Sébastien Lifshitz – Amateur

"Amateur" consists of four volumes and unites a vast collection of amateur photographs assembled by filmmaker Sébastien Lifshitz over the last twenty years. Found on flea markets all over the world and in photo galleries or on the internet, they are divided into four themes: the uncanny, empty places, blurs and beachsides. Each volume revolves around one of those recurring themes, playing with the different frames, the changes of light, movement and subject in order to create an immense poetic collage.

Sébastien Lifshitz was born in Paris in 1968. After studying art history, he began working in the world of contemporary art in 1990, assisting curator Bernard Blistène at the Centre Pompidou, and photographer Suzanne Lafont. In 1994, he turned to filmmaking with equal attention to fiction and documentary. His films received numerous awards such as the Prix Jean Vigo and the Kodak Award, twice the Berlin Film Festival’s Teddy, and the Cesar 2013 for his last feature “The Invisibles.” Sébastien Lifshitz has just finished the documentary film “Bambi” which was selected at the Berlinale 2013.