''Pierre Schoendoerffer, the Sentinel of Memory'' (french: Pierre Schoendoerffer, la sentinelle de la mémoire) is a 2011

feature length A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

about French writer and filmmaker

Pierre Schoendoerffer Pierre Schoendoerffer (french: Pierre Schœndœrffer; 5 May 1928 – 14 March 2012) was a French film director, a screenwriter, a writer, a war reporter, a war cameraman, a renowned First Indochina War veteran, a cinema academician. He was ...

, directed by

Raphaël Millet Raphaël Millet is a French writer, critic, producer and director of cinema and television, as well as an organiser and programmer of photographic and cultural events. Studies Having completed his secondary education at lycée Henri-IV in Pari ...

and produced by Olivier Bohler for Nocturnes Productions.

Synopsis

Pierre Schoendoerffer revisits his life and career, with a strong focus on the impact that his experience as a war cinematographer for the French army during the

Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam) began in French Indochina from 19 December 1946 to 20 July 1954 between France and Việt Minh (Democratic Republic of Vi ...

had on him, as well as a war reporter during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

when he filmed his 1967 Academy Award-winning documentary ''

The Anderson Platoon ''The Anderson Platoon'' (french: La Section Anderson, released in 1966 in Europe, 1967 in the US) is a documentary feature by Pierre Schoendoerffer about the Vietnam War, named after the leader of the platoon - Lieutenant Joseph B. Anderson - wi ...

'' named after the leader of the platoon - Lieutenant Joseph B. Anderson - with which Schoendoerffer and his crew were embedded.

Production

''Pierre Schoendoerffer, the Sentinel of Memory'' is a co-production between Nocturnes Productions and the

Institut national de l'audiovisuel The (abbrev. INA), () is a repository of all French radio and television audiovisual archives. Additionally it provides free access to archives of countries such as Afghanistan and Cambodia. It has its headquarters in Bry-sur-Marne. Since 200 ...

(INA, the French National Institute for Audiovisual). It has been funded by the

National Center of Cinematography and the moving image National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

, with the support of the French Ministry of Defence, French pay-TV Orange Cinéma Séries, and Belgian public broadcaster

RTBF The ''Radio-télévision belge de la Communauté française'' (RTBF, ''Belgian Radio-television of the French Community'', branded as rtbf.be) is a public service broadcaster delivering radio and television services to the French-speaking Commu ...

Festival screenings and broadcasts

''Pierre Schoendoerffer, the Sentinel of Memory'' had its world premiere at Les Rendez-vous de l'histoire,

Blois Blois ( ; ) is a commune and the capital city of Loir-et-Cher department, in Centre-Val de Loire, France, on the banks of the lower Loire river between Orléans and Tours. With 45,898 inhabitants by 2019, Blois is the most populated city of the ...

, October 2011. It was screened at the

Académie des Beaux-Arts An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

in Paris, France, as a tribute to Pierre Schoendoerffer, in March 2012, and then at

Fnac Fnac () is a large French retail chain selling cultural and electronic products, founded by André Essel and Max Théret in 1954. Its head office is in ''Le Flavia'' in Ivry-sur-Seine near Paris. It is an abbreviation of Fédération Nationale d ...

on 16 May 2012. The film was broadcast in France on OCS (television) and Histoire, and in Belgium on

. It is available in VOD on the website of

Cast

Raoul Coutard Raoul Coutard (16 September 1924 – 8 November 2016) was a French cinematographer. He is best known for his connection with the Nouvelle Vague period and particularly for his work with director Jean-Luc Godard. Coutard also shot films for New Wa ...

* Constantin Costa-Gavras *

Jacques Perrin Jacques Perrin (born Jacques André Simonet; 13 July 1941 – 21 April 2022) was a French actor and film producer. He was occasionally credited as Jacques Simonet. Early life Jacques André Simonet was born on the Boulevard Port-Royal in P ...

* Dominique Merlin * Boramy Tioulong * Pedro Nguyen * Pierre Gabaston

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pierre Schoendoerffer, the Sentinel of Memory First Indochina War films 2011 films 2011 documentary films Documentary films about war correspondents Biographical films about war correspondents Documentary films about cinematography French documentary films 2010s French films