Pierre Loti, ofwel: exotisme in vroege cinema

Pierre Loti (1850-1923) was a French writer, naval officer, traveller, acrobat, diplomat and (possibly) spy. He visited 29 countries and participated in 31 naval military actions. He also published 61 books, was inducted into the Académie française, was a friend of Sarah Bernhardt and encouraged Henri Matisse to start painting in Morocco. His novel Madame Chrysanthème served as the basis for Puccini’s opera Madama Butterfly, and he received a state funeral in France. It is hard to comprehend how one person managed to combine so many careers, achievements, hobbies and romantic liaisons (also with men) in one lifetime. His novels and travelogues were translated into more than forty languages during his lifetime, and his readership numbered millions in France alone. As one of the first travel reporters, he was able to bring faraway places to life for inexperienced audiences, not only though his vivid descriptions but also in his surprisingly sophisticated drawings. Fantastic stories Loti’s career ran parallel to the early days of cinema, characterised by a fascination for the Exotic and bringing far-off locations and fantastic stories to its audiences. Loti didn’t make any films, but we can reconstruct his travels and stories on the basis of this exceptional selection of films from the 1910s put together by Eye’s Silent Film curator Elif Rongen-Kaynakçi; featuring the unique exotic footage audiences lapped up in the cinemas of the day. Films, often hand-coloured, of the many places Loti visited – but also, for example, of the military school where he studied, and of the funeral of his friend Sarah Bernhardt. The films take us to Istanbul and West Africa and show us Japanese culture from the early twentieth century, while Elif tells us the fascinating stories behind these.With live music from Martin de Ruiter.