On 27 October 2005 in Clichy-sous-Bois, two teenagers met their death when hiding from the police in an electricity substation. Their death triggered riots that set the French suburbs alight, prompting Interior Minister Sarkozy to declare a state of emergency – a measure not seen since the Algerian War. Twenty-six-year-old Ladj Ly, the future director of Miserables and resident of the Bosquets high-rise estate, filmed on the fly in the streets, close to the rioters and mediators and directly confronted with the police. The following year saw a sudden spate of media coverage and the deployment of a repressive arsenal. Anger was channelled into demonstrations and demands but violence “for nothing” turns in on itself – as this film-tract fiercely shows. FM
SCREENINGS
LE CONCORDE
SAT 16 > 8.30pm
LE CINÉMATOGRAPHE
FRI 22 > 5pm
