L’École de Simili-

2014, FR/AT, HD video, 16:9, colour, stereo, 29 min

Trailer
Credits
Presentations

Installation

Paris in the year 2030, the city is deserted. A handful of nomads stranded here meet up via a Craigslist ad and try to create a common space through language. They form a self-organized school (The Simili-School) in which they study the slang of the teenagers from the suburbs (Argot des Jeunes de la Cite) and by doing so also become closer as a group. 'The text' however, takes on a life of its own – and starts to unsettle their newly established 'home'

L’ École de Simili- relates different (post-)migrant realities to each other and deals with questions of how one can appropriate cultural and linguistic identity. It is a semi-fictional film that was realized in an open collaboration with four non-professional actors and a group of teenagers who participated in the scriptwriting process.    

“Hovering between documentary and fiction, this film follows the activities of a group of young middle class drifters who decide to set up a slang school in the suburbs of Paris. The quest to master the language of the street turns into a quest for identity through physical exchange and intimacy. Of different origins and backgrounds, the group becomes a microcosm of contemporary society - dislocated, alienated, and desperately searching for meaning through a relationship with the Other.”

(Kim Knowles, Edinburgh International Film Festival)

Credits

Director, writer, editor, producer: Marlies Pöschl
Protagonists: Joanna Oleradzka, Jairo Marulanda, Aldona Gritzmann, Ambra Dell’Aversano, Mayanaya, Nilton Martins, Luli Leblond Antoine, Frauke Steiner
Writing workshop participants: Jordan Falamanta, Nicolas Szmytko, Julien Eugene, Aryliani Neylane, Joan Edmond, Mohamed Khachai, Sylvain Proy, Jordan Abauzit, Maeva Duchateua, Gwendey Cecrom
Assistant director, assistant Producer: Sophie Lee Pierozzi
Director of photography: Romain Carcanade
2nd camera: Sonia Charoki
Sound engineer: Sébastien Linsolas

Sound editing and mix: Erwan Le Mao
Music: Wealth
Art Direction: Malika Ouedraogo
Costume Design: Deneth Piumakshi
Set Photography: Nadine Fraczkowski