Les ateliers Varan

A secret figure in French underground cinema, Maria Koleva has filmed all over Paris, written about Marx and rubbed shoulders with the likes of Serge Daney. This documentary is a portrait of a histrionic Koleva, trying to reveal her militant, poetic and cinematographic universe, located in the Latin Quarter of Paris.

Portrait of a young woman through her relationship to money. The director films her friend for a whole month. The dynamic of the film is based on the bond between the director and Patricia, and on the reactions of this young woman to the financial difficulties, real or imaginary that she meets.

Gare du Nord in Paris is a transit station for all those coming from the suburbs, the provinces or abroad. Accompanied by Simon Mérabet, the son of Algerian immigrants from the Var, Human Geography offers a series of brief meetings with individuals who recount their lives in just a few words before disappearing to take their trains. The crowd of passengers is embodied in these stories, one life after another, and we see how globalization fashions individual destinies, subject to geographical and economic pressures.

A look at the life of society's outcasts through three locations: the Fleury-Mérogis prison, a low-income housing project in the Paris region, and the shacks of a vacant lot at the gateway to Saint-Ouen. A reflection on the idea and use of freedom.

Saud now lives in Paris, caring with devotion and tenderness for his two young children while closely following the drama in Gaza. “It's hard to be far away.” He speaks sadly of his situation as a Palestinian citizen of Israel. When he accompanies his daughter to school, they both stick up placards for the liberation of Palestine...

Alix left his native island, Martinique, and its musical culture, to study opera singing in Paris. Portrait of a young man who now embraces all his singularities: his rare countertenor voice, his kohl and his done nails. He works hard to realize his dream of becoming a professional artist.

After the demolition of the shacks and the construction of new buildings to resettle the residents of the old Curraleira neighborhood, an empty space remained. This film is about that place, about the encounters, stories, and activities that define it.

In Paris, there is a network of men married to young Filipinas, chosen through an international agency. Here is the portrait of a couple from this business: immersed in a happiness that drowns the spectator.

Nhi, a student at the film school, expresses her doubts and wonders about her future, during the last days of preparation for her graduation shoot. Produced by Ateliers Varan Vietnam.

It's back-to-school time, and three-year-old Oona really, really doesn't want to go to school.

The Vietnamese State has decided to modernise and to establish vast tourist complexes along the entire coastal zone of the agricultural region of Quang Nam, forcing peasants off their lands. The film recounts the reactions of the inhabitants, many of whom participated in the liberation struggle for the independence of Vietnam.

In an old district of Hanoi, formerly a village, new loud speakers must be repaired and installed. By observing everyday life, Vang Anh films with humor the animation caused by this event and plunges us into the heart of Vietnamese contradictions.

What does the people in the street think of nuclear physics today? These men and women do not walk far from the imposing Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie (Porte de la Villette, Paris). They have more nuanced ideas than one might imagine, just like those of scientists. This rapprochement between everyone is beneficial.

Every day, Catherine feeds and cares for the pigeons in Place Beaubourg, under the curious gaze of the passersby.

Sediq and Yousof work for the small electricity distribution sub-station in the district of Char Qala-e-Wazirabad. From day to day, they have to deal with the electricity shortage and repair the derelict installations. The film follows them as they're working and reveals life in a popular neighbourhood of Kabul.

The grandfather tries to explain the family history, the traditions, privileges and duties of the eldest son to his grandson, who agrees to stay on in the village, unlike others of his generation who have left for the city.