West Indies: The Fugitive Slaves of Liberty By Med Hondo

West Indies: The Fugitive Slaves of Liberty by Med Hondo
French spoken with English subtitles  |  Friday 27th June 2025, 8:30pm  |  116 minutes

Following Annabelle Aventurin’s presentation in May, we felt a strong appetite to dig deeper into the work of Mauritanian-French director Med Hondo, so we’re excited to be screening his landmark film West Indies: The Fugitive Slaves of Liberty (1979).

Extremely ambitious in its scope, West Indies blends elements of the musical, historical epic, agitprop theatre, and Brechtian critique into a genre-defying spectacle. The film unfolds on a single soundstage: a massive mock slave ship built inside an old warehouse. Through choreographed movement, song and political commentary, Hondo revisits more than three centuries of colonial violence and resistance, travelling across the Caribbean, Europe and the Middle Passage to strike at the heart of Europe’s imperial legacy. The characters — from enslaved people to French bureaucrats and revolutionaries — reveal the mechanisms of control and the spark of revolt. Restored in 2023, the film remains an iconic achievement.

This screening is part of our year-long inquiry at WET in 2025: How to make films that not only question but remake the world?

📅 Date & Time:
Friday 27th June 2025
(8.30pm doors, 9pm Screening)

📍 Location:
Hillevliet 90, Rotterdam, 3074 KD

Come watch with us and stay for a chat after.

WET is supported by its members, Mondriaan Fonds, Gemeente Rotterdam, and Stichting Volkskracht.

Access: WET is located on the 3rd floor and unfortunately is not wheelchair accessible. The ground floor of the building has step free access via a ramp. There is an elevator to the second floor and a flight of steps to the third floor. Gender neutral and wheelchair accessible toilets are available. Please get in touch if you have any questions about access.