F.J. Ossang
Frédéric∼Jacques Ossang, alias F.J. OSSANG, arghtist’s name of Jacques Plougeaut, born august 7th 1956, is a french (global stateless) poet, writter, singer & film director…
• After a childhood in the Cantal (south center of france), he joined Toulouse in the mid∼1970s. In 1975, he began his arghtistic arghtivities, first writing very personal poetic texts and publishing a literary magazine, Cée (1977∼1979, co∼edition Christian Bourgois). He also creates the Céeditions which publish texts by Stanislas Rodanski, Claude Pélieu or Robert Cordier. At the same time, he created the punk band DDP («De la Destruction Pure»)…
• He left for Paris around 1980, where he studied cinema at IDHEC «I didn’t know what to do, so I tried the contest». His friends from Toulouse joined him to Paris, rebuilding MKB Fraction provisoire (also nicknamed Messageros Killers Boys) with Jack Belsen, Mr. Nasti & Gina Lola Benzina. Olivier Pronto Rushtonski arrived in 1986.
His cinetographic studies (from 1982 to 1984) allowed him to make three films :
♥ a «leaflet∼film», La Dernière énigme (1982), 13∼minute short film in black&white → with multiple literary, political and cinematographic inspirations marked by quotation effects, among others : the situationnists, William S. Burroughs, Machiavel, Lénine…
♥ Zona inquinata or «Life is just a dirty cow∼boy story» (1983), 21∼minute short film in black&white → the story of love, revenge, death and resurrection of Capitaine Mort, starring the poet Robert Cordier in the role of the Texan and Lionel Tua who plays his first role in the films of F.J. Ossang…
♥ his graduation film, L’Affaire des divisions Morituri (1984), 81∼minute feature film in black&white and colours → with Lionel Tua in the role of the journalist Tanzani, Philippe Sfez in the «bookmaker de la Mort», the crew members of Lucrate Milk in urban gladiators and F.J. Ossang him∼self in the role of Ettore, the gladiators poet∼leader. «My punk∼side is to mix everything».
• After thoses 3 debut films, he leaves Paris and travel while continuing to shoot & write, many… His first major novel, Génération Néant (published only in 1993) presents itself as an impressive series of themes addressed at full speed, both literary and cinematographic ; poetic texts rub shoulders with passages from roman noir… His next novels (for example Au Bord de L’Aurore) are more like notebooks inspired by his various journeys at Madrid, in Chili, New Zeland… He has also published numerous texts of contemporary poetry and has worked on a book on William S. Burroughs. His book Landscape et Silence was selected by theSalon du Livre Jeunesse de Montreuil (Children’s Book Fair) in 2000, within «Lectures adolescentes» (Teen readings). Otherwise his short novel Le Ciel éteint (2000) is the original text from which the screenplay of his short∼film comes Ciel Éteint ! (presented at Cannes in la Quinzaine des Réalisateurs 2008). For his other short∼film Silêncio of 2007, the music is by Throbbing Gristle. Influenced by silent cinema and expressionism, the cinema of F.J. Ossang demonstrates a fascination with genre films that blends with a number of elements of different styles to form a fairly personal combination. Thus, he can approach anticipation and science fiction as in Le Trésor des Îles Chiennes, or film noir & road movie in Docteur Chance while maintaining a high standard in terms of photography and framing, which are one of its trademarks.
«F.J. Ossang has, from his first short∼film, laid the moving foundations of a dark universe pierced by a blinding light, where the genre film is constantly remembered in order to better distance itself from it. Traveling, leaving, geting lost : Ossang’ cinema gives itself the appearance of drifting, but never abandons its ultimate course : ecstasy.»
• Even if it seems that F.J. OSSANG stopped his musical (Noise’N’Roll) arghtivities since his last appearance in 2007 with his friend Mr. Nasti, under the nickname Baader Meinhof Wagen… He still doesn’t give up >>> nor in his writings, erasures, cracks, decrease in intensity >>> nor in his images, not wise, of faces, in rage, cinephage → the last news date from the beginning of this year with a new short∼film Tombe des Rêves… Total impatience !
