Strike or Die

Synopsis

In December 1995 begins one of the most violent struggles for social justice in French contemporary history. A thousand miners take to the streets in a merciless battle against the state and to keep their rights.
Twenty years later, the dual processes of de-industrialisation and a flash archiving of their history have aimed at separating the people from their sense of struggle.
Strike or Die is composed of unreleased video footage of the time, filmed at the heart of the strikes and images of the present inhabitants of the city. The film paints a portrait of two generations who fight, body and soul, and for whom the battles have never ceased, despite all appearances

Director Biography

Jonathan Rescigno was born in Forbach in 1980 in Moselle, a region of France marked by turbulent borders and social turmoil that are the building blocks of his work. After his education in art and cinema in Metz and in Strasbourg, he started out with short films and video installations. In 2013, his video installation « Avec vue sur la mer » (With a view of the sea) was presented at the Cutlog contemporary art fair in New York. His work Berlin Answering was selected at the Berlin Art prize in 2014. Strike or Die is his first feature documentary.