FRANCE • DOCUMENTARY • 60 MINS • 2015 • 15+*
DIRECTOR: RAPHAËL MILLET
This compelling documentary reveals a forgotten chapter in the history of cinema and our collective human diversity, as documented in the remarkable footage shot by a forgotten French cinematic pioneer.
Using incredibly rare footage, this revelatory film showcases the globe-trotting work of the brother of early cinema icon Georges Méliès, Gaston. From 1912 to 1913, Gaston sailed and filmed throughout the Pacific, to Polynesia, New Zealand, Australia, Java, Singapore, Cambodia, and finally Japan. His films were among the first to cast indigenous peoples in fiction roles and included many films shot around Sydney, Brisbane and Cairns. Extremely prolific, Gaston shot over 64 films, of which few survive.
This is the extraordinary story of a fearless individual who, with his wife Hortense, helped redefine what could be achieved with the medium of cinema. Transporting the viewer into a time and place rarely seen, this is an unmissable experience for all who love film and its capacity to empower and record history.
Screening will be followed by panel with Marie M. Schein French Language House Faculty Advisor, TCU, R. Colin Tait, Ph. D. Assistant Professor of Film, Television and Digital Media TCU, Professor Dayna Oscherwitz, Chair, World Languages and Literatures SMU, and Bart Weiss Artistic Director Dallas VideoFest
WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that this program may contain images and voices of deceased persons.
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