LÉON G. DAMAS
France | 1994 | 26 min | b.w. | o.v. French
In this short documentary, Sarah Maldoror gives the floor to an often forgotten voice: the poet Léon-Gontran Damas from French Guyana, a co-initiator of the Négritude movement. Between readings, testimonies, and archive footage, the film paints an intimate and vibrant portrait. Jazz and poetry interweave to evoke the tensions of diasporic identity and the fight against colonial racism. The director carves Damas out as a troubled, radical, and impassioned spirit. Her film is also an act of reparation, bringing a long-silenced voice into the limelight. (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).
