EHESS continues this year its series on « Images and politics of autochthony : transmissions and fictions », coordinated by three scholars, including Sorosoro’s scientific board member Barbara Glowczewski.

In this context, the prestigious school of social science will be screening on Monday, January 10 Warwick Thornton’s film Samson & Delilah, just released on DVD.

The director’s first feature film, which received the « Caméra d’Or » award at the 2009 Cannes Festival, tells the roaming of two Aboriginal teenagers across the red earth of the Australian bush, and their dive into hell in the town of Alice Springs.

In this film, the director, himself a Warlpiri speaking Aboriginal (Walrpiri is a language of the Northern Territory), strongly condemns the plight of Australia’s original inhabitants, first colonized, then rejected and compelled to live in inhumane conditions, isolated from the world.

A corollary of this ongoing marginalization is the progressive extinction of Aboriginal languages. Let us remember that before the British arrived in Australia in the late 18th century, there were nearly 300 languages (and as much communities). Today less than 30 remain, most of which are spoken by only a few hundred people.

Deeply concerned with this situation, Warwick Thornton believes that his camera can help promote indigenous cultures. Since his first acclaimed short films (Payback, Mimi,…), he keeps impressing on screen the distress of Aboriginals, but also their hopes, their art of story-telling, their sense of humor, in short their taste for life. Besides, he’s not the only one: in order to fight against isolation and oblivion, a collective of Warlpiris, part of the Warlpiri Media Association, has launched a funny and entertaining website, Bush Mecanics, dedicated to the “astounding indigenous ingenuity”.

Watch an interview of Thornton

Read an interesting analysis of the film by EHESS historian Jean-Pierre Cavaillé (in French)

To order the DVD : thomas@whynotproductions.fr or guillaume@whynotproductions.fr

The screening of Samson & Delilah will be followed by a debate until 3pm.

Monday January 10, 11am

EHESS – François Furet hall

105 boulevard Raspail

75006 Paris