Pourrons-nous vivre ensemble?
In the mid-2000s, Philippe Lesage directed his first feature-length documentary, which is as much a portrait of sociologist Alain Touraine than a reflection on his most influential social analyses.
In the presence of the director
In a low-income development on the fringes of Paris, the ashes of the night's riots drift down onto the lives of its youth. Games, rap, intimacy, boredom, and tension resonate amid the concrete. On the street, demonstrations see groups clash and splinter. Meanwhile, in the 6th arrondissement, students at Fenelon Lycee meet between classes, embrace, share their fears, and imagine their future. Sociologist Alain Touraine, old enough to be their grandfather, tries to give meaning to a fractured society. He is welcomed with open arms in Latin America where his ideas still find an audience. Chronicle of a year in Paris.
Philippe Lesage
Philippe Lesage is a graduate of McGill University in literature and of the European Film College (Denmark). He began his career as a documentary filmmaker. In 2008, he returned to the European Film College to teach documentary film. In May 2011, a retrospective of Lesage's films entitled Découvrir Lesage was held at the Cinémathèque québécoise. In the 2010s, the filmmaker shot Laylou, Copenhague: A Love Story, The Demons and finally Genese. The latter two films were particularly successful, winning awards at numerous international festivals.
