“Most of the time, we didn’t film, we observed”

Wednesday, November 6, early in the afternoon, a few hours after the news of the election of Donald Trump, Ben Russell muttered « Rough day »hard day. The American filmmaker sits down at the table of a Parisian café with his co-director, Frenchman Guillaume Cailleau. The two forty-somethings have been working together for around ten years and present their documentary Direct Actiona deep dive in fixed shots in the ZAD (zone to be defended) of Notre-Dame-des-Landes (Loire-Atlantique) – the film won the Grand Prix du Cinéma du Réel in March.

Filming took place over a hundred days, between 2022 and 2023. That is to say a few years after the announcement, in 2018, of the abandonment of the airport project in this territory, which was opposed by environmental activists.

Like an “after”, the film captures the daily life – once again calm – of a place inhabited by men and women keen to rethink production methods, take care of the earth, gain autonomy, etc. A philosophy at odds with the productivist program of the Republican billionaire, who will become the 47^e president of the United States. « Direct Action is not unrelated to the democratic question. The ZAD is a territory of thought and refuge. There is this idea of ​​a pioneering collective, which takes back control”underlines Ben Russell, experimental filmmaker and exhibition curator, who also presents his works in art centers.

Political sharing

We had to empathize with the inhabitants of the ZAD to be able to film the agricultural work, but also the children's snack, a piercing session, etc. “Before filming, our position was often participatory. We helped on construction sites, before deciding on the framework”says Guillaume Cailleau, based in Berlin, who co-produced the film with his company CaskFilms. “Most of the time, we didn't film, we observed. In the end we only had twelve hours of rushes and we kept a little over three and a half hours”adds Ben Russell.

Shooting 16 millimeters means changing coils every ten minutes. The inhabitants of the ZAD decided whether to enter the field or not. “Each time we filmed, we then showed the rushes to the zadists. We organized a screening once the film was finished. They didn't want to change anything.”adds Guillaume Cailleau.

Time rhymed with political sharing. “By filming this daily work, there is the idea of ​​transmitting know-how. If the documentary has the air of an anticipation film, it is because the manual activities on the ZAD are combined with political activities”, analyzes Guillaume Cailleau.

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