Movie

Statues Also Die (1953)

• May 1, 1953
• 30m

• Documentary

Overview

Commissioned by the journal Présence Africaine, this short documentary examines how African art is devalued and alienated through colonial and museum contexts. Beginning with the question of why African works are confined to ethnographic displays while Greek or Egyptian art is celebrated, the film became a landmark of anti-colonial cinema and was banned in France for eight years.

Directors

Chris Marker, Alain Resnais, Ghislain Cloquet

Writers

Chris Marker

Starring

Jean Négroni, François Mitterrand, Pope Pius XII