09.05.24, 19:30, Le Fond de l’Air est Rouge (1977)

Le fond de l'air est Rouge, a documentary by French filmmaker, writer, photographer and media artist Chris Marker, makes the bilan of the political generation of May 1968. The film navigates through the debris of a militant and politically engaged life, filmmaking and thinking that had heralded the events of May 1968. Marker depicts the aftermath of that period of student revolts, general strikes and civil unrest aimed at social and moral change. After the fire of protest, Marker looks at a time that is trying to come to terms with the realisation that the revolution is "over".

Through numerous perspectives, Marker examines the collective memory surrounding one of the most important political events of the 20th century and allows hidden and forgotten images to speak again. Using heterogeneous archival material, Marker's gaze dissects the mythology of the zeitgeist, the history of the emancipation struggle, with its oscillations between hope and disillusionment, and of a global political generation. Marker creates a monument to progressive hope and highlights the extraordinary vitality of leftist conviction, but also has an eye for forms of oppression and manipulation such as in Vietnam, Cuba or Chile that are also part of that history.

This film will be introduced by filmmaker Gerard-Jan Claes.