Le bal des gens bien & La Chenille ((The Ball of Decent People & The Caterpillar)
Screening and discussion with the directors
19h-20h30
Screening of two short films, followed by a discussion with the directors
Le Bal des gens bien (The Ball of Decent People), by Damien Laval and Loan Calmon
Duration: 32 min / Language: French
Synopsis: This 32-minute essay documentary offers a series of portraits of residents at the Jeanne Calment nursing home in Arles. Through their stories, the film explores a form of collective memory of the Arles region and attempts to weave together one story—their stories. In the rhythm of daily life, the shadows of Jeanne Calment and Vincent van Gogh appear regularly, creating a dialogue between yesterday’s painted portraits of Arlesians and those who today share their memories.
La Chenille (The Caterpillar), by Léonard Contramestre
Duration: 10–15 min / Language: French
Synopsis: Unpacking the hidden meaning of the “restarting caterpillar” became for me both a sociological and aesthetic quest, a phenomenon rich with threads to follow. The caterpillar is far more than a dance: it is the symbol of a middle class going in circles, clinging to one another at arm’s length, dragging itself forward as members push each other along in mutual dependence.
Why does the caterpillar “restart”? As if trying to set a great machine in motion again—perhaps mocking, with irony, a bygone working-class world built on assembly-line labor?
