SESSION 114, ILLEGAL_CINEMA

Projection of selected fragments of Napoleon by Abel Gance (France, 1927), followed by a discussion with Imanol Abad Martínez.

The objective of this session is the subaltern appropriation of the imperialist narrative. To that end we propose an approach to the film Napoleon by Abel Gance, by means of which we will consider its possibilities and limitations for constructing identity, ideology and technique. Once we have viewed different scenes that contain the issues to be addressed, we will propose a reflection on the following: contemporaneity of the imaginary of the period, technical advances when it comes to recounting imperialist narratives, and their potential in the subaltern. Can the epic/grand narrative of the hero be reconquered or decolonised from the perspective of the Other? What, then, remains of the narrative? Are there Trojan horses in the imperialist narrative?

Imanol Abad Martínez (born in Bilbao in the year 2000). He began his first audiovisual work as his Degree Thesis (TFG) project together with Imanol Expósito Delgado. Recently, in 2023, he completed a Master’s Degree in Investigation and Creation in Art at the University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU. As his Master’s Dissertation he presented the research project that is now formalised in the film Aquellos que se ríen de tu melena (Those who laugh at your hair). At present he is working on his Doctoral Thesis, Requeté, Tercer Estado y la colectivización de identidades masculinas en el contexto vasco (Carlist militia, Third Estate and the collectivisation of male identities in the Basque context). Since one year ago he has been participating in the performance collective Heréticas (Heretical).