A German Youth
(Une jeunesse allemande)
Directed by Jean-Gabriel Périot.
France/Switzerland/Germany, 2015, DCP, 93 min.
German and French with English subtitles.
DCP source: Unifrance/Institut Français
France/Switzerland/Germany, 2015, DCP, 93 min.
German and French with English subtitles.
DCP source: Unifrance/Institut Français
They were young and they wanted to change the world. They were revolutionaries, so they became… filmmakers. In the early 1960s in Germany, those who would become the leaders of the Rote Armee Fraktion (the Red Army Faction) included filmmaking as part of their activism. Fifty years later, the documentary maker and film essayist Jean-Gabriel Périot draws from this historical context a stimulating essay film using archival footage to cast a different light on the 60s youth uprisings in Europe. With a contemporary critical spirit and a stimulating mix of subtlety, tenderness, humor, and, yes, hope, the film discusses the relationship between the artist's work with images and the activist's impetus to transform society.