Alliance Française Halifax

The documentary

“5-7 rue Corbeau” recounts the fate of an apartment building which has become the biggest slum in Paris. It looked like a normal apartment building from the outside. It welcomed the latest arrivals to Paris in its 168 one-bedroom apartments - a succession of people from the provinces, Belgians, Italians, Eastern European Jews, Spaniards, Portuguese, repatriated French, North Africans, Senegalese and then Malians. By 1998 when it had become the biggest slum in Paris, it was purchased and demolished by the city after its 350 occupants had been camping in the street for four months. Looking in on “5-7 rue Corbeau” allows us to see far and wide and provides fodder for a more general reflection on the city, housing, exile and the possibility of making a film a memorial.

Diversity Spotlight

Pier 21’s Diversity Spotlight encourages cultural groups to screen films at Pier 21 each month that tell their story, while exploring the themes of immigration, diversity, cultural heritage and identity. For more information please call 902-425-4104.

The Festival

Portraits of Paris features a series of documentaries, with English subtitles It is put together by the Forum des Images, under an agreement between the Fondation Alliance Française and the City of Paris

Showings

• 21/10/2010 19h : "Blanche nuit à Paris" (AGNS)
• 17/11/2010 19h : "5-7 rue Corbeau" (Pier 21)
• 25/11/2010 19h : "Jusqu'au dernier saltimbanque" (AGNS)
• 26/11/2010 19h : "Au fin Moka" (AFH +wine and cheese)
• 27/11/2010 19h : "Sur les toits de Paris" (AFH)

The Forum of Images

The Forum of Images was founded in 1988 with the goals of building an audiovisual memory of Paris and conserving its history, as well as its architectural, cultural and social evolution. Today, the Forum’s special collections comprise 5,500 films, of which 4,000 hours of footage are on Paris from 1895 to the present. The films include many different formats, such as documentaries, publicity films and short, medium and full-length dramas.

Having organized festivals, special appearances, discussions, workshops, master classes, cinema courses and various other meetings and gatherings, the Forum of Images itself has also produced more than seven hundred films pertaining to social and urban change. These have enriched its collection on Paris, as well as its body of amateur films, which are important components of twentieth century memory. Each year, the Forum opens its doors to new, formerly inaccessible collections. All of this is made possible through a partnership maintained with institutions working for either the production or distribution of cinematic or television work.