The Venerable W. Le Vénérable W.
by Barbet Schroeder
Forbidden to the under 12
Retrospectives & Focus 2021
Official synopsis
In Burma, the “Venerable Wirathu” is a highly influential Buddhist monk. Meeting him amounts to traveling to the heart of everyday racism and observing how Islamophobia and hate speech lead to violence and destruction. Yet this is a country in which 90% of the population has adopted Buddhism as a faith.
The programmer’s eye
The conclusion of a so-called trilogy on evil, “The Venerable W.” shows the ambivalence of the monk Ashin Wiratu by highlighting his cenobite character rather than his genocidal inclinations. Schroeder's demonstration is as follows: the instrumentalization of a belief - for criminal and nihilist designs - is also likely to affect a religion like Buddhism, for which peace and respect for others is nevertheless an inherent value. This is what makes it possible to construct a clever dialectic with the hatred of Islam perpetrated in the contemporary West, that which supposes a continuity between faith and religiously inspired fascism.
— Pierre Guidez
Biography and Filmography
Born in 1941 in Tehran (Iran), Barbet Schroeder is a French director and producer of Swiss origin. As a child, he followed his geologist father to Colombia. He then chose France to conduct his studies. Schroeder collaborated with the film review Les Cahiers du cinema then directed two short films; Jean-Luc Godard took him as an assistant in “The Carabineers”. In 1962, he founded the production company Les Films du Losange with Éric Rohmer, which produced almost all of Rohmer's films and films by Jacques Rivette, Jean Eustache, Rainer W. Fassbinder and Wim Wenders. He collaborated with the Pink Floyd for “More” (1969) and “Obscured by Clouds” (1972), which gave a great place to the theme of freedom in settings representative of hippie culture. In 1974, he made a documentary on Idi Amin Dada in which he revealed the dictator. Barbet Schroeder then left to work in the United States. An admirer of Charles Bukowski, he commissioned the latter to write “Barfly” which assured him certain recognition and allowed him to direct “Reversal of Fortune” (1990) for which he was selected for the Oscars. He then directed other films in the United States before returning to France. (Fema La Rochelle)
2017 - THE VENERABLE W. - Barbet Schroeder - Director and screenwriter
2017 - OÙ EN ÊTES-VOUS, BARBET SCHROEDER ? (Short) - Barbet Schroeder - Director and screenwriter
2015 - AMNESIA - Barbet Schroeder - Director and screenwriter
2008 - INJU: THE BEAST IN THE SHADOW - Barbet Schroeder - Director and screenwriter
2007 - TERROR'S ADVOCATE - Barbet Schroeder - Director
2002 - MURDER BY NUMBERS - Barbet Schroeder - Director
2000 - OUR LADY OF THE ASSASSINS - Barbet Schroeder - Director
1997 - DESPERATE MEASURES - Barbet Schroeder - Director
1995 - BEFORE AND AFTER - Barbet Schroeder - Director
1994 - KISS OF DEATH - Barbet Schroeder - Director
1992 - SINGLE WHITE FEMALE - Barbet Schroeder - Director
1990 - REVERSAL OF FORTUNE - Barbet Schroeder - Director
1987 - BARFLY - Barbet Schroeder - Director
1984 - TRICHEURS - Barbet Schroeder - Director and screenwriter
1982 - THE CHARLES BUKOWSKI TAPES - Barbet Schroeder - Director
1978 - KOKO: A TALKING GORILLA - Barbet Schroeder - Director
1975 - MISTRESS - Barbet Schroeder - Director and screenwriter
1974 - GENERAL IDI AMIN DADA: A SELF PORTRAIT - Barbet Schroeder - Director
1971 - THE VALLEY OBSCURED BY CLOUDS - Barbet Schroeder - Director and screenwriter
1971 - LE COCHON AUX PATATES DOUCES (Short) - Barbet Schroeder - Director
1971 - MAQUILLAGES (Short) - Barbet Schroeder - Director
1971 - SING-SING (Short) - Barbet Schroeder - Director
1969 - MORE - Barbet Schroeder - Director and screenwriter
Barbet Schroeder
Les Films du Losange, Bande à Part
Les Films du Losange
Les Films du Losange
by Barbet Schroeder
Born in 1941 in Tehran (Iran), Barbet Schroeder is a French director and producer of Swiss origin. As a child, he followed his geologist father to Colombia. He then chose France to conduct his studies. Schroeder collaborated with the film review Les Cahiers du cinema then directed two short films; Jean-Luc Godard took him as an assistant in “The Carabineers”. In 1962, he founded the production company Les Films du Losange with Éric Rohmer, which produced almost all of Rohmer's films and films by Jacques Rivette, Jean Eustache, Rainer W. Fassbinder and Wim Wenders. He collaborated with the Pink Floyd for “More” (1969) and “Obscured by Clouds” (1972), which gave a great place to the theme of freedom in settings representative of hippie culture. In 1974, he made a documentary on Idi Amin Dada in which he revealed the dictator. Barbet Schroeder then left to work in the United States. An admirer of Charles Bukowski, he commissioned the latter to write “Barfly” which assured him certain recognition and allowed him to direct “Reversal of Fortune” (1990) for which he was selected for the Oscars. He then directed other films in the United States before returning to France. (Fema La Rochelle)
2017 - THE VENERABLE W. - Barbet Schroeder - Director and screenwriter
2017 - OÙ EN ÊTES-VOUS, BARBET SCHROEDER ? (Short) - Barbet Schroeder - Director and screenwriter
2015 - AMNESIA - Barbet Schroeder - Director and screenwriter
2008 - INJU: THE BEAST IN THE SHADOW - Barbet Schroeder - Director and screenwriter
2007 - TERROR'S ADVOCATE - Barbet Schroeder - Director
2002 - MURDER BY NUMBERS - Barbet Schroeder - Director
2000 - OUR LADY OF THE ASSASSINS - Barbet Schroeder - Director
1997 - DESPERATE MEASURES - Barbet Schroeder - Director
1995 - BEFORE AND AFTER - Barbet Schroeder - Director
1994 - KISS OF DEATH - Barbet Schroeder - Director
1992 - SINGLE WHITE FEMALE - Barbet Schroeder - Director
1990 - REVERSAL OF FORTUNE - Barbet Schroeder - Director
1987 - BARFLY - Barbet Schroeder - Director
1984 - TRICHEURS - Barbet Schroeder - Director and screenwriter
1982 - THE CHARLES BUKOWSKI TAPES - Barbet Schroeder - Director
1978 - KOKO: A TALKING GORILLA - Barbet Schroeder - Director
1975 - MISTRESS - Barbet Schroeder - Director and screenwriter
1974 - GENERAL IDI AMIN DADA: A SELF PORTRAIT - Barbet Schroeder - Director
1971 - THE VALLEY OBSCURED BY CLOUDS - Barbet Schroeder - Director and screenwriter
1971 - LE COCHON AUX PATATES DOUCES (Short) - Barbet Schroeder - Director
1971 - MAQUILLAGES (Short) - Barbet Schroeder - Director
1971 - SING-SING (Short) - Barbet Schroeder - Director
1969 - MORE - Barbet Schroeder - Director and screenwriter