Sanrizuka 6: Solidarity Struggles: Sanrizuka – Larzac

This programme focuses on the transnational bonds of solidarity forged between the Sanrizuka and Larzac movements, two of the longest and most significant land defence struggles of the 1970s. Both gave rise to original forms of protest and collective action. As in Japan, the peasants of the Larzac region of southern France refused to leave their land, which was threatened with expropriation for the planned expansion of a military base on their plateau. The Larzac, like Sanrizuka, became an enduring symbol of resistance, with a movement that lasted for years. Both struggles forged strong international links with other social, political and environmental movements. In the 1980s, a delegation from Sanrizuka's joint struggle groups visited the fields of Larzac, as well as other sites of territorial and anti-nuclear resistance across Europe. These exchanges fostered mutual solidarity and the sharing of tactics and experiences. The two films in this screening were made by young militant filmmakers working in amateur formats. Both document the history of their respective struggles while emphasising the solidarity between farmers and workers.

The Larzac: a Land That Wants to Live
Michel Cabirou, Michel Barbut and Didier Durant, 100 min
UK Premiere

Lo Larzac, un país qui vòl viure is a feature-length Super 8 film shot at 18 frames per second by workers and student activists from Millau, a village on the edge of the Larzac. For five years, week after week, they documented the collective resistance of an entire region against the expansion of the military camp. The film is divided into three complementary parts: firstly, the situation of the workers of Millau, a town with a disastrous economic record. Secondly, it focuses on the question of agriculture and the presence of the army in the area, as explained by the farmers themselves. Finally, the film documents the evolution of the peasants' struggle and its similarities with other international actions. The authors try to summarise the union forged between the workers and farmers of Larzac.

Copy preserved by La Cinémathèque de Toulouse and courtesy of Bernadette Boussuge.

The Spring of the Great Offensive
Association for Solidarity with the Kansai Sanrizuka Struggle, 1978, 34 min

The Spring of the Great Offensive is a militant ciné-tract made in Super 8 by the Association for Solidarity with the Kansai Sanrizuka Struggle. It focuses on the occupation of the airport control tower and documents the first 13 years of the Sanrizuka struggle, highlighting alliances between political and social movements. The version to be screened is the French version produced by ISKRA, reflecting the international interest that the Sanrizuka struggle had aroused among militant movements, including in France.

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Showing as part of Open City Documentary Festival