from the fence to the film
les visages du petit nanterre
A banner on the fences, a QR code, and behind it, the faces of the neighborhood.
No walls of images this time: a single banner, hung in several spots around Petit Nanterre, on the fences of the sports court and the park. The façade of a tower, and in its windows what the children had filmed over the summer: a sign reading “avoir des papiers, ça ouvre le ciel” (having papers opens up the sky), the church, “liberté, égalité, fraternité,” a tribute to Nahel written on a wall.
At the bottom of the banner, a QR code. You just had to scan it to see the film, and the faces of the neighborhood.
- where
- Petit Nanterre, Nanterre: the fences of the sports court and the park
- when
- the winter after filming, 2023-2024
- what
- a banner hung in several spots around the neighborhood, and a 17-minute film
- with
- Zy’Va
on the banner
The film “Les visages du Petit Nanterre” came out of a one-month documentary residency in the summer of 2023 with young people from the neighborhood. Through this film, you can meet the residents of Petit Nanterre, and see what the young people wanted to show as they walked their territory with cameras.
the faces
what the children heard
“The vandalism, I’m against it. And police violence too, I’m against it.”
a resident, at the field
01:20 into the film
“It’s a very rich neighborhood: a diversity of people, of individuals. Human wealth.”
another resident, at the field
01:31 into the film
“I discovered another part of Nanterre, since I live downtown. And honestly, I loved it.”
a Zy’Va volunteer
02:43 into the film
“But I hope things get better for young people, because I don’t see a future.”
a resident, outside the buildings
03:28 into the film
“I love coming and passing things on, and thinking that something of what we share stays here.”
the circus workshop leader
05:32 into the film
“I’m Nanterre born and bred. I was born in Nanterre, I live in Nanterre, I work in Nanterre, I do everything in Nanterre.”
Soma Diabaté, deputy director of the children’s center
07:28 into the film
“I lived in the shantytowns, at 112 rue Georges-Bizet.”
Tahar’s story, at the hostel’s social café
13:30 into the film
“When I was back home, in 1960, when I started primary school, I went to school barefoot.”
a longtime resident of the hostel
14:01 into the film
all around the neighborhood
The same banner, hung on the fences of Petit Nanterre: along the sports court, in front of the buildings, at the park entrance.
