I CROSSED THE DESERT
WITH A GUN IN HAND
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Feature-length documentary by Laurence Garret
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In post-production
It is the story of a young Iraq War veteran who was deported from the United States to Mexico, the country of his birth.
Daniel Torres travels freely through the territory that has shaped his existence, from the Great Salt Lake in Utah, crossing the American West to the northeastern border of Mexico and the city of Tijuana.
In doing so, he attempts to deconstruct social determinism by revisiting the traumatic episodes he has experienced.
Daniel Torres is grappling with his ghosts, but committed to the living ones : those who, like him, put their lives on the line for a country from which they were then banished.
Credits
Directed by Laurence Garret
Written by Laurence Garret and Juan-Manuel Sepúlveda
Image: Laurence Garret
Sound: Lucas Denis
Editing: Jeanne Oberson
Music: Niki Demiller
In co-production with Acqua Alta and LesterFilm
Workshops and labs
2023 : Project selected at Co-production Forum IndieLisboa (Lisbonne)
2022 : Project selected at Encuentro de Coproducción, programa de industria del 37° Festival Internacional de Cine en Guadalajara (Mexico)
2021 : Project selected at New Visions Forum : Europe 2021, pitchs forum of Ji.hlava Festival (Czech Republic)
Director's note
« Although the return of the soldier is one of the most common motifs in film history, it is rarer to see the theme treated without the heroic gravity that the horror of war induces. It seems to me that this solemn dimension is imbued with a respect for authority and a sacralization of the men and institutions that orchestrate this violence.
I want to circumvent this feeling of respect and give space to a voice that questions the stories legitimizing horror. Daniel Torres, fighting the ghosts of multiple wars, carries this voice. What interested me about him is his rebellious side. An insolent young man, a veteran of the Iraq war, who also managed to legally defeat one of the most racist and xenophobic States in the world.
Every soldier is an exile. As Daniel Torres says, you can’t return home after going to war. For him, this situation multiplies. He carries in his soul the tragic destiny of a soldier condemned to switch trenches because he was born on the “wrong side of the border”.
I start from there, from his condition of eternal exile, to embrace the destiny of this man, so far from me and that I consider amazing, due to my pacifist convictions and my rejection of all forms of violence.»
Production's note
« In the documentary, the issues of post-traumatic stress disorder among former soldiers and the expulsion of illegal immigrants are primarily considered from a societal perspective. I CROSSED THE DESERT WITH A GUN IN HAND allows us to feel the character's experience as a subject. The idea of equality is at the heart of the approach. The director provides a framework to allow her protagonist to regain control over the situations he has experienced. This movement of sharing that is established with Daniel and with the audience destabilizes the order and sweeps away the asymmetrical relationship maintained towards minorities. »
Laurence Garret
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Laurence Garret shot her first movie in 2002 using archival Super 8 footage. She then trained in Lussas and directed LES CHEVEUX COUPÉS with the G.R.E.C.
Involved in image education since 2010, she runs workshops in schools for La Cinémathèque française within the international program Cinema, 100 Years of Youth. She also serves as a consultant for Master’s students in documentary writing and production at INA (Institut national de l’audiovisuel). She sits on the board of Addoc, the Association of Documentary Filmmakers, and contributes to the Observatory for Freedom of Creation (Observatoire de la liberté de création).
POR LA LIBERTAD
Doc, 2017, 85 min, France/Mexico
IFF Rotterdam, 2017
BAFICI, 2017
Geneva IFF, 2017
Black Canvas Contemporary FF, 2018
Broadcast : Ciné+
EN NINGÚN LUGAR, DON LUIS BUÑUEL
Exp doc, 2014, 55 min, France
Atlantida Film Fest, 2014
Different 7!/L'autre cinéma espagnol, 2014
Fonds Images de la culture/CNC
Broadcast : France 3 Corse
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LES CHEVEUX COUPÉS
Exp fiction, 2008, W&B, 16 mm, 14 min, France
Jury's prize at Festival du film court de Grenoble, 2008
Premiers Plans de Angers/Section Figures Libres, 2009
International Festival of Young Directors of Saint-Jean-de-Luz, 2009
Etats généraux du film documentaire of Lussas, 2008
L'OMBRE ET LA MAIN
Doc, 2017, 52 min, France
Broadcast : Histoire, TLM
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LE TEMPS RETENU
Doc, 2005, 70 min, France
Broadcast : France 3 Rhône-Alpes
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TRAVEL TO AMNESIA
Exp Fiction, 2003, Super8, 10 min, France
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