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Festival panafricain d'Alger [The Panafrican Festival in Algiers] (William Klein, 1969)
Jul
26
One Voice Day
Black hands holding each other. In translation the caption reads “Down with colonialism! Down with imperialism!”. DP: William Klein et al.
In typical Western fashion the credits for William Klein's Festival panafricain d'Alger focusses on the French and American participants. After Algeria regained its independence in 1962, it became Africa's – and the #AfricanDiaspora's – centre for postcolonial and liberation moments.
“À bas le colonialisme ! À bas l'imperialisme !”
The 12-day Festival panafricain attracted 5000 people from all over the African continent, as well as liberation fighters from the United States.
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L'homme qui ment [The Man Who Lies] (Alain Robbe-Grillet, 1968)
Jul
25
soup
The titular man (Jean-Louis Trintignant) at a dinner table, observed by Sylvia (Sylvia Turbová) and Maria (Sylvie Bréal). The room is white and sparsely furnished. DP: Igor Luther.
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L'eclisse [The Eclipse] (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1962)
Jul
19
fruit
“I still can't figure out if it's an office, a market place, or a boxing ring. And maybe I don't even need to.”
– Vittoria
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Flammes [Flames] (Adolfo Arrieta, 1978)
Jul
19
National Barbara Day
Barbara (Caroline Loeb) waking up to her fireman. DP: Thierry Arbogast.
Barbara wakes up believing a fireman entered her bedroom through the window. Her father reassures her there's nothing, just a children's story. Years later, the adult Barbara (Caroline Loeb), grown up, withdrawn, living with her father (Dionys Mascolo), tutor, half brother (Pascal Greggory), and a persistent longing for her fireman, sparks a scheme that forces the fire brigade to come to their house and climb through her window once again.
“It's you.”
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Le notti di Cabiria [Nights of Cabiria] (Federico Fellini, 1957)
Jul
18
National Caviar Day
Cabiria (Giulietta Masina) about to experience an unforgettable meal of lobster and caviar. She's holding the lobster up by its antennae with a mix of bewilderment and amusement on her face. Her frumpy outfit looks completely out of place in Lazzari's (Amedeo Nazzari) fancy apartment. DP: Aldo Tonti.
Maria “Cabiria“ Ceccarelli (Giulietta Masina), a prostitute looking for happiness, meets famous movie star Alberto Lazzari (handsomely moustachioed Amedeo Nazzari). In his plush mansion, he treats her to an opulent – if not bewildering to Cabiria – meal of lobster and caviar.
“And what's this? I saw it in a movie once.”
– Cabiria
Co-written by #Pasolini, #Fellini's Le notti di Cabiria is a love letter to hope, life, #Rome, and of course his Giulietta.
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Alphaville: Une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution (Jean-Luc Godard, 1965)
Jul
16
petit déjeuner
In one of the very few daytime scenes, Natacha (Anna Karina) and Lemmy Caution (Eddie Constantine) share breakfast at a small table while awkwardly sitting on the armrests of two upholstered chairs. A large television is set up directly behind the table. DP: Raoul Coutard.
“Yes, I'm afraid of death… but for a humble secret agent that's a fact of life, like whisky. And I've drunk that all my life.”
– Lemmy Caution
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Alphaville: Une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution (Jean-Luc Godard, 1965)
Jul
16
AI Appreciation Day
Natacha von Braun (Anna Karina) and Lemmy Caution (Eddie Constantine). Lights reflected in the windowpane that shields the two characters suggest “the existence of an obscure reality” (after Baudrillard). DP: Raoul Coutard..
Science fiction, of course, doesn't have to be driven by grandes effects, by superstar names and monumental backdrops. It can be cool, dry, colourless even. The hero, in trenchcoat and fedora, traverses a lightless city. There are few others at this time of night. The familiar landmarks of the City of Light become the voice of 𝛼-60, an artificial intelligence that presides over Alphaville.
𝛼-60: “Do you know what illuminates the night?”
Lemmy Caution: “Poetry.”
Based on a poem by Paul Éluard, #Godard's Alphaville bears similarities with Jean #Cocteau's Orphée (1950), transported to a mirror world of sorts. It also foreshadows not only our time, but also M. Hulot's, whose #Tativille could be the simulacra of 𝛼-60's simulated, dehumanised world.
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Flammes [Flames] (Adolfo Arrieta, 1978)
Jul
15
Barbara (Caroline Loeb) – in a patterned firetruck-red dress – descends a grande staircase. At the bottom of the stairs a long, beautifully set table with well-dressed guests. The seat at the head of the table is empty. DP: Thierry Arbogast.
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La piscine [The Swimming Pool] (Jacques Deray, 1969)
Jul
13
“Chinese food”
The two couples (Delon and Schneider, and Ronet and Birkin) awkwardly sharing dinner. There's wine in red glasses and the food, plated on rustic French dinnerware, is handled with chopsticks. DP: Jean-Jacques Tarbès.
“Change your dreams, not the world.”
– Harry
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Taris, roi de l'eau [Taris, King of the Water] (Jean Vigo, 1931)
Jul
12
freebie: Swim A Lap Day
Jean Taris in his element. DP: Boris Kaufman.
A proto-Jean Painlevé exercise avant la lettre.