Knot Project Space present One World in Relation by renowned filmmaker Manthia Diawara, a documentary made in dialogue with the influential philosopher and poet, Édouard Glissant. The film, comprised of a series of interviews that Diawara conducted with Glissant during a transatlantic voyage, offers an introduction to Glissant’s complex constellation of thought that is both generous and profound. The screening was positioned in relation to Kosisochukwu Nnebe’s exhibition at AxeNeo7 titled I want you to know that I am hiding something from you / since what I might be is uncontainable which referenced and buildt from Glissant’s thinking, specifically by thinking through his notion of opacity.
One World in Relation
In 2009, filmmaker Manthia Diawara, along with his camera, documented his conversations with Martinican philosopher, writer, and poet Édouard Glissant aboard the Queen Mary II on their transatlantic journey from Southampton, England to New York City. This intellectual voyage encapsulates Glissant’s life’s work and studies on his theory of Relation and the concept of Tout-monde, amongst several other of his philosophical suppositions. Glissant is widely considered to be one of the most influential Caribbean thinkers and cultural commentators. Typically known for his written works, One World in Relation offers a more first-hand and accessible view into Glissant’s thoughts and beliefs on his own theories, as well as the topics of creolization, Rhizome, nation borders, and opacity. Produced only two years before his death, this documentary perhaps serves as a final summation of Glissant’s lauded work in the field of philosophy, and will prove to be especially useful for any student of philosophy, Caribbean or European studies.
Manthia Diawara
A native of Mali, Professor Diawara received his education in France and later traveled to the United States for his university studies. He has taught at the University of California at Santa Barbara and the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of We Won’t Budge: An African Exile in the World (Basic Civitas Books, 2003), Black-American Cinema: Aesthetics and Spectatorship (ed. Routledge, 1993), African Cinema: Politics and Culture (Indiana University Press, 1992), and In Search of Africa (Harvard University Press, 1998). He has published widely on the topic of film and literature of the Black Diaspora. Professor Diawara also collaborated with Ngûgî wa Thiong’o in making the documentary Sembene Ousmane: The Making of the African Cinema, and directed the German-produced documentary Rouch in Reverse.
Related Programming
Exhibition: I want you to know […], Kosisochukwu Nnebe. Jan. 16 – Feb. 23, 2019. AxeNeo7, Hull, QC.