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Film festival « Le documentaire engagé dans les Amériques »

4-10 April 2022, Cinéma Le Studio, Aubervilliers
Antoine Simms

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1The second edition of the film festival “Le documentaire engagé dans les Amériques,” dedicated to politically motivated and socially conscious documentaries from the Americas, was held this April at the Cinéma Le Studio in Aubervilliers. It was organized by l’Institut des Amériques (IdA), a scientific interest group whose mission is to encourage transnational and transdisciplinary collaborations in the study of the American continent.

2The organizing committee was composed of lecturers Marianne Bloch-Robin (CRIMIC – Sorbonne Université), Marianne Kac-Vergne (Université de Picardie – Jules Verne), David Lipson (SEARCH – Université de Strasbourg), Véronique Pugibet (CRIMIC – Sorbonne Université) and Alberto Silva (CRIMIC – Sorbonne Université), as well as PhD students Camila Melo (CY Cergy Paris Université), Soukayna Mniai (Université Paris Nanterre), Sabina Nasser (Université de Montpellier Paul Valéry 3), Lucie Pallesi (Université Paris-Saclay), Laure Perez (Sorbonne Université), Antoine Simms (Université Paris Nanterre) and Carla Toquet (Université Paris Nanterre).

3The theme chosen for this year’s edition was sports in relation to politics, a question that felt particularly topical in the context of the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Five documentaries were chosen with this subject in mind. First among them was Muhammad Ali the Greatest (1974) directed by renowned photographer William Klein. Shot in both black and white and color, the film follows Ali from conquering his first title of World Heavyweight Champion in 1964 to his reclaiming of that boxing title ten years later. The discussion that ensued–conducted by Marianne Kac-Vergne and Antoine Simms–touched on the most salient aspects of Klein and Ali’s collaboration. Most significant were the ways Klein’s camera captured the frenzy surrounding Ali’s public appearances. As made clear in the film, Ali fully embraced a provocative persona and used it to his advantage, not only as a psychological weapon against his opponents, but also as a political instrument in favor of Black empowerment.

4The second evening was dedicated to the screening of Émilie Beaulieu-Guérette’s The Other Rio (2017), a documentary which covers the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio from the perspective of those who have been left out of its festivities. Over a period of several weeks, Beaulieu-Guérette immersed herself in the daily lives of the inhabitants of the IBGE, a rundown building located only a few blocks away from the Maracanã stadium. The Canadian director, present at the festival, was able to talk at length about what motivated her decision to film the inhabitants of this building in particular, as well as the challenges that she faced in doing so. Alberto Da Silva was also present alongside Alexandre Faure (FFJ – EHESS) to give additional elements of context regarding the specificities of these Olympic Games and their socio-economic impact.

5A screening of locally financed short-films devoted to the Americas also took place on the third evening. The selection included Quand passe le train directed by Jérémie Reichenbach (2012), Black Diamond directed by Samir Ramdani (2014) and Random Patrol directed by Yohan Guignard (2020). After the screening, Reichenbach and Guignard–both present at the festival–answered questions from the audience and participated in a joint interview led by Carla Toquet and Antoine Simms. Reichenbach shared his experience filming the women of Patrona, Mexico, who hand out food to U.S. bound Central American migrants traveling on trains which run through their village, while Guignard talked about his encounter with Matt, a hard-pressed Oklahoma police officer whom he followed while remaining within the confines of his patrol car. The discussion mostly centered around themes that resonated in both their work, namely questions of movement and immobility, alienation and the possibility of emancipation.

6The third full-length documentary was 100%Woman: The story of Michelle Dumaresq (2004) directed by Karen Duthie. The film sheds light on the trials and tribulations of Michelle Dumaresq, a Canadian transgender woman competing in the women’s division of mountain biking tournaments. Two PhD students specializing in the sociology of sports, Lucie Pallesi and Felix Pavlenko, conducted the ensuing debate on the topic of transgender rights in sports. Among the many aspects touched upon during this discussion was the overarching idea that sports have come to crystallize more widespread issues pertaining to the discrimination of transgender individuals. Particularly interesting in that regard, were the ways the media changed their discourse around these questions throughout the years.

7The fourth and fifth documentaries screened both related to popular sports within Latin American authoritarian regimes. The first, El Juego de Cuba (2001), directed by Manuel Martin Cuenca, is a retelling of the history of Cuba through the lens of its most celebrated sport: baseball. It was presented by Marianne Bloch-Robin and Laure Perez, who talked about the film’s troubled reception in Cuba, and expanded on the ambiguous relationship that Castro’s regime built around its national sport, which seemed to reflect its own contradictions.

8Working as a kind of complement to the latter, Mundialito (2010), directed by Sebastian Bednarik, gave precious insight into the more recent history of Uruguay, this time through the prism of soccer. The film was presented by Véronique Pugibet alongside Ernesto Messano (Uruguayan Embassy in France), Lorenzo Jalabert d’Amado (Université de Limoges) and Denis Merklen (IHEAL CREDA – Université Sorbonne Nouvelle). Chief among the many aspects covered during this discussion was the idea that sports can on the one hand be used as tool for propaganda to strengthen national cohesion –as was the case with Cuban baseball– but on the other hand, can also set the stage for the expression of popular dissent, as was the case in Uruguay.

9The final day of the festival served as a tribute to Laura Poitras, an American investigative filmmaker whose impressive body of work reflects an unwavering desire to protect human rights. Two of her more recent films, Citizenfour (2014) on Edward Snowden and Risk (2016) on Julian Assange, were screened as part of that tribute. It was followed by a presentation given by David Lipson and Carla Toquet which provided extensive information on Poitras and her work. Many of the ties binding Citizenfour and Risk were mentioned. Yet, despite those similarities, the two films functioned more as distorted mirrors of one another. Snowden’s obsession with transparency often appeared to be at odds with Assange’s dubious personality and questionable behavior. As a consequence, such differences materialized in the way Poitras herself approached the films, both in terms of form and content.

  • 1 A study day dedicated to conferences on the topic of sports and politics was also organized on Apri (...)

10The festival ended with a closing ceremony, during which director Émilie Beaulieu-Guérette was invited on stage to receive a prize for The Other Rio, awarded after a unanimous decision from the jury.1

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Notes

1 A study day dedicated to conferences on the topic of sports and politics was also organized on April 8th as part of the festival. For more information on this event, see Carla Toquet’s conference report.

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References

Electronic reference

Antoine Simms, “Film festival « Le documentaire engagé dans les Amériques »”InMedia [Online], 10 | 2025, Online since 15 May 2025, connection on 15 July 2025. URL: http://journals.openedition.org/inmedia/3287; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/145db

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About the author

Antoine Simms

Antoine Simms holds a PhD at Université Paris Nanterre. His research focuses on the impact of MTV on U.S. literature and cinema during the 1980s. He also teaches in the Arts and Media department at Université Sorbonne Nouvelle.

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