Club Private Au Portugal -1996- De Francois Clouzot __top__ Direct

In the summer of 1996, at the height of the Eurodance era and just before the digital takeover of imagery, François Clouzot documented a hidden enclave along the Portuguese coast. Club Privé is neither a location nor an event, but a state: a clandestine playground for drifters, heirs, and forgotten romantics.

Shot on grainy 35mm film with available light, the series captures bodies in movement—half-dressed, half-shadowed—inside a decaying villa outside Lisbon. The pool is turquoise but cracked. The drinks are warm. The guests wear masks, not for carnival, but for ritual. club private au portugal -1996- de francois clouzot

Certains historiens du cinéma expérimental portugais (comme João Bénard da Costa, qui mentionnait l’œuvre dans des notes de bas de page oubliées) suggèrent que François Clouzot aurait utilisé ce "Club" comme un fourre-tout pour des essais cinématographiques refusés par la RTP (Radio Télévision Portugaise). 1996 serait l’année où Clouzot, sentant la fin d’une époque, aurait jeté tout son matériel non commercial sur des bandes. In the summer of 1996, at the height

Accounts from the era describe a space defined by low lighting, heavy velvet drapes, and an obsessive attention to privacy. The entrance was notoriously difficult to find, often requiring a password or a personal connection to Clouzot himself. This exclusivity was not merely about status; it was about safety. In an era before camera phones and social media oversharing, the "Private" in the name was a guarantee. The pool is turquoise but cracked

La jaquette est caractéristique du "design low-cost 96". Généralement, elle présente un fond noir profond, avec une typographie dorée ou argentée rappelant les polices de caractères des films X de l’âge d’or. Le logo "Club Private" est souvent un cadenas stylisé ou un masque de carnaval vénitien. : "Produzido em Portugal por François Clouzot - 1996 - Edição Limitada a 500 cópias."