PARALLEL SECTIONS



REGEN / RAIN
JORIS IVENS, MANNUS FRANKEN – 1929 / THE NETHERLANDS
Regen can be defined as a cinematic-poem composed of highly artistic photographs that capture the transformation of the bustling cityscape and the effects of the natural phenomenon before, during, and after the sudden rain shower in Amsterdam. The film depicts the play of light and shadow on the urban surfaces, the trams, the canals, and the crowd.



MISÈRE AU BORINAGE / MISERY IN BORINAGE
JORIS IVENS, HENRI STORCK – 1934 / BELGIUM
Documentary about a miners’ strike in Borinage, an area in the southwest of Belgium. Misère au Borinage denounces the harsh living conditions of the workers in this community through images of their struggle, the destruction of consumer goods and their confrontations.



INDONESIA CALLING
JORIS IVENS – 1946 / AUSTRIA
Commissioned by the Dutch to film Indonesia’s liberation from Japan, but realizing the colonists would not let Indonesians govern themselves, Ivens went rogue, filming part in secret, to make a document demanding freedom for the people. A pamphlet-style film on the dock strikes that broke out in Australia in solidarity with the Indonesian Republic, following the Dutch decision to send troops and weapons to Indonesia in 1945.



LE CIEL, LA TERRE / THE THREATENING SKY
JORIS IVENS – 1966 / FRANCE
In the midst of the Vietnam War, this documentary bears witness to the resistance of the Vietnamese and Indochinese people. Ivens began filming the American raids on Hanoi in 1965, militarily supporting the South Vietnamese army against the North Vietnamese people’s army. Le ciel, La Terre captures the response of the inhabitants of the countryside, through booby-trapping, clashes and demonstrations.