THE WORKSHOP (L’Atelier, 2017)

Portrait of youth without perspectives

OUT OF COMPETITION

France. Direction: Laurent Cantet. Production: Denis Freyd / Archipel 35, France 2 Cinéma. Screenplay: Robin Campillo, Laurent Cantet. Photography: Pierre Milon. Music: Bedis Tir, Édouard Pons. Edition: Mathilde Muyard. Cast: Marina Foïs, Matthieu Lucci, Warda Rammach, Issam Talbi, Florian Beaujean. Running time: 114 min

LANGUAGE: French / SUBTITLES: Basque

Subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

La Ciotat, France. Antoine has agreed to be part of a writing workshop set up to help a group of young people integrate into the world of work. Under the guidance of Olivia, a well-known novelist, he is asked to write a novel connected with the industrial past of their hometown and the shipyard that closed down 25 years ago. None of this interests Antoine, so he turns to more current concerns. His aggressive opposition to the group and Olivia both alarms and seduces the novelist.

The latest film by one of the most accomplished French filmmakers in recent years, director of Ressources humaines (1999), L'Emploi du temps (2001), Entre les murs (2008) and Retour à Ithaque (2014).