Sans Soleil

Sans Soleil
Film poster
Directed byChris Marker
Written byChris Marker
Narrated byFlorence Delay (French version)
Riyoko Ikeda (Japanese version)
Charlotte Kerr (German version)
Alexandra Stewart (English version)
CinematographyChris Marker
Edited byChris Marker
Music byChris Marker
Distributed byArgos Films
Release date
  • 1983 (1983)
Running time
100 minutes
CountryFrance
LanguageFrench

Sans Soleil (French pronunciation: [sɑ̃ sɔlɛj]; "Sunless") is a 1983 French documentary film directed by Chris Marker. It is a meditation on the nature of human memory, showing the inability to recall the context and nuances of memory, and how, as a result, the perception of personal and global histories is affected. The title Sans Soleil is from the song cycle Sunless by Modest Mussorgsky, a brief fragment of which features in the film. Sans Soleil is composed of documentary footage shot by Marker interwoven with stock footage, clips from Japanese movies and shows, and excerpts and stills from other films.

In a 2014 Sight and Sound poll, film critics voted Sans Soleil the third best documentary film of all time.