Pacific Club
dir. Valentin Noujaïm
short film, documentary, hybrid
France, Qatar / 16 minutes / 2023
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Written and directed by Valentin Noujaïm
Production : Iliade et films - Manon Messiant
Cinematography : Pauline Domejean
Sound : Lucas Domejean
Editing : Dinah Ekchajzer
Music : Space Afrika
VFX : Nicolas Pirus
Sound editing : Ary Carpman
Mixing engineer : Maxime Roy
Featuring : Azedine Benabdelmouene / Taos Bertrand / Julien Mezence
Selected press
Artforum: Valentin Noujaïm's requiem for a razed nightclub
Filmmaker's bio
Born in France in 1991
Noujaïm’s practice delves into the dynamic interplay of real and imagined lives, crafting intricate narratives that transport viewers to fantastical realms inhabited by enigmatic characters. Focusing on improvised lives, compressed lives, and extinct lives, his works serve as mirrors, reflecting the complexities of power and dominance within French society.
Noujaïm was a resident at Artagon (Marseille), Villa Medici (Rome) and Lafayette Anticipations (Paris). Supported by funding organizations such as Doha Film Institute, AFAC – Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, CNAP – Centre National des Arts Plastiques, and CNC – Centre National du Cinéma et de l’Image Animée, his works have been screened internationally, including: Centre Pompidou (Paris); CPH:DOX (Copenhagen); DocLisboa; Dokufest (Prizren, Kosovo); CNAC Magasin (Grenoble); BlackStar Film Festival (Philadelphia, USA); Festival International du cinéma de Nyon.
Synopsis
In 1979, the Pacific Club was opened in the basement of La Défense - the business district of Paris. It was the first nightclub for Arabs from the suburbs; a parallel world of dance, sweat, young loves, and one-night utopias. Azedine, 17 years old at the time, tells us the forgotten story of this club and of this generation who dreamed of integrating into France but who soon came face to face with racism, the AIDS epidemic, and heroin.
Awards
Best Short Dox - Dokufest
Prix George for Best Documentary Form - Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur
Jury Special Mention - CPH:DOX
Jury Special Mention - Lichter FF
Jury Special Mention - Videoex
Nominated for the César Awards (FR) 2024
Festivals & screenings
World premiere : CPH:DOX - New:Visions Competition, DK
Champs-Élysées Film Festival - French Competition, FR
Lichter Film Festival, DE
Kurzfilmfest Hamburg - International Competition, DE
Videoex - International Competition, CH
Black Star Film Festival - Competition, US
Dokufest - Competition, Kosovo
Silhouette Festival - Competition, FR
Metrograph - Shasha Movies presents: Valentin Noujaïm, US
Film Festival Heceg Novi, Montenegro - Competition, ME
Festival International de Lille, FR
Villa Medici Film Festival - Competition, IT
Bucharest Int. Experimental Film Festival - Competition, RO
Encounters Film Festival - Competition, UK
BFI London Film Festival - Experimenta, UK
CineAstra - 'second sights and infrared sprites', UK
Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur - Competition, CH
Kasseler Dokfest - Competition, DE
PAF - Festival of Film Animation and Contemporary Art, CZ
Batalha Cinema - 'After Hours: Clubbing & Cinema', PT
MENA Festival, CA
Hyphae, US
Trauma Bar/ Synergie - 'Echoes of Synchronicity', DE
SeeYou Sound Int. Music Film Festival, IT
Sinema Transtopia - 'Sonic Agency', DE
Centre Pompidou - in conversation with Alice Diop, FR
Glasgow Short Film Festival, UK
REGARD – Saguenay International Short Film Festival, CA
Exhibitions
Lafayette Anticipations, FR
« Night Shift » curated by Crystallmess at
KANAL-Centre Pompidou, BE
VoD
The Criterion Channel - 'Radical Dreams, Underground Sounds: 13 films presented by DWELLER'
available in US & Canada from Feb. 2024