Organised by a collective of committed volunteers, the festival of militant cinema will run from April 26th to May 4th in Marseilles. The films, around the theme of urban struggle, will be shown at the Gyptis and La Baleine cinemas, the Alcazar library, the Lycée St Exupéry and in outdoor spaces. Every night for over a week spectators are invited to watch a short film and a feature film, always followed by a discussion.
The Printemps du Film Engagé opens with Mélancolie ouvrière, a film by Gérard Mordillat, sponsor of this 4th edition. Featuring Virginie Ledoyen and François Cluzet, his film is about Lucie Baud, the first female unionist and early 20th century spokeswoman for feminist principles. This dramatised film is adapted from an essay by Michelle Perrot.
Another feature film on the programme, but this time aimed at a young audience, Albert Lamorrise’ Le Ballon rouge. Following the screening of the film, the young spectators will be given something to eat as they philosophise about the film. The workshop is led by les Philosophes Publics.
Also worth mentioning is the screening at the Lycée St Exupéry, in north Marseille, of David Daurier and Jean-Marie Montangerand’s Les yeux de la parole. This film follows the reaction of secondary school students from a suburb of Aix-en-Provence watching an opera in Arabic written by a Syrian poet in exile. It has already been shown in a school context to a class whose students don’t yet master the French language.
There is a special evening based around the theme of work, or more specifically confrontations within the work-place and ways of filming them, with an outdoor screening of two documentaries by Alain Barlatier. The first, Salarié.es contre Macfia, shows employees fight with management at a McDonald’s in north Marseilles in September 2018 and the second, Carrefour, les raisons de la colère, shown in preview, follows employees of the supermarket chain Carrefour in conflict with their management.
The Printemps du Film Engagé closes with an outdoor screening on the Cours Julien near Marseille’s old port, an evening of mobilization and disaster relief for those made homeless when several buildings in the centre of Marseilles collapsed last November. The festival offers various short films which show the state of many similar buildings in the city.
The full program is available here.
