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Red Island (L’île rouge)

Red Island (L’île rouge)

Red Island (L’île rouge)

Dir. Robin Campillo
117 min

Lumières Françaises • Images of Africa

ABOUT THE FILM

Living on one of the last remaining military bases amidst a hedonistic group of French armed forces in 1970’s Madagascar, 10-year old Thomas begins to find cracks in the surface of his family’s blissful existence on the idyllic island. Taking inspiration from his comic book hero Fantomette, Thomas spies on those around him, discovering the hidden and tangled political and sexual lives of the colonizers and the colonized. As relocation looms, Thomas questions whether the memories he made are ones to remember fondly. Simultaneously a sensual evocation of discovering the adult world and a sober reflection of what it represents, Robin Campillo’s anticipated follow-up to his acclaimed 120 BPM weaves together the personal and political in a “visually spectacular [and] masterful portrayal of colonialism through a child’s eyes.” (The Upcoming).

This work is funded in part by MHC with money from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund that was created with the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008.

Film Details

Programs: Images of Africa, Lumières Françaises
Release Year: 2023
Runtime: 117 min
Country/Region: France, Belgium, Madagascar
Language: French
Print Source: Film Movement
Tags: Africa & African Diaspora, Coming-of-Age, Culture & Society, Drama, Family Drama, Francophone

Cast/Crew

Director: Robin Campillo
Cinematographer: Jeanne Lapoirie
Screenwriter: Robin Campillo
Editor: Robin Campillo, Anita Roth, Stéphanie Léger
Composer: Arnaud Rebotini
Principal Cast: Nadia Tereszkiewicz, Quim Gutiérrez, Charlie Vauselle, Amely Rakotoarimalala, Sophie Guillemin, Hugues Delamarlière

Sponsors

Sponsor for Red Island (L’île rouge)
Sponsored by: 2008.