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Just a Movement

(Vincent Meessen, 2021)

A man sits cross-legged on the floor with hands held in front of his face and chest.

Meessen’s documentary tells the story of anti-colonialist artist and organizer Omar Blondin Diop who died in 1973 in a Senegalese prison under suspicious circumstances.

Omar Blondin Diop was a student in Paris when Jean-Luc Godard cast him in a small role as himself, a Maoist revolutionary, in his 1967 film La Chinoise. Six years later, Diop was arrested for subversive activities. His death in a Senegalese prison was called a suicide to the disbelief of followers, friends, and family who instead called it an assassination. Moving between essay film and documentary Just a Movement adapts the basic story and characters of La Chinoise to present-day Dakar to reassert the political philosophies that continue to inspire people today. (110 mins., DCP) 

Screened in conjunction with the Director’s Dialogue on Art and Social Change between Naeem Mohaiemen and Vincent Meessen on March 27.

IMAGE CAPTION
Just a Movement, © Vincent Meessen.

About the filmmaker

Vincent Meessen

Vincent Meessen was born in 1971 in Baltimore and currently lives and works in Brussels. His artistic work explores the lasting effects of colonialism on modern life, often through non-Western and marginalized perspectives. He has presented films and artworks in festivals and artistic institutions around the world, including solo shows at The Power Plant, Toronto, and Centre Pompidou, Paris. He has participated in the Chicago, Lubumbashi, Venice, Shanghai, and Taipei biennials, among other exhibitions. Meessen was the recipient of an Ammodo Tiger Award at IFFR in 2018 for his work Ultramarine. He is a member of Jubilee, a platform for artistic research and production.

Program Support

SUPPORT FOR FILM PROGRAMS PROVIDED BY

Rohauer Collection Foundation

WEXNER CENTER PROGRAMS MADE POSSIBLE BY

Greater Columbus Arts Council

The Wexner Family

Ohio Arts Council, with support from the National Endowment for the Arts

CampusParc

The Columbus Foundation

Every Page Foundation

Mellon Foundation

Axium Packaging

Nationwide Foundation

Michael and Anita Goldberg

Vorys, Sater, Seymour, and Pease, LLP

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY

Joyce Shenk

Rebecca Perry and Ben Towle

Lachelle Thigpen

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Just a Movement