Kahlil Joseph selecteert: Le livre d'image

In 2020, director and visual artist Kahlil Joseph (Seattle, US, 1981) received the Eye Art & Film Prize for his work, which criss-crosses the boundaries between cinema, visual art, pop music and cultural criticism. His work can be seen in the exhibition Meriem Bennani, Kahlil Joseph, Karrabing Film Collective: Eye Art & Film Prize. In his video installations, he explores and celebrates Black culture in the US, criticising stereotypes and power structures.

Godard is a great source of inspiration to Joseph: “I was completely confounded and intrigued by Godard. There was no characterization in the films, and sometimes no real scenes. I remember thinking, ‘Is Godard that far ahead of everybody else?’’’

Le livre d’image

In the credits for his essay film Le livre d’image, Godard quotes Bertolt Brecht: “Only a fragment carries the seal of authenticity.” This is the key to his own film, which is made up of fragments from other films, YouTube clips and artworks. Godard processes the images, adds snatches of music and speaks the voice-over himself.

Le livre d'image is divided into five sections, within which eight motifs can be made out: hands, the train, nationalism, violence, chaos, the law, imperialism and revolution. In addition, a regular Godard theme recurs: the difference between word and deed, and between reality and representations of reality.

As far as this latter is concerned, in the second half of his stimulating essay, Godard tackles the western view of the Middle East, which – it turns out – is depicted mainly as an exotic place. Godard deconstructs this image before juxtaposing it to another: fragments of film from the East. [source film text: IFFR]