Agonies
Angoroj (1964; Esperanto for "Agonies") was the first feature film to be produced entirely in Esperanto. (Jacques-Louis Mahé, a friend of Raymond Schwartz and under the pseudonym of 'Lorjak', had however already produced a silent Esperanto publicity film before World War II, titled Antaŭen! (Onwards!). At the start of the 1960s Mahé, a professional photographic and cinematic expert, invested in the production of the first fictional film in Esperanto. Using a scenario by Mahé himself, the actors of the Internacia Arta Teatro (International Arts Theatre) presented a crime story, set in the Parisian periphery of petty thieves and cheats. Other notable people who played parts in the film included Schwartz (the commissioner), Gaston Waringhien (the voice-over) and many from the environs of the contemporary Paris, including a very young Michel Duc-Goninaz.
Directed by Jacques-Louis Mahé · Written by Jacques-Louis Mahé
Cast
- Michel Duc-Goninaz L'aide-commissaire
- Raymond Schwartz Le commissaire
- Gaston Waringhien Narrateur
- Jana Ravšelj Irina
- Srdjan Flego Karleto
- Marc Darnault Henriko
Make it a double feature
2h 52m together
Agonies
Crooks in Clover
A close match in mood and era.
