Dear Shaded Viewers,
Saint Laurent Productions, under the visionary direction of Anthony Vaccarello, continues to expand the boundaries of fashion—and now, cinema—with a fervor that feels as sculptural and atmospheric as its eponymous collections. This season, two films, both selected for the world’s most prestigious international festivals, stand as luminous testaments to Saint Laurent’s cinematic ambitions: Claire Denis’ The Fence and Jim Jarmusch’s Father Mother Sister Brother.
Claire Denis, whose camera has always been drawn to the spectral landscapes of memory and melancholy, returns to Africa—the ground of her youth and the place that shaped her vision—with The Fence. The vast construction site, with its potent symbolism of division and longing, frames a quiet but piercing drama between a young engineer, a somber supervisor, and a spectral visitor who refuses to leave until his brother’s body, a worker lost to the site, is returned.
This is Denis at her most evocative: shadows lingering just beyond the light, faces caught between grief and hope, sound and silence punctuated by the music of Tindersticks. Presented by Vixens, Curiosa Films, and Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello, The Fence finds its place in the rarefied air of TIFF, NYFF, San Sebastián, and BFI London, its poise mirrored in the pitch-perfect costume direction helmed by the Saint Laurent atelier.
Jim Jarmusch’s triptych, Father Mother Sister Brother, is a masterclass in character study and emotional observation, carried by an ensemble cast including Tom Waits, Adam Driver, Mayim Bialik, Charlotte Rampling, and Cate Blanchett. The stories, unfolding across the Northeast US, Dublin, and Paris, are delicate arrangements—a bouquet of moments held together by a melancholic thread and Jarmusch’s anti-action, slow-burning style.
Awarded the Golden Lion at Venice, the film’s gentle narrative is magnified by collaborations with Frederick Elmes and Yorick Le Saux. Each subtle gesture and glance is molded by the atmosphere of a world slightly faded—a cinematic language Saint Laurent understands intimately, their costumes and creative guidance rooting the film’s visual tone in Parisian elegance.
Saint Laurent Productions, a registered subsidiary envisioned by Vaccarello, is more than a brand extension; it’s a cultural movement. Never before has a fashion house so deliberately intertwined narrative, character, and couture into the celluloid fabric of contemporary cinema. From Cannes to Venice and now Toronto, New York, London, and Busan, these films are not just selections—they’re declarations of emotion, artistry, and audacity.
Saint Laurent’s cinematic collaboration embodies the essence of Vaccarello’s collections: nuance, tension, and the shadowed beauty that lingers at the edge of every frame. Whether in the haunted barracks of The Fence or the intimately drawn relationships of Father Mother Sister Brother, the intersection of fashion and film finds its fullest expression.
Saint Laurent Productions defines a new epoch not only for the maison but for the worlds it inhabits—runway, screen, and soul. Vaccarello’s assured vision gives rise to a cinematic vocabulary of longing, resilience, and magnetic style. In every festival selection, there is the haunting whisper of Paris, the linger of silk and light, and the invitation to witness elegance reborn through cinema’s gaze.
Later,
Diane
