MEDI1TV Afrique : Cinéma, art et photographie - 19/10/2024
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00:00It's with great pleasure that we meet you again on Hermédiens TV for this new Escale Culture at the heart of Africa.
00:18In a few moments, we will offer you a total immersion in the world of Sami Balouji,
00:25an artist who touches everything in cinema, including the arts.
00:29It will be a pleasure for us to go to the discovery or maybe even to the rediscovery of his universe.
00:35Otherwise, we will talk about the documentary by the Guadeloupean Malorie Eloïe Paisley,
00:40The Man-Vertigo, a real cinematographic vertigo,
00:44which sows the reality of Guadeloupe and of this inertia in which it is immersed.
00:52But first of all, here is our guest of the day.
01:02And as promised, today we have the immense pleasure of welcoming a young woman full of talent, Sonia Hamza.
01:10She is an artist who touches everything, especially a photographer. She is with us. Hello Sonia.
01:18Hello, I am delighted.
01:22Thank you for welcoming me.
01:24Thank you for being with us. It is true that we have a lot of questions to ask you,
01:28especially about your exhibition that opened on October 17 and will close on November 15 in the city of Tetouan.
01:37We will have time to talk about it, but here you are, I am tutoring you, if you allow me.
01:42You are a photographer, an artist above all.
01:46And precisely, what led you to this very particular art, photography?
01:51What caught your attention?
01:54In fact, my brother is a photographer.
01:56So he did parkour and everything.
01:59And I have been immersed in these cameras since I was very young.
02:04And finally, I started because I said to myself,
02:08well, we can be two to be a photographer, there is no contraindication.
02:12And I received a lot of support from my brother.
02:17And we had this conspicuity thanks to this medium that I love.
02:22So photography is a cement for me.
02:27A cement, but also a kind of introspection of this invisible link that we create with places,
02:35but also with the people we photograph.
02:38How would you define the photo, simply according to your sensitivity as an artist?
02:47I would take up the etymology of the word photography.
02:50Photo and graphite, so writing with light.
02:54The best example I can give is really this series, because I played.
03:01I played with what time and light gave me.
03:06And that's my way of interpreting this word.
03:11And to play between the borders.
03:13Because in the end, photography is not very far from painting.
03:18So we can find ourselves there too, if we prefer painting.
03:21So I like the borders to be porous.
03:24And that we no longer know very well what the medium is,
03:29until we receive the message.
03:32So being on the threshold all the time.
03:37I'm Franco-Moroccan, so I think there's a bit of that.
03:42It's true that there is no chance in life.
03:45And here is a very beautiful exhibition that opened on October 17.
03:51It will close on November 15 in the heart of the city of Tétouan.
03:56And with this very poetic title,
04:02which intrigues a lot,
04:04so Long Pause, Autumn Time.
04:08It's true that we would like to have explanations
04:10in relation to the choice of this title.
04:16It came quite naturally,
04:18because in fact the principle of this series is the long pause.
04:21But the pause, P-O-S-E.
04:23So it's the technical principle.
04:26But if I used the long pause in photography,
04:31it's to absorb in three seconds
04:35everything I missed during a certain period,
04:38the period of Covid, when I couldn't go to Morocco.
04:41So during those three seconds,
04:43it's equivalent to the three years I was absent.
04:46And so it's the long pause.
04:50That's it, the pause, P-A-U-S-E.
05:01Autumn Time, because there was a Summer Time version,
05:04the first one I did.
05:06And that's it, it's for the distant life.
05:10And it's true that we see at the same time
05:12some photos that are exposed to you.
05:15It's the city of Tétouan,
05:17which is notably photographed,
05:19with this effect of a bit of vertigo,
05:22where we have a hard time emerging.
05:25We feel like we're in a dream.
05:28There's something very particular that emerges,
05:31that emanates from the photos.
05:34And how did you feel like
05:37setting up this exhibition,
05:40especially because you couldn't go back to Morocco for a while.
05:43But also, how did you prepare this exhibition
05:46and how did you come up with the idea
05:48of photographing cities and nothing else, for example?
05:51The city.
05:53I've always been sensitive to cities,
05:56because I've travelled a lot, I've had this chance.
05:59And I think that the city is what speaks best to people.
06:04In the end, we can easily see how people
06:07live their environment through cities.
06:12I was away for several years.
06:16And naturally, I came back to Tétouan,
06:19which is the city where I spend my holidays
06:22and where I join my family.
06:28I wanted to break, after these three long and difficult years,
06:32my photography technique.
06:35So I used this long break
06:39to express this lack that I had
06:42and this return to the source.
06:45In any case, it's true that seeing the photos
06:48makes you want to see the whole exhibition,
06:51the impression of telling a story.
06:54And you, as an artist,
06:57beyond this exhibition,
06:59are you preparing anything at the moment?
07:02Are there any new projects,
07:04perhaps with different themes?
07:08Yes, in fact, I've had a subject of interest
07:11for several years in Japan.
07:14And last year, during my stay in Tétouan,
07:20I found a ceramic artist
07:23with whom I discussed this project,
07:26which I had put aside because I couldn't find anyone
07:29to do it with me.
07:31And we got along right away.
07:34It's a work by Zelie.
07:37So I'm happy to do it here in Morocco
07:40and next to Tétouan.
07:44So this is my current project.
07:47You can see how it has progressed.
07:50It's on the way.
07:53And why...
07:54You answered this question earlier,
07:57but isn't it difficult to photograph
08:00empty spaces like this,
08:03alleys, souks, houses?
08:06How do you capture the soul?
08:08Because when we see your photos,
08:10it's true that they speak to us.
08:12There is something, even if there is a void.
08:14And how, as a photographer,
08:16would you say that's also the magic
08:18that makes a signature of a photographer?
08:22Yes, it's very difficult.
08:24Because, indeed, during this period
08:26that I describe, during the pandemic,
08:28there was no one in the streets.
08:30So I had to find a way
08:32to make these people disappear.
08:35Or at least to suggest them.
08:38That's why you see them
08:40quite ghostly and all that.
08:42And it's the long exposure effect,
08:44the three seconds that allow me
08:46to have only shadows
08:49and suggested characters.
08:54It's the photo technique
08:56that allows me to empty the cities,
08:58the alleys, sorry.
09:01In any case, it's true that it makes you want to...
09:03I remind you that you are
09:05at the heart of the city of Tétouan
09:07until the 15th of November
09:09for this very beautiful exhibition
09:11that has something very poetic
09:13and, I don't know, a soul.
09:15Something that really takes us on a trip.
09:17Thank you for being with us, Sonia Hamza.
09:19Thank you very much.
09:21Thank you very much.
09:23Thank you and good luck.
09:34And after talking about photography,
09:36let's go straight to Samy Balouji,
09:39an all-round artist,
09:41a true spokesman for a whole new generation
09:43of artists on our continent.
09:45No matter the discipline,
09:47the essence of Samy Balouji's work
09:49lies in the exploration
09:51of cultural and architectural heritage
09:53of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
09:56In fact, he was particularly interested
09:58in museums, archives,
10:00as a place of interaction
10:02between the history of Africa
10:04and the West.
10:06Samy Balouji offers a clear and biting look.
10:08His video works, installations
10:10and photographic series
10:12emphasize the way
10:14in which identities are shaped,
10:16sometimes transformed
10:18and perverted, or even reinvented.
10:20His always critical view
10:22of contemporary societies
10:24is a kind of warning.
10:26Let's listen to it right now.
10:28It's being thought about
10:30and how it occupies the social space.
10:32It's an attempt at analysis.
10:34It's also an attempt
10:36to situate myself
10:38personally as a Congolese,
10:40as a person
10:42who was born there
10:44and lived there.
10:46And I remain very attached
10:48to this country, to this territory.
10:50And my work,
10:52or even my identity,
10:54is quite shaped
10:56by all this heritage.
10:58And it's also part
11:00of my writing,
11:02of my belonging to the world.
11:04Obviously, it's quite interesting
11:06to work on these questions
11:08to establish a writing,
11:10a questioning,
11:12a dialogue
11:14with the rest of the world.
11:16It's an environment I know.
11:18It's an environment I look at
11:20with intimacy,
11:22with respect
11:25and with sensitivity
11:27because these are spaces
11:29I know.
11:31But what is also interesting
11:33in these images,
11:35in these present images,
11:37is to realize the complexity
11:39both temporal
11:41and...
11:43It's all these strata of history
11:45that overlap with each other.
11:47You talk about poverty.
11:49So it's interesting to know
11:51why this poverty
11:53and why it's there.
11:55But at the same time,
11:57it's also spaces
11:59in which we find
12:01an architecture
12:03dating from a certain period
12:05that is either
12:07in destruction
12:09or in pituitary.
12:11And all these ruins
12:13or all these rusts
12:15or all these inventions
12:17or all these new propositions,
12:19in particular,
12:21interior decoration,
12:23spaces
12:27or in these boulevards,
12:29it raises questions.
12:33No matter the medium
12:35Samy Belloggi calls
12:37cultural clichés
12:39and their impact on collective memories,
12:41as he said in a recent interview,
12:43I'm not interested in colonialism
12:45as nostalgia
12:47or the fact that it's a thing
12:49that perpetuates this system.
12:51Samy Belloggi's practice and research
12:53focuses on the history
12:55and memories of the Democratic Republic
12:57of Congo,
12:59its home country,
13:01and, by extension,
13:03the question of the heritage
13:05and the impact of Belgian colonization.
13:07He addresses this question
13:09through his artistic adventures
13:11but also through his collection
13:13of archives, photographs, sculptures
13:15and videos.
13:17It's not surprising
13:19that the human being
13:21keeps in touch with his environment.
13:23It happens in the cinema,
13:25unlike Augur,
13:27who was in Lisbon
13:29to represent Belgium
13:31at the Oscars a few years ago.
13:33I really developed
13:35this kind of narration
13:37carried by magical realism,
13:39onerism,
13:41something I've been developing
13:43for a few short films
13:45like the zombie film
13:47at Clermont-Ferrand
13:49and others.
13:53At the time of my father's death,
13:55I saw the women crying.
13:57I imagined
13:59their tears
14:01creating a fountain
14:03in the living room.
14:05I think it was the first scene
14:07that inspired me
14:09to write the script.
14:11I wrote it
14:13eight weeks later.
14:19I think
14:21it's something important.
14:23I know that
14:25for a part of the audience
14:27it's a bit disheartening
14:29because we're used to linear narration.
14:31We like to anticipate
14:33what the film will tell us.
14:35When we lose our bearings
14:37in this way
14:39or have answers
14:41we realize
14:43that the return to the country
14:45is no longer an issue
14:47after 25 minutes of film.
14:49It can dishearten the audience
14:51and give the impression
14:53that the film is a bit fuzzy.
14:55I don't think it is.
14:57It's just that
14:59it has the image of what we are all.
15:01Complex, multiple.
15:03The primary objective
15:05can be a return to the country.
15:07But there are other elements
15:09that build our journey
15:11and are even more interesting
15:13than the primary objective.
15:15It's in this kind of construction
15:17that the film unfolds.
15:21After photography,
15:23Samy Balouji called for cinema
15:25with Augur,
15:27the first Congolese feature film
15:29presented at the Cannes Film Festival.
15:31Augur, directed by Balouji,
15:33won the New Voice 2023 award.
15:35Augur tells the story
15:37of four characters
15:39considered as wizards.
15:41Balouji, artist, proteiform,
15:43rapper, poet, stylist,
15:45filmmaker.
15:47The main character, Koff,
15:49is considered as a Zabolo,
15:51that is, a wizard.
15:53Koff was banished by his mother
15:55and after 15 years of absence
15:57he returns to his hometown
15:59to settle his debt.
16:01With this film, the director
16:03puts into perspective
16:05beliefs and rituals
16:07that can be perceived as irrational.
16:09And according to critics,
16:11the originality of the feature film
16:13is in the director's ability
16:15to play with metaphors.
16:17For Balouji, art and cinema
16:19are a weapon.
16:21During four centuries of exchange
16:23with Europe, African art
16:25has been instrumentalized,
16:27categorized in a simplistic way,
16:29even forgotten.
16:31For him, it is necessary to reactivate
16:33and he will say
16:35it is the empty space of history
16:37that interests me,
16:39I want to make these forgotten spaces speak.
17:04And what is it? Is it a parade?
17:12I think Alice has well understood
17:14that we are no longer in the same space-time.
17:16Ah well, perfect timing.
17:18Zabolo, get out of his body!
17:28It's my choice.
17:34And right away, in Africa,
17:36in culture, we talk about cinema
17:38with L'Homme Vertige,
17:40signed by Malorie Elroy-Peslet,
17:42who for five years, she says,
17:44digested in pointe-à-pitre
17:46my relationship with people
17:48from different parts of the city.
17:50Their loneliness tells the story
17:52of the Guadeloupe, the inertia
17:54of this island, a former French colony.
17:56L'Homme Vertige tells the slow
17:58disappearance of ourselves,
18:00buildings without future
18:02in pointe-à-pitre in Guadeloupe.
18:04And Malorie, the director,
18:06follows and gets lost in the city
18:08through these same empty streets.
18:10Their story is a kind of precious
18:12memory circulating in carefully
18:14developed relationships and portraits.
18:16We can no longer touch them.
18:18Let's watch the trailer.
18:32I live the street.
18:34I eat the street.
18:36I cry the street.
18:38I live the street.
18:40I eat the street.
18:42I cry the street.
18:44I live the street.
18:46I eat the street.
18:48I live the street.
18:50I eat the street.
18:52I live the street.
18:54I eat the street.
18:56I live the street.
18:58I eat the street.
19:00I live the street.
19:02I eat the street.
19:04I live the street.
19:06I eat the street.
19:08I live the street.
19:10I eat the street.
19:12I live the street.
19:14I eat the street.
19:16I live the street.
19:18I eat the street.
19:20I live the street.
19:22I eat the street.
19:24I live the street.
19:26I eat the street.
19:28I live the street.
19:30I live the street.
19:32I drink the street.
19:34I live the street.
19:36I drink the street.
19:42What is there?
19:46What's in there?
19:48What is there?
19:54What is allowed
19:57I love you.
20:12I love you!
20:27In this documentary, she tells us about her solitude, the solitude she shares with others in the city of Pointe-à-Pitre.
20:36For five years, Malorie-Éloïe Pesquet has been filming her relationship with people who live in these cities, in these different parts of the city.
20:45Their experience tells the story of Guadeloupe, the inertia of this island, a former French colony,
20:51which reveals to us its contemporary tales about the slow disappearance of ourselves.
20:57Vertigo is an anxiety, it is a state of disorientation.
21:00Once a passenger, it is the men who turn a little round, caught in the trap themselves, and this city that swallows them, Pointe-à-Pitre.
21:08For a long time, she said, she wandered, day and night, this city that was that of her people, revolts crushed in the blood.
21:17It is no longer a ghost city, and yet, isn't there something that resists the frantic rhythm of the mutations
21:23and that parasitizes in the memories of the fallen independents, like Tichal or in the silence of Campeche,
21:32like D'Arce. Let's see ancestors in a city that swallows memory holders,
21:38buried in the folds of their silence, the meanders of their inner voices.
21:43The characters she filmed are a little suspended on the edge of the gulf of this same city that swallows,
21:50at the same time as, and as she says, I listen to them, I slip into their footsteps and plunge into their gaze.
21:56Their vertigo is also ours.
21:59This is what the director, Mallory Elroy, says about her very beautiful documentary, L'Homme vertige.
22:13And before we leave in African culture, right away, place in Charles' will, the last novel by Christian Eboulé,
22:19which follows the story of one of the rare African officers who worked with the French colonial troops,
22:25Captain Charles Choréré, originally from Gabon, and who served on many territories of the French colonial empire
22:32before being shot down by the Germans in 1940.
22:36Journalist and novelist Christian Eboulé took hold of this figure of the Franco-Gabonese history in his book,
22:42Charles' will, where he restores, in the form of fiction, the extraordinary fate of this African soldier who fell for France.
22:50He will say, very quickly, I understood, by plunging into the archives of Captain Choréré,
22:55that the little story and the great story were intertwined.
22:59Taking inspiration from the life of the captain, to write my novel,
23:03precisely allows me to address all the problems of the time through the singular life of my character,
23:09born in Gabon in the 60s, and who simply went through the entire first part of the 20th century,
23:16seen as a mirror to himself.
23:19For Christian Eboulé, there was a kind of resonance between the trajectory of Captain Charles Choréré
23:25and his own in terms of racism, the gravity of colonial domination and the irremediable sequels
23:32that Charles' will was able to leave.
23:36A book to read urgently.
23:40The very first novel by Christian Eboulé, who is there, I remind you, a journalist.
23:45And we are coming to the end of Africa in Culture.
23:47Thank you for being with us.
23:49Then we will meet again next week.
23:51Always on Médien TV.