History Documentary hosted by Dana Westberg, published by Arte in 2012 - English narration
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"Images tell stories, we tell the stories of images." Mysteries in the archives, ten investigations into ten events of the twentieth century that have marked our memory and our imagination. In the French series, we learn about the historical events of the 20th century by closely investigating archive films. Who is in the picture, who is missing? Why was the camera pointed right here? Who is sitting next to whom?
By looking at the pictures again and more closely, the series reveals how history has been processed, told and manipulated in the pictures. Each image is carefully studied and analyzed until its secrets are revealed. The series explores the power of pictures to tell otherwise. It raises the question: do we see what we know or can we know more with the help of the image?
"Mysteries in the Archives" is a collection aiming to uncover and rediscover known or unpublished images that bear witness to our history. The audiovisual document becomes a piece of evidence that it is up to us to question, to make people talk. The image is scrutinized, dissected, and often, Mysteries in the Archives takes our gaze away from what the camera operator had seen or expected. Each episode is constructed as an investigation. Some are about cheerful and amusing topics, others are about more solemn, momentous events.
Serge Viallet, a true detective of the image, reveals a multitude of new elements and significant anecdotes hidden behind the story as it was shown to us in cinemas and then on television. Meticulous investigations are undertaken - film is rummaged, sifted through and sorted, examined frame by frame and analyzed until it finally reveals its secrets. This collection includes all 10 episodes of season 3.
Series idea & director Serge Viallet ; A Co-Production of ARTE France and INA-Institut National de l'Audiovisuel in Association with YLE Teema and RTSI-Televisione Svizzera
8) 1977: The Coronation of Bokassa I
Sunday, December 4, 1977 in Bangui, Central African Republic. His Majesty Jean-Bedel Bokassa I crowns himself and, a few moments later, crowns his wife according to a staging directly inspired by the coronation of his favorite emperor: Napoleon I. The coronation of Bokassa I was a spectacle the likes of which had not been seen in Africa.
Floor-length, ermine-trimmed coats, magnificently dressed riders in hussar uniforms and rides through the capital in imperial horse-drawn carriages - the backdrop and costumes of this outrageous spectacle had nothing in common with African tradition. Of course, the press had been invited to follow everything, but numerous foreign dignitaries had also accepted the invitation. Despite Bokassa's distrust of the media, the streets were lined with foreign reporters. How were they chosen? Could cameramen and photographers move freely? Which of the invited emperors, kings and queens, heads of state, prime ministers attended the festivities? How could the Central African Republic, then one of the poorest countries in the world, finance this lavish ceremony? And how did it end up looking in the press?
