Workshop report and screening “Tracing the path of a colonial film collection”

On an ethnographic expedition to the Congo between 1911 and 1913, Belgian Armand Hutereau collected some 8,000 objects from the colony for what was then called the Royal Museum of Central Africa. The collection includes sound recordings, instruments, and photographs, as well as unique film footage showing scenes of daily life in the Belgian Congo. Edited into 80 nitrate film clips by expedition colleague Vandenbrouck, they were stored first at the museum and later at the Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique. The newly digitized images form the basis of the documentary ‘Les Porteurs’ (The Porters) by Sarah Vanagt, which highlights their colonial context. Following that collaboration with Vanagt, first steps were also made to identify the site of the film segments and reconstruct Hutereau’s route. At this event, we will show some of those fragments, as well as an excerpt from ‘Les Porteurs.’