AND THE DOGS WERE QUIET
France | 1978 | 14 min | col. | o.v. French
A bare, profound work inspired by Aimé Césaire’s play with the same title. Sarah Maldoror stages silence and speech in an abstract, almost ritualistic space. African statues, shaded faces, poetic fragments: all is mixed together in a language that transcends theatre and becomes a cinema of consciousness. The prisoner remains silent but resists; the dogs are quiet but lurking. A film about dignity, martyrdom, and the silent strength of poetry – visionary, dense, and unshakeable: Maldoror transforms Césaire’s words into visual matter. (L.F.)
Local Time
- Timezone: America/New_York
- Date: 05 Nov 2025
- Time: 10:30
Location
- Cinema Astra - Piazza Cesare Beccaria, 9 50121 Florence (FI)
Organizer
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Sarah Maldoror
Sarah Maldoror (1929–2020) was a French director, Pan-African by adoption, revolutionary voice, and the first female filmmaker in African cinema. She chronicled the wars of liberation in the former Portuguese colonies, with a particular focus on the role of women in the struggle. After founding the first theater company of black actors in France, Les Griots, in 1956, she was assistant director to Pontecorvo for The Battle of Algiers in 1966, and then to William Klein for Festival panafricain d'Alger (1969). Her first feature film was also the first ever made by an African female director: Sambizanga (1972). Her other major works include her debut short film Monangambééé (1969), Aimé Césaire, un homme une terre (1976), Aimé Césaire – Le Masque des mots (1987), Portrait de Assia Djebar (1989), and Léon G. Damas (1994).
