Jean-Frédéric de Hasque

Description of my ethnographic film production

I have made 8 films, they are online on  https://rienavoir.org/films-JF -https://vimeo.com/user9478720

If I had to choose one in particular, it would be ‘The Camp’. It combines the beauty of a living environment with the transmission of the refugees' endless waiting. By focusing on the seemingly peaceful day-to-day life of the refugees, I wanted to show the strange closeness of the camp to a village rhythm. What distinguishes them is tiny but terrible, it's the state of mind of those who live there, who experience either the temporary precariousness of the camp or the longevity of a village.

In all of my  films I have the Roles of : director and cameraman, 

For some I’m co producer (means that I write the story and budget, travel, edit, mix and edit. And I take part in pitching sessions to convince partners.)

For some I’m film editor.

Below, I outline the context in which the various films appeared.

In 1995, I obtained my diploma (specialities video and photography), and four years later I left for Togo. “36 choses à faire avant l'an 2000” (2001) is my first documentary film, combining a political dimension with poetry. I filmed far from the supposed crash of Western computers at the time and took an interest in butterfly hunters who were also celebrating Y2K. By shedding light on these West Africans, I make them spokespeople for a discourse shared by those in Europe who do not want to devote everything to unbridled capitalism. The film transforms those from the Global South into teachers and transmitters to the Global North rather than the usual recipients (of aid). Through their daily lives, they transmit a political message and from a formal point of view, by adopting a documentary viewpoint, I formulate a point that is not a noisy discourse. Role : director, cameraman, co producer

In the years that followed, while I was teaching photography, I complete Three little houses (2007), shooted in North Benin, takes three inhabitants as a metaphor and symbol of endogenous development. The title refers to the fable of the three little pigs, who build with straw, wood and bricks to protect themselves from the wolf. Here, the wolf is development cooperation. Role : director, cameraman, co producer

In search of Eldorado (2008), is built on my voice, which initiates a dialogue with Malian students who revived the memory of Yambo Ouologuem, the first African Renaudot Prize winner (1968) who ‘doesn't want to see white people anymore’. Role : director, cameraman, co producer

Without a job but not without a camera, I travelled to Benin to visit refugees, and this became the film ‘The Camp’ (2009). This film takes up the formal mode of my first film, plunging into the daily life of a proto village, a refugee camp similar to the one in the film ‘36 choses...’. Role : director, cameraman, co producer

Between 2013-2017 I am doing a thesis combining writing and cinema on the Lions Club association in Benin. I made a film ‘The Lions’ (2017) shown in festivals and cinemas and a video loop ‘Witches images’ (2018) for art galleries. Role : director, cameraman

In 2018, I co directed the book ‘After the camps: traces, memories and changes in refugee camps ' (with Clara Lecadet CNRS 2018). Book contains a film I made with a refugee character from my previous film.  ‘The camp is razed to the ground. Félicien films the remains’ is composed of his images taken with his telephone in the ruins. 

Role : director, cameraman, editor, producer

In 2019, I conduct research on the South African Lions Club, which is still predominantly made up of members from the white population. This work involves exploring hybrid modes of data collection and reproduction that combine archives, found footage and re-enactment. The film ‘White Lions’ is currently being edited.

In 2020, I co-directed a film with a colleague from the Gaston Berger University in Saint Louis (Senegal) on young French activists, ‘Resisting by what means’: a poetic-political intervention and a cinematographic look at the desire to do something, the means available and those we give ourselves. Role : director, cameraman, editor, producer

In 2021, I made a first mission on the mixed-race town of Rehoboth in Namibia and working on the link between the territory and the political construction of the Basters community, which has been established since 1870.  Entitled ‘A hidden flag? Fear of the Bastards, post-apartheid racism and questionable whiteness’ is in production. It will initiate a collaboration with the local museum and give a space of expression to the indigenous populations who have been ignored until now. Role : director, cameraman,

My films have been screened at a number of international festivals and have been re-released on a regular basis. In search of Eldorado was screened again at the Musée du Quai Branly in November 2022.

They’re produced by Michigan Films ; Rien à Voir Production, Matière Première and with the help of the CFWBelgian Film Department, the Vlaams Audiovisueel Fonds. 

©JF de Hasque screenshot/ The Camp, Benin 2009