Guts, lull and isolation. Le voyage de documentation de Madame Anita Conti by Louise Hémon

Guts, lull and isolation. Le voyage de documentation de Madame Anita Conti by Louise Hémon

Archivio Aperto has thrown open its drawers, cupboards, and shutters, inviting fresh air into its archival materials and breathing new life into its annual festival programme. Now in its 17th edition, this year’s theme, The Art of Memory, showcases a female-led perspective, focusing on key figures such as Chantal Akerman, Goliarda Sapienza (in celebration of her centenary), Adelaide Cioni, as well as the experimental works of Carolee Schneemann.

Moving into the 21st century, Archivio Aperto’s contemporary competition section will feature sixteen films, including Louise Hémon’s Le voyage de documentation de Madame Anita Conti (France/2023), a 40-minute documentary on Anita Conti, France’s first female oceanographer. The film chronicles her 1952 Arctic voyage aboard the Boise-Rosé, a large fishing trawler.

Drawn to the act of documenting through photography, film, and writing, as well as to the marine world, Anita Conti (1899–1997) became a pioneering voice in oceanography. She was renowned for her groundbreaking work documenting the lives of fishermen and advocating for sustainable fishing practices.

In Le voyage de documentation de Madame Anita Conti, Louise Hémon weaves together the materials Conti created and accumulated during her months aboard the trawler. Conti observed that photographers and filmmakers rarely accompanied long-haul fishing trips, as these voyages lasted months and subjected them to harsh, uncomfortable conditions. Yet, Conti immersed herself fully in the experience, stepping into the wet boots of a sailor. She was no longer seen by the crew as an outsider, observer, or journalist but became an integral part of the team. Even her gender did not exclude her from the male-dominated crew’s sense of camaraderie and shared purpose.

The film’s narration, drawn from Conti’s writings and recorded interviews, gives us a vivid portrayal of daily life on the boat: the neverending manual work, the cold hands, the guts that fall to the deck, the nets that are in constant need of repair, but also moments of convivial respite. Even with the rough swaying with the arrival of a storm, this bad weather is welcomed as it is one of the brief moments where fishing and all that comes with it is paused. The author recounts a joyful episode where she is asked by the captain to participate in a spectacle where she is placed inside a large shark… 

Even nature itself becomes a protagonist of the story: the dark tides that crash against the side of the trawler, the ominous presence of icebergs that appear almost out of nowhere and of course, the weather. The unrelenting weather. The horizontal rain, the howling wind, the sleet; life as an Arctic fisherman is characterised by the damp. 

Hémon shines a spotlight on Conti’s pioneering vision, which remains highly relevant today in conversations surrounding  the sustainability and future of the fishing industry and the ocean’s ecosystems. Conti’s intimate portraits of fishermen offer a humanising glimpse into a world often overlooked, revealing the harsh realities and shared bonds of those who live at sea.

Le voyage de documentation de Madame Anita Conti will be screened during Archivio Aperto on Thursday 24th October at 2.30pm and Friday 25th October at 10.15pm in Sala Cervi.

 

Glesni Trefor Williams