La Permission
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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La Permission is a 1967 French language novel written by Melvin Van Peebles which was turned into the film The Story of a Three-Day Pass.
History
By the late 1950s, Van Peebles had been involved filmmaking and had made two short films. He was unable to establish himself as a film director in Hollywood because the concept of a black director was unheard of in America at that time. Consequently, he went to France, learned the language, and wrote La Permission in French.
Learning he could adapt one of his novels into film with a $60,000 grant from the French Cinema Center, so long as his film was "artistically valuable, but not necessarily commercially viable," he sought a film producer. Once partnered with the Office de Production d'Edition et de Realisation (OPERA), a collective consisting of Michel Zemer, Guy Pefond and Christian Shivat, he shot La Permission in 36 days for a cost of $200,000, finally releasing the picture under the title The Story of a Three-Day Pass (1967).
Notes
Prior to entering Hollywood, Van Peebles directed the French film Story of a Three Day Pass (La Permission). His first Hollywood film was the 1970 comedy Watermelon Man, written by Herman Raucher. The movie told the story of a casually racist but well meaning white man who suddenly wakes up black and finds himself alienated from his friends, family and job. In 1970 Van Peebles was also to direct filming of the Powder Ridge Rock Festival which was banned by court injunction.
