Rue Cases-Nègres
Sugar Cane Alley
© René Marran - JMJ Internatonal Pictures

Rue Cases-Nègres | Sugar Cane Alley by Euzhan Palcy
FRA 1983, Retrospective
© René Marran - JMJ Internatonal Pictures

Darling Legitimus, Garry Cadenat
Rue Cases-Nègres | Sugar Cane Alley by Euzhan Palcy
FRA 1983, Retrospective
© René Marran - JMJ Internatonal Pictures

Garry Cadenat, Douta Seck
Rue Cases-Nègres | Sugar Cane Alley by Euzhan Palcy
FRA 1983, Retrospective
© René Marran - JMJ Internatonal Pictures
In 1930s Martinique, orphan José lives with his grandmother in the shacks on the edge of a sugar cane plantation. While the adults work long days in the fields for the French colonial rulers, the children are left to their own devices. José learns about his African heritage from old man Medouze, whose father was trafficked into slavery. At the village school, he learns the names of French glaciers. “Learning is the key that opens the second door to our freedom,” says the teacher. With his support, José is able to go to school in the capital. But to pay for it, his grandmother still has to work despite her advanced age … Seen from the perspective of the young protagonist, the film’s range of characters represents the various survival strategies of Martinique’s Black population – frugality, currying favour, resistance. As such, Sugar Cane Alley is considered to be the first film with whose heroes they could identify. Based on the eponymous classic of Caribbean Négritude, Euzhan Palcy’s film won the Best First Work award at the 1983 Venice Film Festival. In Martinique, it even beat E.T. at the box office.
With
- Garry Cadenat
- Darling Légitimus
- Douta Seck
- Joby Bernabé
- Francisco Charles
- Marie-Jo Descas
- Marie-Ange Farot
- Henri Melon
- Eugène Mona
- Joël Palcy
Crew
Director | Euzhan Palcy |
Screenplay | Euzhan Palcy based on the novel “La Rue Cases Nègres” by Joseph Zobel |
Cinematography | Dominique Chapui |
Editing | Marie-Josèphe Yoyott |
Music | Groupe Malavoi |
Sound | Yves Osmu, Pierre Befve |
Art Director | Hoang Thanh At |
Costumes | Isabelle Filleul |
Make-Up | Marie-France Vassel |
Producers | Michel Loulergue, Alix Régis |
Executive Producer | Jean-Luc Ormières |
Produced by
SU.MA.FA. Productions
Orca Productions
NEF Diffusion
Additional information
DCP: JMJ International Pictures, Paris

Euzhan Palcy
The director at the Generation screening of the 1983 film at Zoo Palast.
Rue Cases-Nègres · Retrospective · Feb 23, 2023

Group Picture
Director Euzhan Palzcy with pupils of the Rosa Parks Elementary School at the Generation screening.
Rue Cases-Nègres · Retrospective · Feb 23, 2023