— André Breton et ses amis à Saint-Cirq-Lapopie | 2025
Guillaume Bijl
The film project by Guillaume Bijl ANDRÉ BRETON ET SES AMIS À SAINT-CIRQ-LAPOPIE [Assembled from found archival footage - Circa. 1951 - 1963] follows the Surrealist poet André Breton and several of his friends during leisurely summer moments in the French village of Saint-Cirq-Lapopie.
In 1950, Breton bought a house in Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, a medieval village in the Lot Valley in southwestern France. The house was dilapidated at the time but was recently restored; it now bears the name Maison André Breton and houses the Centre International du Surréalisme et de la Citoyenneté Mondiale (CISCM).
In short, staged tableaux vivants, the film depicts a series of shared moments with fellow artists whom Breton invited to the village between 1951 and 1963. Artists such as Max Ernst, Man Ray, Dorothea Tanning, Meret Oppenheim, Benjamin Péret, and Toyen enjoy an evening stroll, dine in the garden, and pose for a group portrait. The seemingly lyrical carefreeness of the scenes stands in stark contrast to the two World Wars the artists had recently experienced.
The film adopts a similar artistic logic to Bijl’s earlier film James Ensor in Oostende, ca. 1920 (2000), in which the renowned Belgian artist James Ensor and several friends spend a carefree day at the beach. Whereas Ensor in that film was portrayed by a look-alike, for André Breton et ses amis à Saint-Cirq-Lapopie Bijl chose fellow artists, cast for their strong resemblance to the original surrealist artists, to bring these important historical figures to life.
All the scenes in the film are based on historical photographs, film footage, and testimonies, ranging from recollections of villagers, who as children saw Breton walking through the streets, to Breton’s own writings. As is typical of Bijl’s artistic practice, the film plays with the boundaries between fact and fiction, historical document and staging, triviality and critical reflection.
The film is a co-production with Radicale1924, the residency project for contemporary artists in Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, founded in 2021 by Chantal Yzermans and with which Guillaume Bijl had been closely involved from the beginning as a participating artist.
The film was shot two weeks after the death of Guillaume Bijl (1946–2025).
Credits:
- Directed by GUILLAUME BIJL
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Produced by GUILLAUME BIJL
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Co-produced by RADICALE1924
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With the support of the Flemish Government.
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Distribution: Escautville
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Editing and Director of Photography: WIM CATRYSSE
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CAST (in order of appearance)
André Breton: PATRICK VAN CAECKENBERGH
Benjamin Péret: GERT VERHOEVEN
Max Ernst: HENK VISCH
Dorothea Tanning: JÓHANNA K. SIGURDARDÓTTIR
Man Ray: HANS THIELMAN
Juliet Man Ray: FRANCINE MOYÉ
Méret Oppenheim: CHANTAL YZERMANS
Élisa Breton: MARIA DEGRÈVE
Gloria de Herrera: SIETSKE VAN AERDE
Toyen: RIA PACQUÉE
Anne Vernier: IRENE VEENSTRA
Jean Schuster: ELIAS CAFMEYER
Marie Wilson: NADIA BIJL
Maryse Sandoz: JOLKE VAN AERDE
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EXTRAS (in order of appearance)
Man in the street: FINN FONS
Woman in the street: MARIE-PASCALE BIENVENU
Woman in the garden I: MARIE-CARMEN BADER
Woman in the garden II: MARTINE TULET
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CREW
Producers: GUILLAUME BIJL, NADIA BIJL, ULRIKE LINDMAYR
Co-producer: CHANTAL YZERMANS (Radicale1924)
Director and Casting: GUILLAUME BIJL
On-Set Director: WIM CATRYSSE
Costumes, Make-up and Hair: SIETSKE VAN AERDE, NADIA BIJL, JOLKE VAN AERDE
Wig Designer: MICKI CHOMICKI
Production Assistant: ELIAS CAFMEYER
Sound Recordist: PHILIPPE VAN DAMME
Sound Design and Colour Grading: WIM CATRYSSE
Sculpture. Replica after Max Ernst,
« An Anxious Friend », 1944: ELIAS CAFMEYER
Set Chronologist: TAMARA BEHEYDT
Catering: MARION MOL
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Filmed on location in Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, France, Former residence of André Breton
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The film was made as part of the Radicale1924 residency and exhibition program, founded by Chantal Yzermans in Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, to mark the centenary of the “Manifesto of Surrealism” (1924).
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SPECIAL THANKS TO
Clément Gaësler, Curator at Maisons Élisa et André Breton, and Émile Joseph-Rignault, Centre International du Surréalisme et de la Citoyenneté Mondiale.
The Town Hall of Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, France
Madams Jacqueline and Justine Schaeffer
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GUILLAUME BIJL (1946 – 2025)
This film was conceived, developed, and launched by Guillaume Bijl, and brought to completion by the crew and actors following his vision, two weeks after his much-regretted and untimely death. Beyond his passing, he continued to be the guiding force of the project. Everyone who contributed to this film dedicates it to the cherished memory and lasting inspiration of Guillaume Bijl.
Screenings:
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2025: De Studio | De Cinema, Antwerp, Avant première (BE)
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2026: KMSKA Laat, Antwerp (BE)
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2026: OFFoff Cinema, Kunsthal Ghent (BE)