Film Mort

A portrait of the country of Mexico, as seen through the eyes of Mario Rojas Alba, a physician and former member of Congress, who fled to Montreal as a political refugee after surviving a brutal physical assault. During a cautious trip home, he guides us through the workings of political repression and violence in Mexico. The resulting film reveals the darker side of this vast country which became our official trading partner in 1994 under NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement), an accord criticized by a great many Mexicans, especially the indigenous people of Chiapas, who rose in revolt, demanding a more just and democratic society. On the Day of the Dead, families and friends remember those who have "disappeared"; widows lay flowers on the graves of husbands slain for opposing the ruling party. By their side, Alba reaffirms his commitment to a peaceful transition toward true democracy.

An early Gaumont short.

On the 30th of June, 1966, in a small country-side town in Japan, four members of the Hashimoto family are stabbed and burnt to death in their family home. The savagery of the crime shakes the country and shortly after, 30-year-old retired boxer Iwao Hakamada is arrested, convicted and sentenced to death. Despite a lack of evidence, Hakamada would remain on death row for almost half a century before being granted a retrial in 2014.

Jack is having a party with some friends. Disused, he decides to take a psychedelic drug. With a lighter mind, he enjoys the moment, his belly rejecting his visceral anguish as the evening progress. Arrives the time when he confronts a too big anxiety of which he cannot get rid of.

A photographer on the verge of retirement remembers the steps that got him here. A present cursed by the longing for the theater, which collapsed many years ago.

The trilogy 'Of Blood, of Pleasure and of Death' (1947-1948), which began with Psyche (1947), the first film, produced by Gregory Markopoulos in 16mm, based on an unfinished novel by Pierre Louÿs, is completed with Lysis and Charmides, both based on Platonic dialogues. Addressing themes of homosexuality, these three films illustrate a symbolic use of colour and composition. (Centre Pompidou)

What will you do, God, when I die? (R.M. Rilke)

Rome, November 1941. In a pneumology clinic, Ion Bucur, a young Romanian poet, is dying. His friend and compatriot, artist Eugen Dragutesco, faithfully sits at his bedside, drawing pictures of him, thirty pictures in total, which will finally constitute the poignant diary of a pathetic agony.

A tale, told by his five daughters, of the life and death of a man very representative of a Protestant Switzerland in the early 20th century where life was conditioned by the work ethic. He was first a farmer, then a factory worker, then the head of a small family affair where his daughters became his workers. The business grew into an large factory that would be eventually taken over by the only son. The five stories show us the family and professional context of the first half of the 20th century. They are also five different versions of the serene death of a man who felt he had done his duty. The film illustrates the ideas of Max Weber, known for their importance in understanding the Western civilization that emerged from the Reformation.

Jean-Luc Godard's acceptance video for the 2015 'Prix d’honneur'.

We are in western Georgia. Here, according to custom, the dead are not separated from the living. People involve them in their family life, talk to them and seek their advice. They protect the dead and they hope the dead will protect them.The family is never alone. The neighbours are there to keep up their spirits, to help them with the ceremony: "Everything has to be properly done". Tsotne, dressed in his best suit gets ready to "welcome the guests". The condolences ceremony starts at eight o'clock in the evening.