Atelier de conversation

"There are no strangers. Only people who we do not yet know.'"



Once a week, people from all over the world meet at the Atelier de conversation in the Centre Pompidou in Paris to talk to each other, to improve their French. People who would otherwise probably never meet come together at a place where "social and cultural borders dissolve" (via).

Author and director: Bernhard Braunstein
Awards: Opening Film, Cinéma du rèel 2017, Paris/France; Documentary Special Jury Prize, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2017, Karlovy Vary/Czech Republic; ARTE Documentary Film Prize, Duisburger Filmwoche 2017, Duisburg/Germany

"The therapy aspect is very important, but there are a lot of other aspects. I think the language is important and there are really people who are struggling and want to learn something and they’re writing down vocabulary. But there are also a lot of people who are coming there to find friends. The people connect and become friends, some help each other to find a flat or even move in together. So, this social part is very important and, of course, they are all going through a difficult experience and they feel that they can talk about it together. This is the therapy part of it."
Bernhard Braunstein

"We need to start to become human, rather than talking about the masses of immigrants that will destroy us, we should see the individuals. I think this is something you can see in my film. You see that these are people, these are humans with a story and not somehow a danger."
Bernhard Braunstein