STALINGRAD LOVERS
(FROM NOVEMBER, 3 2008 TO DECEMBER, 24 2009)
In the course of their residency at the CENTQUATRE, Fleur Albert and Laurent Roth are making a full length film about drug addiction and social exclusion.
"Stalingrad Lovers" is a retrospective inquiry, between fiction and documentary, into the destiny of ten characters, drug addicts living in the Stalingrad and Goutte d’Or areas of Paris. Ten different stories cross each other and come together in the streets, the day centres and the squats.
Behind all these stories looms the figure of Mehdi, a crack user who died in the street. In a closed space and within a unique set, the ten characters of the film reconstruct "imagined" fragments of the dead man’s life. They explore the mental and physical territory of his chaotic everyday existence, share his dreams of another life, and set off in search of a lost childhood.
Produced by La Huit production, developped with the support of Centre Images (Agence régionale du Centre pour le cinéma et l'audiovisuel) the Media program of European Union, the PROCIREP and the House of Image of Basse-Normandie.
BIOGRAPHY
Fleur Albert
Born in 1972 in Montaigu (Vendee), she lives and works in Paris.
Having studied modern literature and cinema, she began her career with the film-maker Jean-Michel Carré (maker of numerous films about prison, drug addiction and prostitution). She was also Jean-Luc Godard's assistant in "Eloge de l’Amour".
As a young director, she was preoccupied by the fringes of society and interested in old forms of resistance: "Clarisse est partie" (Artline Films/France 3/2001), "Le silence des rizières" (full length documentary released in cinemas in January 2006). Her documentaries explore filiations and remembrance, and are structured around absent figures. She pursues this quest for the destiny of the "emancipated slaves" to this day.
Laurent ROTH
Born in Paris in 1961, he lives and works in the Parisian region.
After studying philosophy, he directed a number of films which won prizes in several festivals including: "Henri Alekan, des lumières et des hommes" (1986); "Les Yeux brûlés" (1986); "Modèle depuis toujours" (1988); "l’Impromptu de Jacques Copeau" (1993). Since 2003, he has played himself in what he calls "documentary fantasies": "Une Maison de famille", (Cauri Films/France 2/2004) and "J’ai quitté l’Aquitaine" (Cauri Films/France 3 Aquitaine/2005) which won the Prix de la Creation/Prix de la Ville de Clermont-Ferrand at the 2005 Traces of Life Festival, and was nominated for Etoiles de la Scam 2006.
As a scriptwriter, he cultivates a predilection for all worlds where fiction crosses reality and has collaborated with a number of film makers such as Jean-Daniel Pollet, Peter Watkins, Vincent Dieutre and Dominique Cabrera. Laurent Roth has published two books on Abbas Kiarostami and Chris Marker.
More on Laurent Roth on his website: http://laurent.roth.googlepages.com
