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Les Statues meurent aussi
FRANCE · 1953

Les Statues meurent aussi

Chris Marker
colonialism cultural appropriation museum politics African art cultural hierarchy
Watch on MUBI → Stream on Criterion → ▶ Trailer

Synopsis

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.

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