Gagarine by Fanny Liatard & Jérémy Trouilh at Chicago’s Summer Screenings

The Chicago International Film Festival, together with the City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events and our consular and cultural partners, presents Summer Screenings, a free weekly film series that celebrates Cinema in the City.

Gagarine
Dir. Fanny Liatard, Jérémy Trouilh (France, 2020, 97 min)
Youri, 16, has lived all his life in Cité Gagarine, a public housing complex on the outskirts of Paris. Gazing out his highrise window, he dreams of becoming an astronaut. When demolition plans for the complex are announced, Youri rallies friends and neighbors in hopes of saving the only home heʼs known. Shot on location and in collaboration with neighborhood residents, Gagarine is a moving meditation on the meaning of home. French with subtitles.

Post-screening discussion led by Professor Ellen McClure of University of Illinois-Chicago

Free tickets available: Monday, June 26

“A poignant, inspiring movie” – Laurel Graeber, The New York Times

“Urban fantasy Gagarine marks an audacious feature debut for writing-directing duo Fanny Liatard and Jérémy Trouilh [who] find poetry in the everyday, thanks to vividly unusual lighting, DOP Victor Seguin’s striking widescreen compositions, and magical touches.… this dreamlike romance can certainly be deemed a flagship for the continuation of imagination and ambition in French cinema.”  – Jonathan Romney, Screen 

“A lovely and moving debut… Liatard and Trouilh manage the transitions between real and imaginary beautifully” – Jessica Kiang, Variety