This second week of May, we’ve selected three films from the 1970s which, each in their own way, attempt to film a way out of the disillusionment that took hold of many in the wake of May ’68. All three propose a reiteration of the representation of the struggles underlying its broken promises. Three political films made politically, as the famous Godardian dictum goes.
Filmhuis Klappei in Antwerp is screening a rare, early work by the late Belgian filmmaker Robbe de Hert. Camera Sutra (1973), a two-part “Bildungsfilm”, delves into the relationship between Flemish youths and their homeland. Through reportages, montages of archive footage and fictionalized scenes, the film deals with contemporary issues such as the separation of church and state, the war in Vietnam, colonialism, the destruction of food surpluses and the language struggle between Flanders and Wallonia. A process of awakening unfolds among certain youth, leading to clashes with the established order. Introduction by film scholar Gertjan Willems.
Riddles of the Sphinx (Laura Mulvey & Petter Wollen, 1977) drew inspiration from Mulvey’s groundbreaking contributions to feminist film theory, specifically her exploration of scopophilia and the male gaze in her influential 1975 essay, ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’. The screening, in the presence of Laura Mulvey, is part of a program dedicated to the scholar and artist at Bozar, Cinematek and RITCS in Brussels in the framework of the Chantal Akerman exhibition.
Sabzian’s own series of Milestones screenings features Chris Marker’s Le fond de l’air est rouge. The film navigates through the debris of a militant and politically engaged way of living, filmmaking and thinking that had heralded the events of May 1968. After the fire of protest, Marker looks at a time that tries to come to terms with the realisation that the revolution has “ended.”
