(La Grande Espérance)

Content: Scenes and images from the French Communist Party's (PCF) 1937 Congress in Arles. La Grande Espérance highlights some of the PCF's new concerns under the Popular Front: a warning against international fascism, a desire for organic unity, and the defense of national heritage and regional cultures. It also reveals the first signs of a cult of personality surrounding Maurice Thorez. La Grande Espérance was screened (and possibly re-edited) after the Liberation. A commentary was then added to the credits emphasizing the continuity of the Communist Party’s political line and the sacrifice of its activists during the war. Today, only this post-1945 version exists.

Countries:

France

Genres:

Documentary

Runtime:

29 minutes

Year:

1937

Directors:

Jacques Becker

Production companies:

Les films populaires,

Ciné France

Actors:

Himself

Himself

Himself

Herself

Himself

Crews:

Director