2023-09-22 12:56:57
Golden key at the 42nd Psy de Lorquin festival 2023, At Clémenceau, a documentary film by Xavier Gayan is released in cinemas on September 27, 2023 (see programming below). It is a place where many come to talk, to fill a solitude, which can be frightening, even repulsive for some.
Their names are Gérard, Choukri or the Alsatian, FDJ scratchers or one-night stand-ups, they meet in a PMU tobacco bar, out of habit or to escape their solitude. Some live on the streets, others have experienced psychiatric hospitals, most suffer from addictions. They are the pulse and the confidence of a torn France. Here it’s a family, it’s a platform, it’s an anchor. They are at CLÉMENCEAU.
What is the origin of the film?
I met Georges, the owner of the Le Clémenceau bar in 2011, on the way to Compostela. I had gone walking for thirty-one days, me to forget that I was not happy with a script I had just written, him to find meaning in his life.
Despite our 15 years difference, and opposing paths of existence, a friendship was born. Since then I have come to see him many times in Saint-Raphaël. He knew and appreciated my work as a documentary filmmaker and one day asked me to make a film regarding his bar. I was hesitant because the subject was delicate. I didn’t want to film the bar’s customers like fairground characters and create sensationalism: there was therefore a moral question to ask. I wanted to film them with their humanity and their weaknesses, without making them heroes or painting idealized portraits.
What was the trigger for making the film?
I thought regarding it. It is true that filming a tobacco bar, at the suggestion of the boss, was not going to happen once more any time soon. Tobacco bars have always attracted me and addictions, a subject that has questioned me a lot. I have seen people very close to me commit suicide due to excessive consumption of tobacco and alcohol. I believe that ultimately that was the trigger.
What is the history of this bar?
Georges bought the bar for his daughter Neige. She was 21, had dropped out of medical school and was expecting a child. He thought it would be a good way to get him out of trouble. 13 years later, Neige mightn’t take it anymore. This bar had many impacts on his life, his children suffered from not seeing their mother. Georges, who was preparing to retire (he was in charge of guest rooms) decided to take over the bar.
What system was installed with the owner of the café and his regulars?
I told Georges that I would only make the film in their presence, only on the condition that I might interview them both. I wanted to tell this family story. I knew Neige’s deep humanity. I wanted her to express how much this experience had weighed on her existence. For several months Georges prepared the regulars for the arrival of a film crew and that is why we were fully accepted by almost all of the customers. Some scenes in the film were shot on the first day of filming. We decided to film in a direct, raw way: to capture the words and life of the bar while trying to recreate what usually happens there. I wanted to film mostly with a hand-held camera, as close as possible to the faces. We had this taste for close-ups with the cinematographer Aurélien Py, whom I have known for 20 years. It was essential to find for this film a cinematographer who would be able to film for several hours with a handheld camera, and to refocus as quickly as possible. I was lucky that he accepted, because in addition to his talent as a cameraman, he has an immense knowledge of the history of documentary (he is also the author of numerous analytical texts including an entire work devoted to Amsterdam Global Village by Johan Van der Keuken). We have a lot of references in common.
Is there a sociology of the bistro?
Of course, there are even several depending on the type of bar. As Georges explained: Clemenceau is “a neighborhood tobacco bar” and this word “neighborhood” is fundamental. We would not find this atmosphere everywhere, nor this relationship that many customers have expressed to us with this sentence: “This is family”. It is a place where many come to talk, to fill a solitude, and these places can be frightening, even repulsive for some. One of the most beautiful documentary approaches, it seems to me, is to listen to, record, ideas contrary to ours,
astonishing singularities.
What were your priorities during editing?
The producer, Laurène Belrose, convinced that we had our chances of being selected in a major festival, decided to finance a 4-week edit as quickly as possible to produce a working copy. We were like going through a tunnel to finish the edit in such a short time. Our priority was to restore the general impression I had during the filming, restore the image I had of the bar, and share my feelings. There were times when I mightn’t stand being in the bar anymore and I needed to go and film the sky and the sea to breathe. I think the viewer also needs to breathe. One of the priorities – and the biggest difficulties – was to find the rhythm, to succeed in finding the beginning of the film. The first discussion scene was extremely difficult to find. Another important point was to find the right place for each sequence at the heart of the overall construction of the film…
We sent the film to this famous festival and we weren’t selected, and shortly following, my producer died. I wandered around for over a year wondering what I might do with this film. I asked advice from a great documentary editor, Catherine Gouze, (who edited reference films in the 80s and 90s when there was greater freedom). It had already allowed me to affirm certain editing choices for my film The Poets Are Still Alive. She gave me three hours and encouraged me. For her, no scene should be subtracted but we had to edit them in the right place. This is what we
we are diligent. Since then the film has been selected in two festivals and each time was
first price.
Trailer
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