Tsai Ming-liang dreamed of being a painter, but he has become one of the most sensual filmmakers in contemporary arthouse cinema. Art, however, has remained inseparable from his work as a filmmaker: like an obsessive painter, he explores two hues, solitude and desire, nourished by subtle variations from one film to another. The succession of long, calm shots also transforms certain films into living paintings.

In 2013, Tsai Ming-liang announced that he wanted to end his career, fed up with the film industry. He then explored various artistic disciplines (theatre, opera, installations, painting) and reinvented his approach to cinema.
The masterclass will be an opportunity to discuss with Tsai Ming-liang the relationship between the arts and the 7th art, the close links between them in his work, and his (re)definition of cinema.

Three scheduled films enter into resonance: Le Mandat (1968) and Hyènes (1992), two recently restored feature films, as well as the documentary Au cimetière de la pellicule (2023) by Thierno Souleymane Diallo. Two well-preserved monuments of African cinema versus a young filmmaker looking for a copy of Mouramani (Mamadou Touré, 1953), first film made by a Black frenchspeaking African director.
"We don't have an archive culture", Thierno Souleymane Diallo was simply told in the course of his quest.

A discussion on the place of archives and cinema in a colonial and post-colonial context.

By definition, subaltern peoples are marginalised communities whose voices and actions are ignored. Their stories and beliefs, too, are rejected by hegemonic discourses and artistic productions.
An atmospheric fiction (Eureka) and two documentaries (La mujer de estrellas y montañas, The Buriti Flower) focus on these populations, highlighting collective and individual stories. How can cinema move beyond the reductive, colonial mythology of the early westerns to reinvent itself and give a voice to the indigenous peoples of America?

In 1955, 29 African and Asian countries met at the Bandung Conference. Together, they formed a third bloc, distinct from the USSR and the United States. This association will lead China to strengthen its ties with Africa from the early 2000s. In Eat Bitter, Pascale Appora-Gnekindy and Ningyi Sun tell the story of two men whose paths cross: Thomas and Luan. In the Central African Republic, the former dives into the river to extract the sand needed for the worksites directed by the latter.
This round table will attempt to shed light on this ambiguous geopolitical relationship, in which each individual fights for their own survival.

In collaboration with emp’ACT.