Direct Action

Southeast Asian Premiere

Guillaume Cailleau, Ben Russell Germany, France 2024 212 min PG13 (Some Coarse Language and Mature Content)

A longitudinal observation of strategies of political resistance in contemporary France.

Shot over two years, Direct Action presents a sustained examination of France’s leading militant activist commune, the Zone to Defend of Notre-Dame-des-Landes. The commune, which comprises like-minded anarchists, environmentalists and farmers, has repeatedly resisted government attempts to build an international airport extension.

This film explores the commune’s survival following its Pyrrhic victory in 2018 when further construction plans were halted. Eschewing agitprop methods, it immerses viewers in a community where the possibilities of individual and collective political activism serve as praxis for everyday life, highlighting a shared responsibility for addressing today’s political injustices and ecological crisis.

7 Dec, Sat 10:00AM / 212 min

Filmgarde Kallang, Hall 2

AT THE FEST!

All screenings are on a free seating, first-come, first-served basis. We kindly ask all ticket holders to arrive on time to be guaranteed entry.

RUSH QUEUE:
For last-minute attendees, good news. Our Rush Queue is back this year!

Direct Action

Guillaume Cailleau, Ben Russell

Germany, France

2024

French, Arabic, English

English

212 min

PG13 (Some Coarse Language and Mature Content)

Southeast Asian Premiere

Guillaume Cailleau

Ben Russell

French filmmaker Guillaume Cailleau is known for his politically conscious work. His short film, Laborat (2014), was awarded the Silver Bear at the Berlinale. Ben Russell, an American artist-filmmaker, combines experimental cinema with his unique brand of ‘psychedelic ethnography’. His feature debut, Let Each One Go Where He May (2009), won the FIPRESCI Prize at Rotterdam. Direct Action was named Best Film in the Berlinale’s Encounters section.

Guillaume Cailleau,
Ben Russell

Related Topics

  • Anything or Whatever
  • History
  • Social Issues
  • Experimental
  • Non-Fiction
  • Undercurrent