Synopsis:
In Epinay-sur-Seine, a Paris suburb, Ali’s grocery store is the only shop still in business in the decayed shopping center of the neighborhood «la Source». The store is the only place left for the forsaken inhabitants of the surrounding tower blocks to meet and exchange daily experiences. This documentary film takes us into the everyday scenes at a small grocery store and the lives of its customers. Ali, the charismatic shopkeeper, also part-time singer, benevolently welcomes everyone entering his store. This moving and often amusing chronicle shows the importance of the small shop “around the corner.” As portrayed in this documentary people still share, in spite of hardship and poverty, user-friendliness, laughter, and human warmth.
Filmmaker’s Biography:
Chantal Briet was born in Roubaix, France. She first studied modern literature before pursuing a degree in film studies. She co-directed her first film Inch’Allah in 1987 with Jean-Pierre Lenoir, which won the jury prize at the Lille Film Festival that year.
Between 1988 and 2002, she directed a dozen short and documentary films, including Springtime at La Source (Printemps A La Source, 2005), A Child Now (Un Enfant Tout De Suite, 2000), and Des-Tours Et Chemins (1991). Alimentation Generale is her first feature-length film.
Credits:
Scriptwriter and Director: Chantal Briet
Camera: Sophie Bachelier, Sylvia Calle, Chantal Briet
Sound: Jean-Paul Guirado, Guillaume Le Braz
Editor: Benoît Alavoine, Nathalie Charles
Sound Editing: Nadine Makris
Sound Design: Frédéric Bielle
Music: Martin Wheeler
Producer: Ludovic Arnal
Production Company: Yenta Production
CAST: Ali Zebboudj, Jeanine Anne, Anne-Marie Pigeard, Jamaa Hemmou, Cyprien Gian, Roberto Melias, Akram Azzouz, Rabbah Seridj |
