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Zanzibar Group

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Zanzibar Group (also known as Zanzibar Films) was a radical French collective of filmmakers active from 1968 to 1970. The group was financed by Sylvina Boissonnas[1] and included filmmakers Philippe Garrel and Jackie Raynal.[1][2] Sally Shafto has referred to them as "the Dandies of May 1968", in reference to the civil unrest in France at the time.[3]

History

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The Zanzibar group comprised young radical French filmmakers, some of whom had dropped out of university to make films.[1] The group's constituent members were dandies, and some were models.[1] The group's work was financed by Sylvina Boissonnas. Productions were sparse: directors shot without scripts and actors were typically not paid for their work.[1] The group shot on expensive 35 mm film.[1]

In 1969, several members of the group embarked on a trip to Africa to shoot Serge Bard's film Au-delà. However, Bard abandoned the project before reaching their namesake destination.[1]

The Zanzibar group dissolved when Boissonnas stopped financing their films and instead became more active in the French feminist movement.[1] Boissonnas was unable to sell the rights to the group's films to distributors, and so the group's work remained relatively unknown until a 2000 screening at the Cinémathèque Française.[1]

Members

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Shafto, Sally (9 February 2002). "The new, new wave". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  2. ^ Pinkerton, Nick (7 August 2017). "Lines of Flight". Artfoum. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  3. ^ Reader, Keith (August 2007). ""Africa is a Revolutionary Country": Sally Shafto's Zanzibar: The Zanzibar Films and the Dandies of May 1968". Senses of Cinema. Retrieved 10 August 2017.

General references