Esther Kahn

Desplechin's only English-language film to date, Esther Kahn is an unconventional period drama set in London's East End in the late 19th century. The story in Esther Kahn concerns a young Jewish girl trapped with her family in the poverty of the rag trade. She dreams of escaping by becoming an actress. Based on an Arthur Symons story, and evoking early Hitchcock in atmosphere, it's an ambitious attempt to visualize a person who only feels alive when she's pretending to be someone else. With Summer Phoenix, Ian Holm, and Fabrice Desplechin (the director's brother). (163 mins., European cut


series booklet

A booklet to accompany the series has been produced by the Wexner Center, BAMcinematek, and Wellspring Media, Inc. The booklet, available in a PDF version on this web site, features essays by noted film critics Kent Jones and Amy Taubin and a Desplechin filmography. Images and text in the booklet are protected by copyright; all rights reserved.


support credits

Season support provided by the Rohauer Collection Foundation and the Corporate Annual Fund of the Wexner Center Foundation.

Contemporary films, international films, and visiting filmmakers presented with support from the Ohio Arts Council.


series special thanks

Special thanks to Florence Almozini of the Brooklyn Academy of Music and Ryan Werner and Marisa Keselica of Wellspring for their invaluable support and cooperation.