Film Screenings / Programs / Series
INTERNATIONALIST CINEMA FOR TODAY
March 2 – March 11
Curated by Nicole Brenez.
“The cinema is made to send news from where you are”, as Jean-Luc Godard has often said. But as Godard knows and practices equally well (especially in 1976’s HERE AND ELSEWHERE), cinema can also receive news from someone. It is not just a way to think and speak about oneself, it is a way to move beyond the ego and think of others, especially when they are in danger or in pain. Once – in Spain in 1936, for example – such a move was called “internationalism.” Although tarnished by the history of state communisms, this old word still carries strong values that can be used to resist globalized cinema, nationalism, communitarianism, and all processes of identification imposed by geography, history, and bureaucracy rather than existential singular free choice.
This series pays tribute to a handful of still-undervalued internationalist filmmakers (René Vautier, Bruno Muel, Sarah Maldoror, Raymundo Gleyzer, Margaret Dickinson, Yolande du Luart, Masao Adachi via Philippe Grandrieux, Peter Whitehead) whose courage and generosity saved the honor of cinema in times of colonialism and the struggles for independence. It is also meant to honor some of the cinema’s present-day combatants (Frank Pineda, Florence Jaugey, John Gianvito, Laura Waddington, Florent Marcie, Edouard Beau, Olivier Dury, Paul Cronin…) who are renewing these ideals in different political contexts. “Within oneself, there are also the others” (Jean-Luc Godard, 1997).
–Nicole Brenez
Nicole Brenez will be here in person to introduce Program 1 (Films by Raymundo Gleyzer) on Friday, March 2, and Programs 3 & 4 (Films by Rene Vautier and Yolande du Luart) on Saturday, March 3.
Presented with generous support from the Cultural Services of the French Embassy.
Very special thanks to Nicole Brenez, Muriel Guidoni & Delphine Selles-Alvarez (Cultural Services of the French Embassy), Sam Di Iorio (Hunter College), Phil Watts & Jane Gaines (Columbia University), and all the filmmakers, as well as to Jonathan Buchsbaum, Frédéric Féraud (L’oeil sauvage), Jonathan Howell (New Yorker Films), David E. James, Peter and Françoise Kirkpatrick (Richmond University), Annick Lemonnier (Epileptic), Eric Liknaitzky (Contemporary Films), Raphaël Pillosio, Benoît Provost (Digimages), Juana Sapire, Moira Vautier, Jacob Wolters (Oscilloscope Laboratories).
Please note: Nicole Brenez will also be taking part in two conferences during her visit to NYC, both of which are part of French Cinema: History, Theory, Politics, a cross-campus initiative for cinema research hosted by Columbia University and the CUNY Graduate Center:
"Recent Developments in Political Cinema."
Maison Française of Columbia University, Thursday, March 1, 7:30 PM
Respondent: Kent Jones
Buell Hall, Broadway Boulevard at West 116th Street
“An Incandescent Atmosphere”: Internationalist Cinema for Today
CUNY Graduate Center French Student Lounge, Friday, March 2, 4:00-6:00 PM
Room 4202, 365 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10016
http://centerforthehumanities.org/events/-An-Incandescent-Atmosphere-Internationalist-Cinema-for-Today
