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