African Mirror
Mischa Hedinger
2019 - 84 min - Couleur et Noir & Blanc - Suisse

English summary
For decades, Swiss traveller René Gardi (1909-2000) explained the African continent and its inhabitants to us. In books, television programs and films, he waxed poetic about the beautiful naked "savages" and the pre-modern era in which they apparently lived. This supposedly idyllic world became Gardi’s paradise, as Africa was transformed into a projection screen for the desires of the audience back home.
The film "African Mirror" tells the story of our problematic image of Africa using materials from Gardi’s archive, whose ambivalent pictures mirror our European self-conception in myriad ways. The film reveals image production as a form of colonialism and shows how we have refused to truly look into this mirror to this very day.



Auteur-Réalisateur : Mischa Hedinger
Son : Fabian Gutscher
Montage : Mischa Hedinger
Producteur délégué : Ton und Bild GmbH

Distribution


Distributeur : Ton und Bild GmbH

Distinctions

2019 - Festival international du film de Berlin - Berlinale, Berlin (Allemagne) : Sélection Forum
2019 - Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, Thessalonique (Grèce) : Sélection