Accused #2 Walter Sisulu

Virtual reality film

16 Mins

Nicolas Champeaux & Gilles Porte

The world discovered Walter Sisulu during the Rivonia trial, which took place in 1963 and 1964. Mandela, accused number 1, read a speech to justify the use of armed struggle. Sisulu, accused number 2, was the first to be interrogated. The sound archives of the trial, recently unearthed in 2016 by the Institut national de l’audiovisuel (INA), allow us to relive the five days of his moving face-to-face with a dreadful, racist and zealous prosecutor. Sisulu, while risking the death penalty, fights back. Immerse yourself in the closed doors of the hearings and the violence of apartheid, and discover the testimony of an exceptional character at a key moment in the history of the 20th century.

Thanks to Oerd Van Cuijlenborg’s illustrations and a spatialised sound, this 360° film immerses the spectator at the core of the Rivonia trial.

The defendants will turn their nine months of hearings into a political platform against apartheid. Their defence, the search for acquittal or a light sentence, is absolutely not a priority in their eyes. They want to take advantage of the presence of international journalists and diplomats to denounce the immorality of the segregationist regime. Through a subjective and immersive experience, this VR film restores the violence of the exchanges between Walter Sisulu, a prominent member of the ANC and Mandela’s mentor, and his aggressive and racist prosecutor.

Credits

A film by Nicolas Champeaux, Gilles Porte

Animation Director: Oerd

Artistic and Technical Director: Michaël Bolufer

Original Music by Aurélien Godderis-Chouzenoux

Animation by Oerd van Cuijlenborg, David Devaux, Matthieu Gueritte, Mathieu Ratier

Sound Editor: Florent Denizot

Sound Design – Spatialized Sound – Radio France: Hervé Déjardin

Production:  La Générale de Production, Jérémy Pouilloux, Alexandre Hallier

Co-Production: La Générale de Production, ARTE France, Radio France, Institut national de l’audiovisuel (INA), UFO Production, Rouge International