Madame Desbassayns: Myth and Reality of an Icon of Slavery

Synopsis

The life of Mrs. Desbassayns is exceptional in more than one way in the history of slavery on the island of Réunion. Married at the age of 15 to the forty-year-old Henri-Paulin Panon Desbassayns, this young Creole woman named Hombeline Gonneau immediately embarked on an extraordinary journey. She found herself, in fact, at the head of the most powerful landowning family...

Ratings

Key crew

• William CallyDirector
• William CallyWriter
• Sudel FumaWriter

Cast

• Jacques DeshayesNarrator (voice)
• Stéphane ThomasMadame Desbassayns
• David ErudelHenri Paulin Panon Desbassayns
• Ophélie GalantYoung Madame Debassayns
• Kristof LangrommeSlave Neptune
• Eric LauretJulien Gonneau Montbrun (father)
• Muriel BenardMarie-Thérèse L. des Sablons (mother)
• Francis ConvertAbbé Macquet
• Mickaël FontaineCavalier Desbassayns
• Fabrice SaubertHousing Manager
• Teddy LebonCharles Desbassayns
• Fabrice PayetJoseph Desbassayns

Themes