The documentary “Banksy, the Bataclan and the Sad Girl”, available on Play RTS, traces the history of Banksy’s stencil since its mysterious appearance one night in June 2018 on an emergency door located behind the Parisian Bataclan performance hall , until its flight, and its reappearance two years later in Italy.
Paris, the night of June 26, 2018. A silhouette approaches the emergency door of the Bataclan, through which many spectators of the Eagles of Death Metal concert escaped during the terrorist attack of November 13, 2015.
At first light, we discover a sad-looking female character. Although the stencil made in white paint is not signed, there is no doubt that it is the work of the famous anonymous British artist Banksy. “There are regular tags on this wall. We repaint it daily. The maintenance worker was not careful and he was on the verge of repainting the door,” says Florence Jeux, director of the Bataclan from 2018 to 2022 , in the documentary “Banksy, the Bataclan and the sad girl”.
Eight minutes
Paris, the night of January 26, 2019. In eight minutes, hooded criminals equipped with a grinder stole the work before taking it away in a truck.
Abruzzo countryside, Italy. A farm. June 11, 2020. The door is found. “There was us and the work… At that moment, the emotion was general. We had found a work which concerns all of humanity”, remembers the Italian brigadier-chief Emiliano Ferrante. In 2023, eight men were sentenced to up to two years in prison for this theft.
Having become a millionaire after winning the lottery and considered to be the sponsor of the theft, Mehdi Meftah was only convicted for concealing the door. “We said: ‘Banksy came and gave us a gift’. But he didn’t say anything: he put a photo on Instagram and left. (…) We talked about symbol “We’re trying to give this door a dimension that doesn’t exist (…). Whether it’s made by Banksy or Jesus, it’s a door,” he believes.
It’s up to justice to decide
Four years after its theft, the work has still not found its place at the Bataclan. One question remains: to whom should the door be returned? A legal battle has begun between the owners of the walls of the building and the company which manages the Parisian performance hall, whose main shareholder is the City of Paris.
“The sad young girl” has fallen back into anonymity. It is now under seal in France, awaiting the court’s verdict.
>> Also listen to the episode of the Point J podcast on Banksy: Who is Banksy really? / Le Point J / 11 min. / September 1, 2020
Valentin Jordil
2024-01-06 23:57:19
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