SUGAR CANE ALLEY
FEATURE FILM
1983
SYNOPSIS
—
1930: on a sugar cane plantation in Martinique lives José, a bright mischievous 11-year-old and his grandmother, a tough, wise woman determined to save him from the hard life she has known. When Jose wins a scholarship, she is ready to sacrifice everything for his chance at
an education and an escape from the fields.
CREDITS
—
Directed by: Euzhan Palcy
Written by: Euzhan Palcy
Based on: Sugar Cane Alley by Joseph Zobel
Music by: Groupe Malavoi
Cinematography by: Dominique Chapuis
Edited by: Marie-Josèphe Yoyotte
Art Direction by: At Hoang
Produced by: Michel Loulergue, Alix Régis
Claude Nedjar, Jean Luc Ormières
Running time: 103 minutes
Country: France (Martinique)
Language: French with English subtitles
Film on 35 mm Fujicolor
CAST
—
Garry Cadenat — José
Darling Légitimus — M'Man Tine
Douta Seck — Old Medouze
Joby Bernabé — Monsieur Saint-Louis
Francisco Charles — Boss
Marie-Jo Descas — Leopold’s mother
Marie-Ange Farot — Madame Saint Louis
Henri Melon The teacher — M. Roc
Eugène Mona — Twelve Toes
Joël Palcy — Carmen
Laurent Saint-Cyr — Leopold
TRAILER
—
SUGAR CANE ALLEY
HONORS
Special screenings
—
2020 — Dublin International Film Festival - 'Women Make Films' strand
2020 — Glasgow International Film Festival - 'Women Make Films' strand
2019 — Opening of Array/Ava DuVernay's Amanda Theater, L.A.
2019 — TIFF - Retrospective: 'A Poet of Relations the Essential Euzhan Palcy'
2019 — Houston Cinema Arts Festival - Centerpiece
2019 — Locarno Film Festival - 'Black Light' retrospective
2018 — BFI London Film Festival (4K restoration WP)
2018 — Women, Women: 100 Female Directors, 100 Films at the Montreal Cinematheque
2018 — Hauser & Wirth, Los Angeles - BHM by Ellen Gallagher
2017 — Closing of 'One Way or Another: Black Women's Cinema, 1970-1991'
at the BAM Cinematheque, Brooklyn.
2011 — The Museum of Modern Art, New York
2011 — Cannes Classics official selection
2010 — Opening of the 3rd World Festival of Black Arts' Film Festival, Dakar
2007 — Bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act 1807 in the British
Empire, at National Maritime Museum of Greenwich, London.
AWARDS
—
1985 — FESPACO Audience Award - first winning film
(Panafrican Film Festival of Ouagadougou)
1985 — Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame Award
1984 — Houston International WordFest: Special Jury Award
1984 — Cesar (French Oscar) for Best First Film*
1983 — Venice Film Festival Silver Lion*
1983 — Best Female Actor Award**
1983 — Unicef Prize
1983 — Signis Award
* A first for a female director and for a black director
** A first for a black female actor and for a film directed by a black director
CRITICS
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'MASTERPIECE'
Roger Ebert
'The debut of a considerable artist'
David Robinson, The Times
'Masterpiece of Black Cinema'
Die Welt
CEREMONY OF THE CÉSAR AWARDS
(FRENCH ACADEMY AWARDS)
—
César Award for the Best First Film . 1984
The 9th ceremony of the César Award — also known as the Night of César — rewarding the films released in 1983 , was held on March 3, 1984 at the Empire Theatre in Paris. It was chaired by Gene Kelly and broadcasted on Antenne 2 and presented by Léon Zitrone.
On that day, Euzhan Palcy made history and became the first female director, the first black director (male or female) winner of a Cesar & the first African descent director to win an award from his or her National Academy of Cinema.
The César Award is the highest film distinction in France.
It is the French equivalent to the Oscar.
'The winner is Euzhan Palcy for "Rue Cases Nègres!".
She shines as much as the Cesar!'
'I'll try to say a few words... I want to thank on behalf of all my family and compatriotes, everyone who believed in me and made that film possible to exist. Special thanks to my actors, my crew, my producers, my country Martinique for her multi-faceted contributions and to
Mr. Joseph Zobel, author of the novel La Rue Cases Nègres,
for trusting me.'
