The Workshop (2017)
(L’atelier, Laurent Cantet, France 2017, 113 min., DCP, French w/subtitles)
Rochester Premiere | Special Introduction and Q&A. La Ciotat, the South of France. Antoine attends a summer writing workshop in which a few young people have been selected to write a crime thriller with the help of Olivia, a famous novelist. The creative process will recall the town’s industrial past, a form of nostalgia to which Antoine feels indifferent. More concerned with the fears of the modern world, the young man soon clashes with the group and with Olivia, who seems at the same time alarmed and captivated by Antoine’s violence. A fascinating investigation into perception and radicalization.
Presented in collaboration with the University of Rochester Humanities Center as part of its 2018–19 series “Expertise and Evidence.” Special introduction by Stephen Schottenfeld, associate professor of English, who will also participate in a Q&A after the screening.