Barbet Schroeder opens To Save and Project, MoMA’s 16th annual festival of film preservation, with a weeklong theatrical run of his most recent documentary, The Venerable W. (2017). A grimly fascinating portrait of the sectarian conflict that continues to rage in Myanmar, Schroeder’s film centers on Ashin Wirathu, the Burmese Buddhist monk who has been accused of fomenting anti-Muslim violence through his incendiary sermons, appearing on the cover of Time Magazine as “the face of Buddhist terror.” The Venerable W. completes Schroeder’s self-described “trilogy of evil,” which began in 1974 with General Idi Amin Dada: A Self Portrait, followed in 2007 by Terror’s Advocate. The feature documentary will be followed by the short Où en êtes-vous Barbet Schroeder?, in which Barbet Schroeder reflects on Buddhism and the nature of hatred after a neighbor violently cuts down 30 trees on his property.
Le vénérable W. (The Venerable W.). 2017. France. Written and directed by Barbet Schroeder. With Ashin Wirathu, U. Zanitar, Kyaw Zayar Htun. In English, French, Spanish, Burmese; English subtitles. 100 min.
Digital preservation courtesy Les Films du Losange
Où en êtes-vous Barbet Schroeder? 2017. France. Written and directed by Barbet Schroeder. With Bernard Pautrat, Eric Elmosnino, Barbet Schroeder. In French; English subtitles. 14 min.
Digital preservation courtesy Les Films du Losange