In 1975 Marguerite Duras directs INDIA SONG at the Château Rothschild near Paris. One year later, she films a reprise of her movie, keeping the original soundtrack and combining it with documentary footage of the location’s decline. The short film resumes our visit to the Château 50 years later.
Director’s statement:
INDIA SONG is marked by a strong souvenir theme. Marguerite Duras returned to her own film only one year later, when she directed a documentary keeping the original soundtrack of her first film: SON NOM DE VENISE DANS CALCUTTA DÉSERT. The latter strongly evokes the absence of the first film’s protagonists (Delphine Seyrig, Michael Lonsdale, Mathieu Carrière), which in itself was already a remembrance of what had happened before, a long time ago.
The releases of both films were in 1975 and 1976; exactly 50 years later, we decided to visit the original location, the Château Rothschild in the west of Paris. From the shocking experience of discovering that no one seems to notice the Château, entirely wrapped in fabric and condemned to oblivion, we made this short experimental movie. It reflects the voices of INDIA SONG and echoes the documentary images of the Château’s ruinous state in SON NOM DE VENISE DANS CALCUTTA DÉSERT.
With a visit to the grave of Delphine Seyrig at the Montparnasse cemetery, we remember the actress of INDIA SONG, forever associated with the Château, as we slowly discover her name with our camera. The film ends with a strong epitaph, and pays homage to Delphine Seyrig and Marguerite Duras. LE CHÂTEAU ROTHSCHILD DÉSERT (HER NAME) is in itself a filmic souvenir that reflects the female filmmaking of the outstanding French artists.
Dunja Bialas & Amelie Hochhäusler
films pour demain 