Pacifique Justice
Jean-Luc Léon
2003 - 76 min - DV Cam - Couleur - France

During criminal trials, usually off-limits to cameras, judges from France come to the Polynesian Islands. Once a year, those to be tried are called before the fairground court, in the presence of gendarmes stationed on the island. In the days before the hearing, judges, lawyers, accused and victims are filmed at home or at their place of work, in their daily environment. The day before the hearing, the president, two deputy judges, assistant public prosecutor, a Polynesian clerk and a court-appointed defense attorney board a local commercial airline or the plane of the High Commissioner's office, to fly to an island in the archipelago: tuamotu, Australes or Iles Sous-Le-Vent. The morning of the hearing, the protagonists meet at the island's Town Hall, the court-appointed lawyers meet with any accused who request it and the court is in session. From comedy to tragedy, the proceedings show how truth is sought. A few hours later, after the deliberations of the three authorities, the President announces the verdicts. Sometime the questions of the President or Public Prosecutor, the testimonies of the accused and the victim, the speech for the defense can sway some "prejudices".