The criticism is unanimous and the public followed it. Twenty thousand people have already seen the film in Belgium, an impressive figure, especially in a documentary. To this rare commercial success are added numerous prizes at festivals and international recognition, via its appointment among the best documentaries retained by the Academy of Oscars. The verdict is awaited feverishly on March 2, but the bet of the Belgian director is already raised hands down.
The list of films appointed to the next Oscars ceremony
For 30 years, the work of Johan Grimonprez aims to track down the hidden slopes of history, those that the artist and videographer has unlocked by searching archive funds and domestic videos. A job that allowed him to demonstrate how the images are used to divert our attention from the real issues and build a story serving the cause of a certain elite. As he did in Dial H-I-S-T-O-R-Ypresented at the contemporary Art exhibition documentary in 1997. In 2016, his work took an even more militant turn with The Shadow World : Inside the Global Arms Tradevibrant plea against an international weapon trade “corrupt threatening democracy around the world”.
This method, patiently developed over the years, has built its fame and has given it access to the archives of Nikita Khrushchev – former head of government of the USSR – and political activist Andrée Blouin, but also to the family films of the Author in Koli Jean Bofane, newly independent Congo child. This archive treasure allowed him to show how many American artists, including Louis Armstrong, were used as covers for missions carried out by Uncle Sam and the United Nations in Africa and Congo alongside Belgium. Maneuvers that led to the assassination of the Prime Minister of Congo freshly independent, Patrice Lumumba.
-“Soundtrack to coup”: Congo, Jazz and Bras-de-Fer within the United Nations
Hiding his concerns under a false phlegmatic air, the native of rollers, aged 63, said he was aware of the “Long path still to go” For all light to be shed on the painful common history of Belgium and Congo. While saying he is happy to have done “His share of work”. It remains to be seen if he will win under the California sun.
NB: The works of the videographer are among the collections of the Center Pompidou, the Museum of Contemporary Art of the 21st century of Kanazawa and the Tate Modern in London.
