Occupation

2005, video, 17:37 min, color, stereo, French, Subtitles available in English.

Synopsis
"Occupation" is a short narrative portrait of Malik, a homeless Senegalese postcard salesman living in Aubervilliers, France. Malik lives out of his car; his existence has hardened into a circular routine of urban exploration by night and the selling of his self-made postcards by day. The cards are the result of his travels through the peripheral spaces of the Aubervilliers. Avoiding typical touristic cityscapes, Malik's postcards focus on highway overpasses, disused factories, and housing projects. The film shows one day and night in Malik's life, a life that is both entangled with his host city and permanently pushed to its margins.

Background
This project was shot during the month of September 2005 in Aubervilliers, France. It is commissioned by Les Laboratoires d'Aubervilliers, and will premier at Les Laboratoires on March 16, 2006.

Credits

Commissioned by
Les Laboratoires d'Aubervilliers

Additional Funding
Conseil général de la Seine-Saint-Denis

Malik
Eebra Touré

The Stranger
Émile Abossolo-Mbo

Director of Photography
Aldo Lee

Sound Recordist
David Zuckerman

Sound Mixing
Kenneth Babb

Editing
Maria Black

Production Assistant
Natasa Bodrozic

Researcher
Maud Desseignes

Production Coordinator
Guillaume Désanges
Rebecca Lee

Producer
Yvane Chapuis

Written and Directed by
John Menick

Music
"Departure" by Ellen Fullman
"Still" by Michael J. Schumacher

Film Excerpts
"Aubervilliers" (1947) by Eli Lotar and Jacques Prévert

Radio Excerpts
"Reporteur"/RFI du 14/02/05 ("Cachan, le plus gros squatt de France" de Yann LE GLEAU)
22/09/05 ("Les Elections législatives en Afghanistan", de Sophie MALIBEAUX)

Special Thanks
Damien Arrii
Mr et Mme Aubert
Joey Grossfield
Sofía Hernández Chong Cuy
Marie-Yolette Jura
Peter Lasch
Sandra Nomertin
François Piron
Loic Touzé
Eben Wood
Ville d'Aubervilliers
Plaine Commune
Centre technique municipal Léon Péjoux
Cinéma Le Studio
Fondation Fatras Prévert
Radio France Internationale