Jean-Gabriel Périot

An intimate and political history of the French working class from the early 1950s to the present day.

Whaling has been around for centuries. It seems to be the fruit of man’s violence, destroying himself by destroying nature. Accompanying the rise of capitalism, the practice survives today, reflecting humans’ eternal destructiveness of nature and the creatures unable to resist them.

Whaling has been around for centuries. It seems to be the fruit of man’s violence, destroying himself by destroying nature. Accompanying the rise of capitalism, the practice survives today, reflecting humans’ eternal destructiveness of nature and the creatures unable to resist them.

Following Bosnia and Herzegovina’s declaration of independence in April 1992, Bosnian Serb troops besieged and bombed Sarajevo. Over a period of four years, five young filmmakers documented the bombardments and daily life during the siege—for some, the aim was simply to report the news; for others, it was a way of dealing with their fears.

An intimate and political history of the French working class from the early 1950s to the present day.

Eight portraits, eight dreams, eight escapes

Pornography can sometimes be beautiful, sensitive, aesthetic. A movie about making love, respirations, exhibition, loveniness, silences...

French archive images of the Second World War pass in a dizzying tempo. The pace slows when we see images of the liberation. We see happy, liberated citizens, but slowly a cruel scene becomes visible. Women who are alleged to have had a relationship with the Germans are publicly insulted, shaved and beaten.

"We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed. A few people cried. Most people were silent."

At the end of the 1960s the post-war generation began to revolt against their parents. This was a generation disillusioned by anti-communist capitalism and a state apparatus in which they believed they saw fascist tendencies. This generation included journalist Ulrike Meinhof, lawyer Horst Mahler, filmmaker Holger Meins as well as students Gudrun Ensslin and Andreas Baader.

French archive images of the Second World War pass in a dizzying tempo. The pace slows when we see images of the liberation. We see happy, liberated citizens, but slowly a cruel scene becomes visible. Women who are alleged to have had a relationship with the Germans are publicly insulted, shaved and beaten.

In 1914, the Czech architect Jan Letzel designed in the Japanese city of Hiroshima Center for the World Expo, which has turned into ruins after the atomic bombing in August 1945. “Atomic Dome” – all that remains of the destroyed palace of the exhibition – has become part of the Hiroshima memorial. In 2007, French sculptor, painter and film director Jean-Gabriel Périot assembled this cinematic collage from hundreds of multi-format, color and black and white photographs of different years’ of “Genbaku Dome”.

In 1914, the Czech architect Jan Letzel designed in the Japanese city of Hiroshima Center for the World Expo, which has turned into ruins after the atomic bombing in August 1945. “Atomic Dome” – all that remains of the destroyed palace of the exhibition – has become part of the Hiroshima memorial. In 2007, French sculptor, painter and film director Jean-Gabriel Périot assembled this cinematic collage from hundreds of multi-format, color and black and white photographs of different years’ of “Genbaku Dome”.

Documentary short about the Black Panther movement.

Today's been sad. Tomorrow won't get any better. Let's un-do it all over again

About police men's sensibility.

About police men's sensibility.

About police men's sensibility.

About police men's sensibility.

Revolution, queer and rock n roll.

A documentary experiment of great emotional power, about freedom and the strength of human affective bonds. We witness a concert given by the inmates of a prison in Orléans. Yet, they remain unseen, beyond the prison walls, all along the film, while the camera looks at those who listen to the music outside, in front of the prison. Silent emotions, the rapt faces of the listeners, humming along the prisoners, and their unrevealed personal histories, form a human gallery of potential stories, born out of the viewer's imagination.

If politics were to come back, it could only be from its savage and disreputable fringe. Then, a muffled rumor shall arise whence that roar is heard: "We are scum! We are barbarian!" (Alain Brossat)

If politics were to come back, it could only be from its savage and disreputable fringe. Then, a muffled rumor shall arise whence that roar is heard: "We are scum! We are barbarian!" (Alain Brossat)

If politics were to come back, it could only be from its savage and disreputable fringe. Then, a muffled rumor shall arise whence that roar is heard: "We are scum! We are barbarian!" (Alain Brossat)

In 1914, the Czech architect Jan Letzel designed in the Japanese city of Hiroshima Center for the World Expo, which has turned into ruins after the atomic bombing in August 1945. “Atomic Dome” – all that remains of the destroyed palace of the exhibition – has become part of the Hiroshima memorial. In 2007, French sculptor, painter and film director Jean-Gabriel Périot assembled this cinematic collage from hundreds of multi-format, color and black and white photographs of different years’ of “Genbaku Dome”.

In 1914, the Czech architect Jan Letzel designed in the Japanese city of Hiroshima Center for the World Expo, which has turned into ruins after the atomic bombing in August 1945. “Atomic Dome” – all that remains of the destroyed palace of the exhibition – has become part of the Hiroshima memorial. In 2007, French sculptor, painter and film director Jean-Gabriel Périot assembled this cinematic collage from hundreds of multi-format, color and black and white photographs of different years’ of “Genbaku Dome”.

On the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Akihiro, a native Japanese filmmaker living in Paris, travels to Japan to interview survivors for a documentary commemorating the victims of the attack. Deeply moved by the interviews, he decides to take a break to wander through the city during which he meets Michiko, a merry, enigmatic young woman. Michiko takes him for a joyful and improvised journey from the city towards the sea where the horrors of the past are mingled with the simplicity of the present.

On the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Akihiro, a native Japanese filmmaker living in Paris, travels to Japan to interview survivors for a documentary commemorating the victims of the attack. Deeply moved by the interviews, he decides to take a break to wander through the city during which he meets Michiko, a merry, enigmatic young woman. Michiko takes him for a joyful and improvised journey from the city towards the sea where the horrors of the past are mingled with the simplicity of the present.

On the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Akihiro, a native Japanese filmmaker living in Paris, travels to Japan to interview survivors for a documentary commemorating the victims of the attack. Deeply moved by the interviews, he decides to take a break to wander through the city during which he meets Michiko, a merry, enigmatic young woman. Michiko takes him for a joyful and improvised journey from the city towards the sea where the horrors of the past are mingled with the simplicity of the present.

Whaling has been around for centuries. It seems to be the fruit of man’s violence, destroying himself by destroying nature. Accompanying the rise of capitalism, the practice survives today, reflecting humans’ eternal destructiveness of nature and the creatures unable to resist them.

The story is adapted from Baader-Meinhof by Don DeLillo and it depicts the mysterious meeting between a woman and a man in an art gallery.

“I make films because I don’t know. I seek. I try to see things more clearly, pushing myself to at least know how to express questions. It’s a way for me to open a place for thought.” - Jean-Gabriel Périot

A worker woman lives in her little house, works in a factory, shops in a market. One morning, the factory starts moving and gets out of the field…

Medically speaking, we're moving forward.

Jean-Gabriel Périot's short film.

A very private moment in which the body becomes an artificial and fabricated entity. A young man changes in front of a mirror. He cleans the scars on his stomach, takes out his contact lenses, removes his dentures and brushes his teeth before leaving. This brings up the question of appearances: here we see what we are not in the habit of seeing. There is also the question of intimacy.... A question, however, that remains unanswered.

Following Bosnia and Herzegovina’s declaration of independence in April 1992, Bosnian Serb troops besieged and bombed Sarajevo. Over a period of four years, five young filmmakers documented the bombardments and daily life during the siege—for some, the aim was simply to report the news; for others, it was a way of dealing with their fears.

Pornography can sometimes be beautiful, sensitive, aesthetic. A movie about making love, respirations, exhibition, loveniness, silences...

"An investigation of the intimate and the political. An inventory of our contemporary state of resignation, self-sacrifice and emptiness. An inventory of (my?) pessimism. A desire for confrontation. Faces. Portraits of happy people. Insurmountable thoughts. States of mind. And public space. Bringing intimate words back into the city. Bringing political discourse back to the city." - Jean-Gabriel Périot

Following Bosnia and Herzegovina’s declaration of independence in April 1992, Bosnian Serb troops besieged and bombed Sarajevo. Over a period of four years, five young filmmakers documented the bombardments and daily life during the siege—for some, the aim was simply to report the news; for others, it was a way of dealing with their fears.

By going back into the cinema of the 1968 era and going forward with present-day interviews of young people who replay excerpts of films jumping out from the past, Our Defeats draw the portrait of our current relations with politics. Our Defeats, or do we keep enough forces to confront ourselves with the chaos of today?

By going back into the cinema of the 1968 era and going forward with present-day interviews of young people who replay excerpts of films jumping out from the past, Our Defeats draw the portrait of our current relations with politics. Our Defeats, or do we keep enough forces to confront ourselves with the chaos of today?

"I'm gay, I'm a fag, I'm proud and I really love sex."

Biting commentary on the assimilation of homosexuals into mainstream society illustrated through the use of cut-out animation.

A beautiful, elegiac cycle expressing the boundless hope and infinite nostalgia of the voyage, consisting entirely of still images and painstakingly assembled into a emotionally moving pictorial essay. Periot: 'Remember that I am the cause of your journey. Don't lose me along the way.'

Jean-Gabriel Périot sketches the portrait of a group of women for whom music is a means of resistance and of escaping isolation.

Jean-Gabriel Périot sketches the portrait of a group of women for whom music is a means of resistance and of escaping isolation.

Jean-Gabriel Périot sketches the portrait of a group of women for whom music is a means of resistance and of escaping isolation.

Calais, a few weeks before its clearing.The 'Jungle' is a place where thousands of migrants live and wait to go to England, or just that somebody takes care of them. And they wander in this deserted place, maybe to survive to our indifference.

The 21st of april 2002 was the day of the first round of the presidential elections. The two candidates chosen for the 2nd round of the elections were right wing Jacques Chirac and right fascist, homophobe and racist Jean-Marie Le Pen. When the result were announced, i was overwhelmed by so many emotions: where i had lived, what i have done, what i have not done, and how i too was responsible for this outcome... An irretrievable turning point. One of those very few moments when one feels that one is really living history. But unfortunately, history at its blackest. That very night was also the night my close friends organised a surprise birthday party for me. The cake had a bitter taste. Clash of public and private matters, small things of my intimate life and history in the making...

We are many. We are uniforms. We smile in the picture. But We are NOT happy

An aquatic ballet to the sound of It's Raining Men.

A young man, looking for a job...

A film about politics and tomatoes.

Documentary short about the Black Panther movement.

Documentary short about the Black Panther movement.

Documentary short about the Black Panther movement.

The life of Michèle Firk, a trailblazing French journalist, film critic and anti-colonial activist who rose to prominence in the 1960s and 1970s.