The Funeral of Marlene Dietrich

T.J. Wilcox's film The funeral of Marlene Dietrich tells the story of the funeral of the famous movie actor. After her death in 1992 in Paris, Marlene Dietrich is buried wrapped in a French flag and wearing her Légion d'honneur insignia, a tribute to her adopted country. Indeed, deeply shocked by the Nazi experience, she had refused to go back to Germany.

T.J. Wilcox chronicles this historical event by putting together images from cinema and his own archives. He uses 16 mm film, which brings a singular texture to the slightly flickering images. The artist whitens the film, which gives it a melancholy aspect and positions the viewer in an intimate position as regards the event that is described.

T.J. Wilcox's film The funeral of Marlene Dietrich was first shown by the Pinault Collection in the exhibition The Passage of Time at the Tri Postal in Lille, in 2007-2008.