L'Usine de Films Amateurs de Michel Gondry à la Galerie du 19M

On the occasion of the exhibition Métamorphoses, les chapeaux de Maison Michel, the installation takes on an unprecedented form at Galerie du 19M: an immersive setting inspired by an early twentieth-century millinery boutique-workshop becomes the playground and starting point for all stories.

In groups, participants imagine their story, write the main scenes, distribute roles, and then shoot their film on set. The experience ends with a collective screening of the short film just made.

It is proof that a group with nothing to do with cinema or artistic professions can operate autonomously and create a concentrate of laughter that will linger in eyes and hearts.

Michel Gondry,

Set of L'Usine de Films Amateurs ; Credits : © le19M - Clara Lenoir

Screenplay creation during L'Usine de Films Amateurs ; Credits : © le19M - Soliou Ligali

Set of L'Usine de Films Amateurs ; Credits : © le19M - Soliou Ligali

A genuine catalyst for collective creativity, L'Usine de Films Amateurs is not a film school. The goal is not to teach professional techniques, but to free the imagination, encourage play, and allow everyone to take part in collective creation.

For this edition specially designed for Galerie du 19M, hats, fabrics, gestures and millinery know-how all become sources of inspiration to give birth to stories as free as they are unexpected.

Prepare your visit

- From 10 years old. If a child participates, an adult must be present for the entire duration of the workshop.

- From 14h to 17h (slots from 3h), every Saturday

- Free upon booking

- This collaborative workshop is offered as part of the exhibition Métamorphoses, les chapeaux de Maison Michel.

About

L’Usine de Films Amateurs

Created in 2008 by director Michel Gondry in the wake of shooting his film Be Kind Rewind (Soyez sympas, rembobinez), L’Usine de Films Amateurs is above all a space for creation and encounters. For three hours, participants devise a story, decide together how to tell it, and make their own short film. Sets, props, and a few simple rules give them a framework, but they choose the content, divide up roles, and move the project forward. Rather than consuming pre-packaged entertainment, they live a collective, joyful experience entirely created by the group.

Following numerous installations in France and internationally, a large Usine de Films Amateurs will open at the end of the year at Cité du Cinéma in Saint-Denis for a duration of three years.