Between Political Film and Militant Video: An Analysis of the Discussions at the Rencontres Internationales pour un Nouveau Cinéma, Montreal, 1974

Abstract

Montreal, June 2–8, 1974: Over 200 representatives of political cinema from 25 countries gathered at the Rencontres Internationales pour un Nouveau Cinéma. Among the participants were militant filmmakers, members of 1968 film groups, producers, distributors, film critics, and historians, as well as film institute delegates from Europe, Latin America, Africa, and North America. Even though this was one of the most important worldwide events in the field of political cinema at the time, it has been largely overlooked by film historians. Between 2012 and 2013, Argentinian researcher Mariano Mestman located and digitalised numerous video recordings of the presentations and debates that took place at the Rencontres, which until now had remained largely unknown. In this article, the author analyses the video record of one of the conference’s key political and theoretical debates, which concerned the relationship between audio-visual technology and social change. Given the markedly transitional character of the social use of media technologies during that period—from political film to militant video—and the diverse backgrounds of the participants, the discussion of experiences of activist media moved in multiple directions. Among these, the article highlights the debates around the crucial case of Canada’s National Film Board’s Challenge for Change/Société Nouvelle documentary film and video project. The article’s analysis of the discussions demonstrates that in spite of the diversity of their experiences and backgrounds, Canadian, European, and Third World participants were all looking for an alternative international political cinema greatly influenced by the ideas contained in Third Cinema.