Zouaves d’Afrique dans les Flandres Belges

Summary

Produced by the French Film Chamber, the film shows Zuaven, an infantry unit of North African colonial soldiers, in Flanders, Belgium. In addition to a parade, the film shows various recreational activities of the soldiers, allegedly filmed one kilometer behind the front line: Front-line theater, boisterous games, boxing matches, and a wrestling match that is staged as a symbolic struggle between a white conqueror and an African colonized man.

"Zouaves d'Afrique dans les Flandres Belges" was distributed in the 28mm format that Pathé Frères introduced in France in 1912 and also marketed internationally. Unlike the 35mm nitrocellulose print commonly used for professional screenings, the 28mm material was flame-retardant, allowing such "safety films" to be shown without fire precautions, such as in home theaters. Shortly after the end of the war, Pathé Frères stopped marketing 28mm film in favor of other formats for safety films; it was probably not even marketed in Germany because of World War I.