I think in my preview of this event I somewhat mocked the fact that anyone, but those whose French classes were going to talk about the situation of immigrants in France (…moi), would really want to attend a documentary on the second week of classes. After seeing the film “Paris Mon Paradis,” I truly hope that everyone who has the chance goes to see this film. It’s extremely thought-provoking and dwells on a lot of issues many of us didn’t even know existed. AND, as an added bonus, the director of the film is at the viewing!
First-time movie director, Eléonore Yameogo, outlines the story of numerous immigrants from French-speaking areas of Africa who move to France, hoping to find the paradise of their dreams. The disillusionment of these young Africans to Paris and other cities in France is devastating for many. They are forced, for the first time in their lives, to go to bed hungry and even, sometimes, sleeping in the street. The film highlighted the complexities of the situations of African immigrants to France in a very informative manner. From what I perceived, it’s a combination of anticipated easy success, pressure from back home to be successful, and the unavailable documents, allowing for those immigrants to be properly employed or own a home. Of course, that is a generalization of the massive issue of illegal immigration in France, but those were some of the key points I picked up from Yameogo’s film.
I truly felt the passion of this film. I was moved without being scared away, which is a difficult task when dealing with human rights. So many times I feel directors use fear tactics, utilizing blood and gore, in order to prove their point; however, Yameogo’s interviews and personal connections with others allows for the film to work without scaring away the audience. Yameogo also did a beautiful job with the camera angles. One of the most memorable scenes of the documentary was when she interviewed a group of young men who lacked the proper funds for a home, so they slept in a carousel. The gold and shiny carousel was entirely metaphorical of the common cyclical nature of poverty and the disillusioned “paradis” of France for many African immigrants.
After the film, Eléonore Yameogo answered questions pertaining to the film. She pointed out that her initial intended audience was young Africans, informing them of the largely unknown challenges of immigrating to France. I thought that was very interesting, and it made a lot of sense after seeing the film. Changing a deeply rooted economical problem such as homelessness is obviously a challenge, but I believe educating others about the issue is a solid place to begin.
In case you missed it, go see tomorrow’s showing of “Paris mon paradis” at 4pm in North quad!! It will definitely be worth your while! (and don’t fret; there are English subtitles)
