FILM: Tirailleurs (Mein Sohn, der Soldat)

In the organizer's words:

D: Mathieu Vadepied | France/Senegal 2022 | Wolof/frz OmdtU | 100 min.

Admission 7 | 5 Euro (reduced), tickets: filmhaus-koeln.de

When a 17-year-old Senegalese is forcibly recruited by the French army during the First World War, his father volunteers for military service to protect him. The two are taken from Africa to Europe, where they have to fight for the colonial power at the front. While the father leaves no stone unturned to ensure his son's survival, he falls under the influence of a French lieutenant.
The haunting drama about African colonial soldiers in the First World War was the opening film at Cannes in 2022 and a hit with millions in France. In Germany, however, the film received remarkably little attention. Acting star Omar Sy is convincing as a desperate father who risks everything to save his son's life. Because the topic was so important to him, Omar Sy also took part in the production.

With an introduction on Africa's role in the First World War by Cheikh Djibril Kane(historian whose great-grandfather was forcibly recruited in the First World War and who has worked on the history of the "Tirailleurs" in the First and Second World Wars) and Oliver Schulten (expert on African history and author of the standard work "A Humanitarian Assessment of Africa and the First World War 1900 - 1932"). Both are from Wuppertal.

The film screening is part of the program accompanying the exhibition "The Third World in the Second World War" at the NS Documentation Centre. See also The Third World in the Second World War

In cooperation with: Afrika Film Festival Köln / FilmInitiativ Köln e.V.; Friedensbildungswerk Köln; Eine Welt Netz NRW