Arsenal: A Night and a Day with Med Hondo

one-day review and discussion of film material with Med Hondo

Med Hondo is one of the most important pioneers of a transnational and political vanguard cinema. The Mauritanian born filmmaker (*1936 in Atar, AOF—Afrique Occidentale Française) celebrated his 80th birthday this year. His films are different in style and theme but converge in their interest in figures, geographies and histories of the Black Atlantic, the era of colonial expansion and the migrants’ experiences in post/colonial Europe.

24 and 25 September Med Hondo will be honoured in his presence with the screening of his film SARRAOUNIA (1986) in Cinema Arsenal and with a one-day review and discussion of film material and related documents at silent green Kulturquartier along the theme of a fragile history of revolt envisioned though his cinematic practice.

A Night

Saturday, 24 September, 7:30 pm, Cinema Arsenal SARRAOUNIA An African Queen | Med Hondo | Burkina Faso/France | 1986 | 35mm | original version with English subtitles | 120’. Music by Pierre Akendengue, Abdoulaye Cissé and Issouf Compaoré. With Aï Keïta, Jean-Roger Milo, Féodor Atkine, Didier Sauvegrain, Tidjani Ouédraogo, Abdoulaye Cissé.

… And A Day With Med Hondo

Sunday 25, 11 am to 1 pm: Med Hondo’s practice as a filmmaker is not so much concerned with re-writing but with a confrontation with history in order to find unorthodox points of view, perspectives and ways to handle it anew. In the morning, the material belonging to Hondo’s films stocked at Arsenal (reels and documents) will be brought out to examination and his practice discussed together with the archival and distribution history of his films.

3 pm to 5:30 pm: Screening of MES VOISINS My neighbours | 1971 | 16mm | 35’ | original version with German subtitlesThe afternoon is dedicated to the short film MES VOISINS, the only and very fragile copy of this film preserved at Arsenal archive. MES VOISINS eventually is a short version of one of Med Hondo’s early three hours long films, Les bicots nègres, vos voisins (The bicots nègres, your neighbours), which he finalised between 1972 and 1974.

Enoka Ayemba, Marie-Hélène Gutberlet and Brigitta Kuster will guide through the programme.

A Day With Med Hondo is admission free; we kindly ask to register under anightandaday@yahoo.com until 20 September.