Markers: Films that push the boundaries of the documentary form
West African activist Omar Blondin Diop is mostly known to Western people for playing his own part in Jean-Luc Godard's film La Chinoise (1967), in which he was the only real Marxist thinker of the cast. But in Africa, his name is associated with an unpunished state crime, as his suspicious death in prison in 1973 under the presidency of Léopold Sédar Senghor was ruled a suicide. Today in Dakar, his brothers and friends pay him a vibrant tribute, remembering his life and performing themselves in this reimagining of the Godard classic where the late revolutionary becomes the key character. Redistributing the roles to a variety of protagonists inspired by Blondin Diop's legacy and updating the plot to the current relationships between Africa, Europe and China, Vincent Meessen's free take on La Chinoise provides a profound and stimulating reflection on colonialism, justice and political resistance. Charlotte Selb
This event has been financially assisted by the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund of the Government of Ontario through the Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries, administered by the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund Corporation.