sleep in her bed and be photographed, taking a cross-country road trip with a video camera, or only consuming monochromatic foods. Across this body of work and set of methods that defy neat categorization, the artist investigates the boundaries between the self and the other, realizes universal human truths, and collapses distinctions between art and life.
“There is no method. I’m used to using parts of my life, I don’t wonder why I do it. I just do it.
Sophie Calle
