Lo Larzac, un país qui vòl viure

This feature-length Super 8 film, shot at 18 frames per second, was made by workers and student activists from Millau, a village at the foot of the Larzac plateau, who spent five years, week after week, filming the struggle of an entire region against the expansion of the Larzac 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.

The fight in the Larzac, as in Sanrizuka, gave rise to a wide range of productions, including pamphlets, publications, poems, songs, photographs, illustrations, and posters. It also generated several films, some of which were widely distributed and played a key role in spreading the movement’s message, such as Gardarem Lo Larzac! (Fight for the Larzac) by Dominique Bloch, Philippe Haudiquet and Isabelle Levy (1974). Others, such as the film included in this screening, were produced and shot by amateur filmmakers, militant workers, students and also by farmers, such as the film diaries of Léon Maillé.