L'AVOCAT DE LA TERREUR

A study of morality and a compelling investigation of the life of an enigmatic man, 30 years after his acclaimed portrait of Idi Amin, Barbet Schroeder takes on the story of Jacques Vergès, France's most famous and most hated lawyer, the defender of the undefendables, the anti-colonialist whose career began with the defence of Algerian freedom fighters and who later represented such unsavoury characters as Barbie and Milosevic. In new interviews with Vergès and many others whose paths he crossed over the years alongside a mass of archive footage, Schroeder traces a life history, which also explores the development of international terrorism. Clips from The Battle of Algiers take us back to the early days, when Vergès defended Djamila Bouhired, arrested and tortured for bombing a bar in Algiers. The director also probes into the years between 1970 and 78 when, after a short marriage to Bouhired, Vergès curiously disappeared from public view. Throughout Schroeder restrains from simple judgements of a man who in interviews appears charming and refined, but whose reputation as the 'devil's advocate' was not gained without reason.

Award: César Best Documentary 2008

"I want to allow things to unfold, to follow the thread which allows me to trace the history of contemporary terrorism through the destinies of many interlinked characters whose paths cross again and again." – Barbet Schroeder

"My connection to Vergès is very strong: a link through life and political memories. When I was 14, 15 years old, I followed exactly the same political path as Vergès. I was some 20 years younger than him, I joined the communists even though they didn't really want me, then left them to align myself more closely with the movement in support of Algeria, while criticizing the communists for not doing enough for that cause. Exactly like Vergès. I followed everything he said or did, assiduously: I was a real fan!" – Barbet Schroeder

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