Cinema · Martinique
Euzhan Palcy and «Rue Cases-Nègres»: a first in film history
In 1983 the Martinican director Euzhan Palcy adapted Joseph Zobel's novel. Months later she became the first female director and the first Black artist to receive a César award.
A Caribbean novel brought to the screen
Joseph Zobel's novel tells of the daily life of cane cutters in 1930s Martinique, and of school as a path to emancipation.
Born in Gros-Morne, Euzhan Palcy turned it into a film in 1983, shot on modest means but with a rare demand for accuracy in the way the Caribbean world was portrayed at the time.
The César of 3 March 1984
On 3 March 1984 the film received the César for best first work. Euzhan Palcy became the first female director and the first Black artist to receive a César.
She went on with other notable films, among them «Siméon», a musical and fantastical story featuring members of the band Kassav', who also wrote its songs.