Les révolutionnaires de Tchad

This triptych is a combination of three reports Depardon made in the 1970s: 1970 and from 1975 and 1976, commissioned by the Gamma press agency. He follows the armed conflict in the Tibesti region of Chad between the France-backed national army and the Frolinat resistance movement. In the first part, he and two colleagues even find themselves in a genuine ambush, but Depardon keeps filming until the fights eventually cease. The second and third parts contain two interviews with Françoise Claustre, a French archaeologist/anthropologist who was kidnapped by the same resistance movement from Toubous. The French government tried to ignore the matter, but all the publicity following the broadcast of Depardon's interviews unchained a veritable "Claustre Affair," culminating in her release in 1977 after being held captive for 33 months. In 1989, Depardon loosely based his feature film featuring Sandrine Bonnaire, on the Claustre Affair.