A Dream Longer Than the Night

Un rêve plus long que la nuit

Young Princess Camélia, magically transformed into an adult, must traverse a phantasmagoric and otherworldly landscape filled with enchanted beings, fantastical goblins, and human-like ghouls. Throughout her journey to adulthood, she navigates a minefield of patriarchy, facing a series of frightful encounters in this whimsical and surreal new world. In her second feature (and her first solo feature), the multidisciplinary artist Niki de Saint Phalle pursues her own take on the fairy tale, and the result is a visionary exploration of female desire that unfurls according to the logic of dreams and poetry. The film follows a princess (played by Saint Phalle’s daughter, Laura Duke Condominas) who, following a series of encounters with fantastical beings, is magically transformed into an adult, and finds herself navigating a frightening and surreal new world. A work suffused with ideas and strong ties to Saint Phalle’s work in other media (sculpture, painting, assemblage, etc.), A Dream Longer than the Night is both an exemplary artist’s film and an underseen gem of 1970s French avant-garde cinema.
Screening Schedule

No physical screenings scheduled.

Direction: Niki de Saint Phalle
Script: Niki de Saint Phalle
Cinematography: Bernard Zitzermann
Editing: Dominique Cazeneuve
Sound: Paul Bertault
Music: Peter Whitehead
Actors: Niki De Saint Phalle, Humbert Balsan, Laura Duke Condominas, Laurence Bourqui, Laurent Condomidas, Jean Tinguely
Production: Auditel
Producers: Claude Jauvert
Costumes: Marina Karella
Production Design: Niki De Saint Phalle
Format: DCP
Color: Color
Production Country: France
Production Year: 1976
Duration: 82'
Contact: mk2 Films

Niki de Saint Phalle

Niki de Saint Phalle was born Catherine Marie-Agnès Fal de Saint Phalle on 29 October 1930 at Neuilly-sur-Seine in France. After a childhood marked by frequent moves and changes of schools, she married Harry Mathews, a prominent New York author. Personal crisis led her to painting and she decided to become an artist in the early 1950s. Experimental assemblages gave way to Tirs, or shooting paintings, bringing her international fame and membership in a group of artists, the New Realists, in 1961 which also included Yves Klein, Arman and Jean Tinguely, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, among others. A close relationship to Swiss kinetic sculptor Jean Tinguely developed into creative collaboration and marriage in 1971. They worked together for the construction of many of Niki de Saint Phalle’s major sculpture projects, like HON in Stockholm (1966), Paradis Fantastique (1967), Cyclop in Milly-la-Forêt (1969-1987), Golem in Jerusalem (1972), Dragon in Knokke-le-Zoute (1973-75), Tarot Garden in Italy (1980-1998) and Stravinsky Fountain in Paris (1983). Saint Phalle never stopped exploring working with different materials may it be polyester, bronze, or mosaic. Other monumental projects of Saint Phalle include the UCSD Sun God (1983), Noah’s Ark in Jerusalem (1998), the Grotto at the Royal Gardens of Hannover (1996–2003), and Queen Califia’s Magical Circle in Escondido (1999–2003). Beyond her artistic endeavors, Niki was a passionate advocate for social justice and environmental conservation. She used her platform to address issues such as gender inequality, racism, and environmental degradation, utilizing art as a tool for activism and social change. Niki de Saint Phalle died on May 21, 2002, in La Jolla, California.

Filmography

1973 Daddy (co-direction)
1976 A Dream Longer Than the Night