West Indies ou les Nègres marrons de la liberté

In the satirical historical musical WEST INDIES OU LES NÈGRES MARRONS DE LA LIBERTÉ, four centuries of Caribbean history come to the stage aboard a slave ship built inside an abandoned factory hall. The written out motto “Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité” refers to France’s intertwined history with the French Antilles – a history that spans the transatlantic slave trade, colonization and the struggle for independence, all the way to the history of labor migration to France. The ship’s structure simultaneously reflects social conditions and hierarchies, dividing people into those above deck and those below it. In this landmark of African cinema, the confined space is not a limitation but rather unfolds into a sweeping portrayal of oppression and rebellion, teeming with ideas and full of the joy of performance.