In addition to the film projects outlined by Claudine Eizykman and Guy Fihman in Appendix 1, Lyotard notably planned one further film which was not produced. The synopsis of the projected film, titled Memorial Immemorial [Mémorial immémorial], dated 1986–7, may be found in the Lyotard Archive at the Bibliothèque Jacques Doucet.1 Part of the synopsis was published in a special issue of the online journal Appareil, along with a brief introduction by Jean-Louis Déotte, who was involved with the project (Lyotard 2012; Déotte 2012). Déotte explains that the project originated with the plans of the Senator- Mayor of Caen, Jean-Marie Girault, to create a memorial museum for the Battle of Normandy. He wanted the memorial to be much more than a historical museum: a place for philosophical speculation and ethical reflection. Accordingly he sought the involvement of the Collège international de philosophie, of which Lyotard was a principal member, and Déotte was charged by Girault with researching the topic. His research eventually led to a philosophical thesis supervised by Lyotard and submitted to the University of Paris 8 in 1990. Girault's plans culminated in a Museum for Peace in Caen, inaugurated by President Mitterrand in 1988. Lyotard's project for a film was not funded and did not proceed further than the written plans. As Déotte notes, however, these plans can be seen as something like a first, rough draft of Lyotard's 1988 book Heidegger and ‘the jews’, treating as they do similar themes. Moreover, as Déotte also points out, they are interesting in opening a further path in Lyotard's work in film, which remains to be reflected on and thematised (Déotte 2012). We present here the synopsis in translation.

Writer and director: Jean-François Lyotard 52 minutes / 16 mm JBA Production / Jacques Bidou / april 1987