Statues also Die (1953)

A documentary of black art.

Directors:

Ghislain Cloquet, Chris Marker

Writer:

Chris Marker

Stars:

Jean Négroni, François Mitterrand, Pope Pius XII

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview:
Jean Négroni	...	Récitant / Narrator (voice)

Storyline

A documentary of black art.

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Plot Keywords:

artistic creation | art | controversy | human face | face mask | 

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Genres:

Documentary | Short

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Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

May 1953 (France)

Also Known As:

Akoma kai ta agalmata pethainoun

Filming Locations:

Ouakam, Senegal

Company Credits

Production Co:

Présence Africaine, Tadié Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 20 min (first release)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

After its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, this short subject was withheld from commercial release on the grounds that it was "Anti-Colonial."

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Quotes

[first lines]
Récitant: When men die they enter into history. When statues die they enter into art. This botany of death is what we call culture.

User Reviews

Botany of death we call culture

The narrator says in the opening sequence: "When men die, they become history. Once statues die, they become art. This botany of death is what we call culture." This documentary makes an excellent analysis of the cold cruelty by which colonialism and imperialism destroyed the original art of Africa. They first enslaved and destroyed the civilization that created these objects and was able to comprehend them, they recognized only aesthetic properties of these artefacts, as if they exist only to entertain colonizers, transformed them into exotic souvenirs and further degraded them by turning them into mass produced commodities made to be sold on bazaars. Due to the harsh criticism of colonialism, the film was censored and almost the entire second half of the movie was banned. The full original version was publicly screened in France in 1968, fifteen years after it was made.