“L’Origine de la Tendresse” et Autres Contes
(“L’Origine de la Tendresse” and Other Tales)

Tuesday, March 24, 2009, 7 p.m.

All showings are in the Mother Theresa Hackelmeier Memorial Library Auditorium

L’Origine de la Tendresse is a program of six French short films. Gratte-Papier (Pen-Pusher) by Guillaume Martinez (2005, 8 minutes, Silver Bear, Berlin Film Festival 2005). A day like any other in the Parisian metro—or so it seems. A young man reads and a young woman is seated next to him. They have nothing in common, yet they will be introduced in an unexpected fashion. Ma mère, une histoire d'immigration (My Mother, Story of an Immigration) by Felipe Canales (2005, 15 minutes). This is a story of the director's mother who left Algeria in 1956 to reunite with her husband in Paris. It is also the story of three generations of women. Je suis une voix (One Voice, One Vote) by Jeanne Paturle and Cécile Rousset (2007, 13 minutes, animated). In the run-up to the 2007 presidential elections, a look at the importance of voting. Le Dernier jour (The Last Day) by Olivier Bourbeillon (2006, 12 minutes). On July 1, 2005, the 1867 Schneider and Co. power hammer N°125 ceased operating at the former smithy of the Brest military harbour. This is the story of the machine and its workers' last working day. L'origine de la Tendresse by Alain-Paul Mallard (1999, 32 minutes, Short Film Award, Montreal Festival of New Cinema 1999). Elise is a quiet, solitary woman who works as a museum attendant. Nothing really happens in her life. And in a life in which nothing happens, no moment is devoid of meaning. Kitchen by Alice Winocour (2004, 15 minutes, TV5 Award for Best Short Film in the French language, Geneva international Film and Television Festival 2005). A woman, her husband and two lobsters: a recipe that turns sour.