Le fort des fous

  • 140'
  • France
  • 2017

Le fort des fous, first presented at Documenta 14, is a key work in the context of A History of Shadows' film programme. Not only in terms of its subject matter – the legacy of colonisation – or how it deals with the re-appropriation of history and memory, but also because Mari freely and playfully uses so many of cinema’s tools to deal with the past, to reflect on the present.

In three acts, we see re-enactments, improvisations and interviews performed and conducted with the inhabitants of Algiers (where Mari hails from), Kythira Island and the Prosfygika community in Athens. Departing from material records of the early colonial 'scientific expeditions' and 'taming campaigns' led by the French colonisers in North Africa, the story follows a community of young nomads and wanderers as they form an imagined utopian society in response to imperialist rule.

Director
Narimane Mari
Countries of production
France, Greece, Germany, Qatar
Year
2017
Festival Edition
IFFR 2018
Length
140'
Medium
DCP
Languages
French, English, Greek, Arabic
Producers
Narimane Mari, Corinne Castel, Ann Carolin Renninger / joon film, Fenia Cossovitsa / BLONDE S.A.
Production Companies
Allers et Retours Films, Centrale Electrique, joon film, BLONDE S.A.
Sales
Narimane Mari
Screenplay
Narimane Mari
Cinematography
Narimane Mari
Editor
Narimane Mari, Corentin Doucet
Sound Design
Antoine Morin
Music
Cosmic Neman, Dr Schonberg
Cast
Antoine Morin, Rachid Haddad, Thekla Gounaridi, Michel Haas
Director
Narimane Mari
Countries of production
France, Greece, Germany, Qatar
Year
2017
Festival Edition
IFFR 2018
Length
140'
Medium
DCP
Languages
French, English, Greek, Arabic
Producers
Narimane Mari, Corinne Castel, Ann Carolin Renninger / joon film, Fenia Cossovitsa / BLONDE S.A.
Production Companies
Allers et Retours Films, Centrale Electrique, joon film, BLONDE S.A.
Sales
Narimane Mari
Screenplay
Narimane Mari
Cinematography
Narimane Mari
Editor
Narimane Mari, Corentin Doucet
Sound Design
Antoine Morin
Music
Cosmic Neman, Dr Schonberg
Cast
Antoine Morin, Rachid Haddad, Thekla Gounaridi, Michel Haas