De la conquête (Of Conquest). 2022. Written and directed by Franssou Prenant

Film

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Of Conquest. 2022. France. Directed by Franssou Prenant. Courtesy La Traverse Films

De la conquête (Of Conquest). 2022. France. Written and directed by Franssou Prenant. North American premiere. In French; English subtitles. 75 min.

Filmmaker, editor, screenwriter, and actor Franssou Prenant (who will be the subject of a retrospective at this year’s Cinéma du Reel festival) shines a light on an early chapter of the French colonial project in Algeria in this penetrating montage film. Having collected extensive research about France’s 1830 invasion of Algiers and its aftermath—as recorded largely by military men in official reports, memoirs, firsthand accounts, literary texts, and geological surveys—Prenant assembled a cast to recite from this bibliography of colonial conquest. The resulting stream of words, as propulsive as it is chilling, is superimposed with meditative images of contemporary Algiers and Paris: in a sequence of emphatic juxtapositions, meandering, sun-drenched shots dwelling on inhabitants of the North African port city are haunted by a history of colonial destruction whose legacy remains with us today.

This film accompanies Doc Fortnight 2023: MoMA’s Festival of International Nonfiction Film and Media.

Past events

Wed, Mar 1, 2023, 4:30 p.m.

MoMA, Floor T2/T1, Theater 2

The Roy and Niuta Titus Theater 2
Thu, Feb 23, 2023, 7:00 p.m.

Followed by a conversation with the filmmaker

MoMA, Floor T2/T1, Theater 2

The Roy and Niuta Titus Theater 2

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