African Mirror

For decades, famous Swiss traveler, photographer and filmmaker René Gardi (1909-2000) recorded in his archives a distorted image of the African continent and its inhabitants. Confirming the European imaginary which projected Africa as a supposedly idyllic paradise, a land not spoiled by modernity, Gardi’s work formed the view of many generations in the German-speaking countries and far beyond. A documentary that reveals how visual representation and the production of racial stereotypes can serve as a form of colonialism, a mirror that reflects back to those who look into it a twisted image.