Theatre: Aimé Césaire’s Notebook of a Return to My Native Land
When: October 24 at 7:30 p.m.
Where: Rialto Center for the Arts (80 Forsyth St NW Atlanta, GA 30303)
LA VILLETTE: CULTURE AND URBAN TERRITORY
When: October 25 at 11:00 a.m.
Where: Rialto Center for the Arts (80 Forsyth St NW Atlanta, GA 30303)
In celebration of the centennial of one of France’s most influential authors, France-Atlanta, along with GSU’s CENCIA and Rialto Center for the Arts presented Aimé Césaire’s “Cahier d’un retour au pays natal”, performed by the critically acclaimed actor, Jacques Martial.
From Melbourne to Madrid, Paris to Johannesburg, Singapore to Fort-de-France, Martial’s stage adaption has brought to life across all five continents the rich, poetic cries first written in 1939 of a black man at odds with himself and the world around him.
“Notebook of a Return to my Native Land” reflects the impatience of a young man, of his revolt in the face of insurmountable prejudice, foolishness and violence that endured all dominated people of that time—be it a Jewish man, a Hindu from Calcutta, a man from Harlem unable to vote. And in this way, he denounces enslavement.
This one-man-show was in French with English supertitles.
- Jacques Martial powerfully incarned the words of Aimé Césaire on the Rialto stage.
LECTURE "La Villette: Culture and Urban Territory"
Friday, October 25 at 11 a.m. at the Rialto The politics of culture and space in France were presented as Jacques Martial shared about his work to close the gap and bring culture and the arts to all communities. His talk focused on his involvement with Paris’s Parc de la Villette.
Free and open to the public. $4 parking available. For tickets, please visit: gsumartiallecture.eventbrite.com
Jacques Martial is current President of the Etablissement public du parc et de la grande halle de la Villette in Paris, one of the largest public cultural institutions in France, dedicated to contemporary multidisciplinary artistic creation. Well-known to the general public in French-speaking countries for his role in the popular TV series Navarro, his cinema career has seen him working with directors such as John Berry, Claire Devers, Samuel Fuller and Robert Kramer, and includes prize-winning films such as Noir et Blanc (Caméra d’Or, Cannes 1986) and the short movie Omnibus (Palme d’Or 1992, Oscar 1993, BAFTA 1993). He is co-founder of Rond-Point des Cultures and La Compagnie de la Comédie Noire, presenting multicultural artistic events and using artists from visible minorities. Jacques Martial is also a significant figure in the fight against racism and social exclusion in France.
Photo credit: Martinique Promotion Bureau Photos by James Hercule
This event was presented in coproduction with l’ARTCHIPEL, Scène Nationale de Guadeloupe with the generous support of:
along with Regional Government of Guadeloupe, the French Ministry of Culture, the French Ministry of Overseas Departments, Institut Français, and 10 days on the Island Festival, Tasmania.