To Exist Under Permanent Suspicion
A woman on the verge of a corporate breakdown. The air is all but sucked out of Valentin Noujaïm’s deliciously miasmic horror set in La Défense, Europe’s largest purpose-built business district on the outskirts of Paris. Ambitious executive Claire (played by Saint Omer’s Kayije Kagame) is pitching a new skyscraper when she begins to descend into a fugue state fueled by visions of violent alienation.
Programmer’s Note
The second chapter in Noujaïm’s La Défense trilogy continues to explore the politics and emotions of space in the alienating corporate architecture and postcolonial anti-monuments of the district. Impregnated with a chilling, metallic, neo-noir aesthetic elevated by the eerie urban dubscapes of Space Afrika, we witness Claire’s deliriously unfolding malaise through the fractured isolation of her desktop screen. 1990s-inspired, warping 3D mesh simulations peel off the layers of the building, getting closer to the core of her labour imprisonment and literal intoxication. And, emanating from the eerie absence of dialogue, a recurring incantation of extraction and revulsion – “gas, gold, glass, tears, piss, silver, metal, sand, leather, dust, concrete…” (Ane Lopez)
Director Biography
Valentin Noujaïm’s practice delves into the dynamic interplay of real and imagined lives, crafting intricate narratives that transport viewers to fantastical realms inhabited by enigmatic characters. His works reflect complexities of power and dominance within French society. Noujaïm was a resident at Artagon (Marseille), Villa Medici (Rome) and Lafayette Anticipations (Paris). Supported by funding organisations such as Doha Film Institute, AFAC – Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, CNAP – Centre National des Arts Plastiques, and CNC – Centre National du Cinéma et de l’Image Animée, his works have been screened internationally, including at Centre Pompidou; CPH:DOX; DocLisboa; Dokufest; CNAC Magasin; BlackStar Film Festival; and Festival International du cinéma de Nyon.
Director Filmography
Pacific Club (2023), Saturnalia (2022), Daughters of Destiny (2021), Venus Retrograde (2020/2021), The Blue Star (2019), Before She Forgets Heliopolis (2019)
