La Commune (Paris, 1871) (Peter Watkins, 2000)
“In 1999, exiled British film director Peter Watkins completed La Commune, a 5 hour 45 minute epic reconstruction of the 1871 Paris Commune. In its mixture of steely radicalism and artistic experimentalism, La Commune is arguably the most important European film since the days of the great modernist cinematic provocateurs such as Eisenstein and Vertov.” - Michael Wayne
To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the suppression of the Paris Commune, ALT/KINO presents the 220m theatrical version (with English subtitles) of Peter Watkins extraordinary, and oft-overlooked, television work La Commune (Paris, 1871).
This monochrome docudrama reconstructs the events of the Paris Commune in an abandoned factory on the outskirts of Paris, made up to resemble the 11th Arrondissement, one of the poorer districts and scene of some of the conflict’s bloodiest fighting. The cast of more than 200 was made up of primarily non-actors from the local area and cast members were encouraged to do their own research into the historical events, and then to improvise and discuss the events during the filming process.
The result is a film that seeks to unlock the expressiveness of day-to-day life, to embrace the creative potential of collective filmmaking, to understand the commune as the will of a revolutionary crowd and to expose the role of the contemporary media - through the anachronistic conceit of the commune being reported on by news crews with cameras.
To complement the film, we will share a curated selection of resources [now offline] that interact in some way with La Commune (Paris, 1871), the Paris Commune itself, Peter Watkins’ work more broadly, other films on connected topics, and related social and cultural ideas (particularly community and progressive change in the visual arts). We present these resources largely without comment to allow people to follow links and discover in their own manner and time to allow these varied voices to speak for themselves.
We would really love to hear your thoughts on the film and any reflections inspired by the various other materials. Tag us in your reactions on social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) or by dropping us an email.
This is a not-for-profit screening for UK viewers only. The film can be rented via Vimeo On Demand from 00:00 (UTC+1) on Friday 28 May - 23:59 (UTC+1) on Sunday 30 May. The rental fee is £3 but you can enter the code ‘MAY1871’ at check-out to rent it for FREE. If you do not use the code, any proceeds received by ALT/KINO will be donated to the Film + TV Charity. Alternatively, to avoid streaming fees we’d encourage you to use the code, enjoy the film for free, and then those who can donate to the Film + TV Charity directly.