Emergence de la parole 2022

Directed by Sophie Comtet Kouyaté

Set against the backdrop of the transformation of the Canal Saint-Denis, this film focuses on the people who inhabit its banks: displaced families, solitary workers, students, entrepreneurs, and residents who left Paris—as well as those who grew up here, who have lived through its history and continue to shape it. Each person holds a unique view of the landscape, the neighborhood, and the construction sites, weaving their own narrative around them. The film explores how this environmental shift resonates with them—deep within their inner selves and sensibilities—and what they expect from it. It follows those who daily traverse these varied paths: riverbanks, crumbling sandpits, stairways, footbridges, public squares, broad avenues, and bike lanes, alongside elements of street furniture that are aging, ephemeral, or newly built. This film is the second installment in the documentary series Canal Saint-Denis, la bascule d’un paysage, in production since 2018.