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In the Billowing Night

Jean-René is a retired workman who has lived in France since emigrating from Réunion Island as a teenager. Breaking decades of silence, he recounts his story to his daughter, filmmaker Erika Etangsalé.

Documentary 2021 51 mins Not rated

Director: Erika Etangsalé

Overview

Director Erika Etangsalé turns the camera on her father, Jean-René, a retired workman who has lived in Mâcon, France, since emigrating from Réunion Island at the age of 17. Breaking decades of silence and private memories, he recounts his story to his daughter – a highly personal account, but also one shared by countless others uprooted from ancestors by colonization. His journey is interspersed with enigmatic dreams and pains that are rooted in the wounds of the French colonial past.