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SLON (also known as S.L.O.N.; Slon)

Part of the Chris Marker World Wide Web Site.
Written by Adrian Miles.

A production company formed in 1966 to make Loin du Viêtnam (see below) with Chris Marker, Valérie Mayoux, Jean-Claude Lerner, Alain Adair, John Tooker, and others. Marker was the major participant in the project (Van Wert, 1979) and it was his actions that led to the group being reformed following the events of May 68.

'Slon' is apparently the Russian word for elephant and also the acronym of Société pour le Lancement des Oeuvres Nouvelles.

Van Wert also notes that SLON produced the French-Medvedkin group as an offshoot after the shooting of Le Train en marche (1971) and another collective in Besançon which resulted from the SLON production of a film about a factory strike.

Finally "Marker's ciné-tract activity seems to have been resumed in the print medium by way of two series of short bulletins on current events put out by SLON - Nouvelle Société and On vous parle." (Van Wert, pp. 45-6, n.3.)

The group took a distinctly anti-auteurist line and so in general specific directorial credit is not clear, claimed, or probably particularly relevant.

There has been some suggestion that SLON at some later stage became the film production/distribution company ISKRA (Van Wert, 1979).

Marker's credits
Le Train en marche. (1971)
Les Hommes de la baleine. (1956)
Puisqu'on vous dit que c'est possible. (1974)
Loin du Viêtnam. (1967)
Classe de lutte. (1969)
Die Kamera in der Fabrik. (1970)
L'ordre régle à Simcaville. (1969)
La Grève des travailleurs de Lip. (1972)
Le Deuxiéme procés d'Artur London. (1969)
Le Moindre geste. (1971)
Sochaux . (1969)
Vive la baleine. (1972)
Jour de tournage. (1969)
Rhodiaceta. (1967)

References
Baker, 1989.
Van Wert, 1979.

SLON (also known as S.L.O.N.; Slon)

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