{{Short description|1982 film directed by Trinh T. Minh-ha}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2018}} {{Infobox film | name = Reassemblage | image = | caption = | director = Trinh T. Minh-ha | producer = Co-produced by Jean-Paul Bourdier and Trinh T. Minh-ha | released = {{Film date|1982}} | runtime = 40 minutes | country = Senegal<br/>United States | language = English }} {{italic title}} '''''Reassemblage''''' is a 1982 film by Trinh T. Minh-ha, shot in Senegal picturing the dwellings and everyday life of the Sereer people.<ref>[https://mubi.com/films/reassemblage MUBI]</ref>
==Production== The first film by the Vietnamese born filmmaker, writer, literary theorist, composer, and professor, ''Reassemblage'' focuses especially on the lives of the village women.<ref>[https://www.kanopy.com/en/product/3244613?vp=mdc Kanopy]</ref> Shot on 16mm film and released in 1982, the film challenges ethnographic documentary conventions (eg. National Geographic<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20211204042038/https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/517924/reassemblage#overview Turner Classic Movies]</ref>) and explores experimental ways of representing native culture.<ref>{{cite book |last=Foster |first=Gwendolyn Audrey |title=Women Filmmakers of the African & Asian Diaspora |url=https://archive.org/details/womenfilmmakerso0000fost |url-access=registration |year=1997 |publisher=SIU Press |pages=[https://archive.org/details/womenfilmmakerso0000fost/page/95 95-100] |isbn=9780809321209}}</ref><ref>[http://www.filmref.com/notes/archives/2006/02/reassemblage_1982.html Reassemblage, 1982 - Strictly Film School]</ref> Minh-ha explains that she intends "not to speak about/Just speak nearby," unlike more conventional ethnographic documentary film. The film is a montage of fleeting images, sounds, and music from Senegal and includes no narration, although there are occasional statements by Trinh T. Minh-ha. None of the statements given by her assign meaning to the scenes, refusing to make the film "about" a "culture". It points to the viewers expectation and the need for the assignment of meaning.
==Content== ''Reassemblage'' does not follow a conventional plot, but rather presents sounds and visuals through non-linear montage. The film consists of a various shots capturing different landscapes, activities, animals, conversations, and people. The accompanying sounds include indigenous music, diegetic sounds and conversations, and a voiceover from Minh-ha. The voiceover does not provide narration or explanation of the scenes, but rather critical reflections on the filmmaking process and ethnographic documentary.
== Further reading ==
* Guèye, Khadidiatou. "Ethnocultural Voices and African Aesthetics in Trinh Minh-ha's "Reassemblage: From the Firelight to the Screen"." ''Research in African Literatures'' 39, no. 3 (2008): 14-25. Accessed May 21, 2021. {{JSTOR|20109620}}. * "Trinh T. Minh-ha". ''trinhminh-ha.com''. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb title|tt0084577}}
Category:1982 films Category:1982 American films Category:1982 English-language films Category:1980s Senegalese films Category:Documentary films about the Serer people Category:Senegalese documentary films Category:American documentary films Category:English-language documentary films