Nos Parcours

Unaccompanied minors living in the Rennes area participated in a filmmaking workshop that I organized, in collaboration with Utopia56 and Le 4bis. They used filmmaking techniques to tell their stories. The result is a challenging yet essential work that sheds light on their reality as vulnerable children facing a Kafkaesque French bureaucracy.

The Rennes branch of the Utopia56 association supports over 70 young people in their appeals for minority status before the juvenile court judge. While awaiting a response from the French administration to have their status as minors recognized, they are in limbo, dependent on community support and the network of associations. This population is incredibly vulnerable, invisible, and suffers from poor health despite their young age. Many feel hopeless, weary of a long bureaucratic process with an uncertain outcome.

I am a filmmaker who volunteers daily with Utopia56. As part of this commitment, I regularly meet with these young minors, helping them set up in makeshift tents and accompanying them to their hospital appointments. Some are traumatized by what they experienced in their home countries and by their odysseys to reach France. Their stories moved me deeply; I identified with these children searching for a better life. I was shocked by their treatment and their appalling living conditions in 21st-century France.

I felt that these young people needed to be able to express themselves and find emancipation through film; it's a powerful way to get to know each other, overcome fears and misunderstandings, and discover what we have in common. I believe in the power of film to bring about this change so that unaccompanied minors can feel more integrated. I know it won't help them materially, but it will help them build a network of support through the various people they might interact with during the process.

The goal was to invite them to use the means and tools of cinema to express their voices and convey their messages. The experience was a success. They mastered the techniques to create a beautiful film about their daily lives. They filmed their surroundings poetically, conducted interviews with residents of Rennes, and staged their difficult journey.

Directed by Albertina Simão, Miguel João Carlos, Herodina Chiquito Dos Santos, Mariam Konet, Joshua Kadikuami, Miguel Txangala, Jafe Txangala, Sékou Keita, Obed Ndombele Simão, Alvin Tenta

Workshop conducted by Romain Champalaune with the support of Utopia56 & Le 4bis