The Man We Love the Most

Victoria Mercanton’s unusual French documentary from the early 1950s provides insight into the cult of Stalin worship by members of the French Communist Party. The film evokes different types of Stalin worship, from the individual to the collective one, and depicts a highly heterogeneous set of exhibits at a French exhibition in tribute to Stalin. Banned for commercial and non-commercial distribution in France, the film won the Best Short Film Screenplay award at the 1950 Karlovy Vary Film Festival.