Hommage à noir

This film essay is structured on a simple principle. It is composed of small, separate units which in rhythm and tonality are very similar. What at first may seem like monotony becomes one’s individual measure of the present. With the help of a slow motion camera, this corresponds to the ritualisation of all that happens. It corresponds to some of the basic constants of African life : socially, religiously, culturally and finally, politically. With its numerous and masterly portraits, the film never emphasises the individual as a solitary or even isolated being. The beautiful sequence of children’s portraits towards the end of the film clearly shows this as a continuous belonging and nesting of the children within their own communities. (Prof. W.Längsfeld)