SWAGGER - An Evening with French director Olivier Babinet (screening + Q&A)

Join us for one special evening with French director Olivier Babinet and the screening of his lastest film SWAGGER.

Presented at the Brava Theater
FRIDAY APRIL 7th at 8pm
(Doors open at 7:00 p.m | Screening at 8:00pm |Q&A at 9:30 p.m )

BUY YOUR TICKETS NOW HERE: ($19)
https://www.brava.org/all-events/2017/4/7/swagger-an-evening-with-director-olivier-babinet

Age recommended: 10+

Hope to see you there!
Novel Ciné - Apropos SF


* This Young French Cinema program was made possible with the support of UniFrance films and the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the U.S.
http://en.unifrance.org/
http://frenchculture.org/

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SWAGGER
A beautifully shot, deftly edited documentary about life in the projects of the tough Paris suburb of Aulnay-sous-Bois, as seen through the eyes of eleven middle school students, most of whom are first generation French citizens. Speaking directly to the camera as if it were a long-trusted confidante, these extraordinary young people talk about love, being French, life in the projects, and their visions of the future. Swagger seduces not only by the maturity, generosity, and frankness of its memorable subjects, but by the filmmaker’s efforts to lift it out of the quotidian by including charming flights of fancy that illustrate the children’s unspoken dreams. Shot in bold colors, with breathtaking aerial photography and a score by Jean-Benoît Dunckel, one half of legendary French electronic duo Air, Swagger is much more than another documentary about children’s resilience in challenging circumstances. But perhaps the film’s greatest accomplishment is to leave the viewer feeling they have made eleven new friends in a place they had never dreamed of visiting.

Awards
*César Awards, France 2017 - Best Documentary Film (nominated)
* Hamburg Film Festival 2016 - Best Documentary Film (nominated)
* Lumiere Awards, France 2017 - Best Documentary Film (nominated)

OLIVIER BABINET was born in Strasbourg. He was introduced to the public with the TV series Le Bidule, which was broadcast on Canal+ in 1999.
In 2008, he directed his first short film, C’est plutôt genre Johnny Walker. The film won many awards in festivals, including the Special Jury Prize at Clermont-Ferrand. His first feature film, Robert Mitchum Is Dead, co-directed with photographer Fred Kihn, was screened at the 63rd Cannes film festival in the ACID selection. The film won the Grand Prize at Premiers Plans Festival in Angers and was nominated for Best First Film at London Festival Raindance. In parallel to his activities as a screenwriter and director, Olivier Babinet worked with Aulnay-sous-Bois school students for two years, in a neighbourhood where 50% of families live below the poverty line. This collaboration resulted in these teenagers making eight fantasy and science fiction short films. The idea of making a documentary film about them gradually emerged from these encounters. Babinet was immersed with them for a total of four years. Swagger was presented at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016, in the ACID selection. Olivier Babinet is part of the artist collective “We are Familia” and has directed many music videos (for Cheveu, Zombie Zombie, Tomorrow’s World, Rita Mitsouko, Mathieu Boggaerts, etc.).
He also contributes to New York magazine “Chalet”, in which his semi- imaginary journal, “Desire & Disillusion”, is published as a series.