I AM A SEAMAN

JE SUIS MARIN

of MASSENET Sabine

FRANCE, 2016, 00:43:00

Production : GREC, Avec le soutien de la SCAM, brouillon d'un rêve, Avec le soutien du dispositif "La culture avec la copie privée"
Genre : Documentary, Creative documentary
Keyword : Portrait, Sea, Work

Summary :

Salengro avenue in Port-de-Bouc is a quiet street where few people wander.
Yet, every evening, at number 35, dozens of men, all from far-away countries, gather for a drink and a few hours of relaxation.
What used to be known as the brothel “Beausoleil” has now become a Seafarers’ Centre for the seamen who work on the tankers, bulk carriers, chemical tankers and container-ships which dock in the industrial zone of Fos-sur-Mer.

The film shifts between the industrial site of Golfe de Fos, where tankers and container ships dock, and the Seamen’s Club, which hosts sailors during stopovers at the port. The film alternates between images of the industrial world, where there seems to be no presence of human beings, and intimate filmed portraits shot within the welcoming space of the club. The latter’s relaxed and cheerful atmosphere contrasts with the harsh and painful tales recounted by the seamen who accepted to be filmed.
The men’s voices accompany images filmed in the club and outside. These men’s stories speak to us of world trade and of the human disasters provoked by its explosive development.
The film also shows various traces, models, drawings, identity photos and signed stones left behind at the club by the seamen, so they may thereby continue to exist on land to which they no longer feel they belong.

 

 

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