Quartiers Lointains : Season 3
FRENCH-STYLE LOVE
Through the turmoil of sexuality and a masculine environment in Yohann Kouam’s Le Retour, through the dance of bodies and shyness in Jean-Charles Mbotti Malolo’s Le Sens du toucher, through the complexity of traditional marriages in Zangro’s Destino, and through the difficulty of loving that Alice Diop examines in Vers la tendresse, the short films of Quartiers Lointains’ 3rd season shake us, move us and fill us with wonder as they take hold of a feeling that is French — and above all universal.
Our patron: Melvin VAN PEEBLES
Travelling short-film programme from North to South of the hemisphere, with patron Melvin VAN PEEBLES. A filmmaker at the origin of Blaxploitation, by accompanying this season Melvin Van Peebles reminds us that passion and perseverance are essential engines for telling stories.
The films
Le Retour by Yohann Kouam
Fiction - 2013 - / - 22 min - Mezzanine Films
Synopsis
It has been a year since his big brother left, and Willy, 15, is impatiently waiting for his return to the neighbourhood. He thinks he knows everything about Théo, but barely back, he discovers a secret about him...
Biography
Born in Lille (France) to Cameroonian parents, Yohann Kouam trained in editing at the Institut des arts de diffusion (IAD) in Brussels, then studied translation in France. After the shorts Fragments de vie (2007) and Les dimanches de Léa (2010), he directed in 2013 his short Le retour, awarded internationally.
Film career
Festival Off Court de Trouville 2013 (France) – Prix UniFrance; Rhode Island Film Festival 2014 (USA) – Grand Prix LGBTQ; Festival KUKI 2014 (Germany) – Best Youth Film; Zubroffka International Short Film Festival 2014 (Poland) Grand Prix; Festival Chéries-Chéris 2014 (France) – Grand Prix and Prix de la Ville; Festival Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux 2014 (France) – Best Foreign Film; Reel It Out Virginia 2014 (USA) – Best Actor Yann Gaël; Festival Cinébanlieue and Festival National de Hyères-les-Palmiers 2014 (France); Broadcast on France 3
Le sens du toucher by Jean-Charles Mbotti Malolo
Animation - 2014 - / - 2014 - Folimage Studio
Synopsis
Chloé and Louis love each other in secret but cannot bring themselves to say so. Their gestures take the place of words. They dance; every word is a choreography.
Biography
Born in Vaulx-en-Velin (France) to a Cameroonian father and a Burgundian mother, Jean-Charles Mbotti Malolo is a popping dancer who studied animation at École Emile Cohl in Lyon. After the success of his first short Le cœur est un métronome and a collaboration with ARTE’s Karambolage programme, JC Mbotti Malolo directed Le sens du toucher, awarded internationally. He is currently working on his next short, Please, please, please. [RETROSPECTIVE NOTE: in 2018, Jean Mbotti Malolo directed an animated short, Make it Soul, which was nominated for the Césars 2020]
Film career
Urban Film Festival 2014 (France) – Prix Talents en Court; Lille International Short Film Festival 2014 (France) – 1er Prix National; Festival Schnitt 2014 (Switzerland) – Best Swiss Made; Annual Sweaty Eyeballs Animation Invitational Festival 2014 (USA) – Prix du Public; International Weekend of Animation 2014 (Germany) Broadcast on ARTE – Prix du Public; Big Cartoon Festival 2014 (Russia) – 3rd Audience Award; Seoul Animation Film Festival 2014 (Korea) – Special Jury Mention; Festival Animatou de Genève 2014 (Switzerland) – Grand Prix; Festival Cinanima 2014 (Portugal) – Promotion Prize; Animation division of 18th Japan Media Arts Festival 2014 (Japan) – Excellence Award ; Trickfilm Festival 2015 (Germany) – Grand Prix
Destino by Zangro
Fiction - 2013 - / - 22 min - Bien ou Bien Productions
Synopsis
Loïc and Mehdi have set up a small business: filming reubeu weddings and editing in their van, converted into an audiovisual studio. But when it comes to filming the wedding of pretty Leila, Mehdi’s ex... fate steps in.
Biography
Born in Cenon (France) to Franco-Spanish parents, Zangro grew up in Spain and Morocco before returning to France. After studying sociology, he worked as a video trainer then directed En attendant demain, a TV film broadcast in 2006 on Canal+, Islam School Welkoum (2008), a web series shot in Morocco, and Como à la Télévision (2012), which won a prize at the Urban Film Festival in Paris. Founder of Bien ou Bien Productions, he directed Destino in 2014, which was awarded internationally.** [RETROSPECTIVE NOTE: In 2015, Zangro produced Maman(s), Maïmouna Doucouré’s first short film, which won Toronto, Sundance, and the 2017 César for Best Short Film, jointly with Alice Diop. Since then, Zangro has produced all her films (Mignonnes, Hawa).]**
Film career
Festival Ascona 2014 (Switzerland) – Grand Prix du Jury; Festival Cinéma et Migration 2014 (Morocco) – Prix du Jury; Tangier International Film Festival 2014 (Morocco) – Best Screenplay; Festival National du Film Hyères-les-Palmiers 2014 (France) – Prix Claude; Vébron International Film Festival 2014 (France) – Coup de coeur du jury; Geneva International Oriental Film Festival 2014 (Switzerland) – Fifog d’Or
Vers la Tendresse by Alice Diop
Documentary - 2016 - / - 40 min - Srab Films
Synopsis
Vers la tendresse is an intimate exploration of masculine territory in a suburban housing estate. Following the wandering of a group of young men, we walk through a world where women’s bodies are no more than ghostly, virtual silhouettes.
Biography
Born in Vincennes (France) to Senegalese parents, Alice Diop studied History at the Sorbonne then a DESS in Image and Society at Evry. Her first documentary, Le tour du monde, was broadcast on the Voyages channel, while Clichy pour l’exemple (2006) was broadcast on France 5. In 2011, her documentary La mort de Danton won the Prix des Bibliothèques at Cinéma du réel as well as the Étoile de la Scam 2012. [RETROSPECTIVE NOTE: Alice Diop won the César for Best Short Film jointly with the director of Maman(s), Maïmouna Doucouré. Her documentaries La Permanence and Nous were both awarded (Cinéma du réel, Berlinale). Her film Saint-Omer won the Silver Lion and the Lion of the Future in Venice, in addition to representing France at the Oscars.]
Film career
Festival de films de femmes 2016 (Créteil, France)
Audience feedback
Quartiers*Lointains Season 3 in Clichy Montfermeil 17/12/2016
Quartiers*Lointains Season 3 at the French Institute de Dakar (Sénégal) 7/12/2016
Quartiers*Lointains Season 3 at Cinéma du Panthéon
Quartiers*Lointains Season 3 @Montpellier 20/10/2016
Quartiers*Lointains Season 3 in Mauritius
Quartiers*Lointains Season 3 @L'Hay les Roses
Quartiers*Lointains Season 3 @ LYON