Une île et une nuit

Pirates des Lentillères is the name given to the very informal group formed by everyone who took part, directly or indirectly, in the making of the film Une île et une nuit. It is therefore not a collective in the strict sense of the word. Around 300 people contributed to the film, including human babies and dogs (but no spiders).

Une île et une nuit was created day by day over the course of two years within the Quartier Libre des Lentillères, without an overarching script. Every stage of the process was participatory and collective, guided by a commitment to horizontality and the sharing of skills.

Starting from a few guidelines proposed by one participant, a series of imagination workshops brought together around fifty people who developed a shared universe. A collection of scenes, characters, and ideas gradually emerged. The detailed writing and filming of the scenes then began in a non-chronological order, as the overall structure of the film had not yet been defined.

Each sequence was created by a group formed from the people who were available and motivated at the time, most of whom had no previous filmmaking experience. Some participants contributed to only one scene or one activity, while others followed several parts of the process and took on different tasks. Once edited, each scene was publicly screened, allowing participants to celebrate the result of their work and encouraging others to join the project.

The film was thus built organically, like a patchwork, reflecting the spirit of the place from which it emerged.