Synopsis
In 1964, Che asked the young Jean Ziegler to stay in Switzerland to fight against the “brain of the capitalist monster”. Subsequently, as a writer, teacher, member of parliament and collaborator of Kofi Annan, Ziegler has tirelessly, through his books and speeches, castigated injustice, the power of capitalist oligarchies and those responsible for world hunger. Today, at the age of 82, his books sell worldwide, and he is still fighting, within the UN, to honor his promise to Che.
A word from Tënk
“Every 5 minutes, a child starves somewhere in the world”. This is what Jean Ziegler forcefully denounces in an attempt to put a stop to this “organised crime.” Nicolas Wadimoff, Ziegler’s former student and now a film director, takes us in the master’s footsteps to Cuba and examines his convictions, giving us a chance to witness his thought process as it develops. He films politics head on! Gramsci’s phrase that inspired the documentary’s title – “We need to combine the pessimism of the intellect with the optimism of the will” – isn’t entirely exact. The literal translation from the Italian is “I’m a pessimist because of intelligence, but an optimist because of will”… the slight alteration reflects the subtlety of this seemingly classic film. This extract from a letter to Gramsci’s brother, written from prison in 1929, symbolises the conception of a man, alone, facing up to the fascist “monster”. Jean Ziegler, portrayed on a “mission” in the heart of international institutions, also prompts a different kind of uprising of consciousness.
Pierre Oscar Lévy
Filmmaker
