“There were some joyful moments in 1968, feast-like, maybe Dyonisian here and there, but mainly we were serious and grave, first because we hated the greasy laugh of our elders, but also because we could not get satisfaction.” — Patrick Deval, director of ACÉPHALE*
As part of its Zanzibar Films series, Cinefamily presents a rare screening of ACÉPHALE, a 1968 feature that documents the lives of young Parisians navigating the immediate aftermath of May ’68. One translation of its title—taken from Georges Bataille’s journal—indicates the need to move beyond rational thought:
“I became a bit radical in my refusal of Western civilization, constantly raving about the end of the white man. Rouch was closer to this view, becoming himself a joyful African in the oral tradition. But that was not so far from Rimbaud, Artaud, or Gauguin when he decided to ‘ensavage’ himself.” — Deval*
ACÉPHALE will be preceded by a screening of Serge Bard’s DETRUISEZ-VOUS.
ACÉPHALE, Saturday, August 26, at 6 pm.
CINEFAMILY, 611 North Faifax Avenue, Los Angeles.
cinefamily.org/films/zanzibar/
Image: Scene from Acéphale.
See Deval’s interview in Senses of Cinema:
