Marguerite Duras in the Lions' Den

synopsis

At the Vincennes zoo in Paris, we meet the lion keeper, whom Duras subtly interrogates about his work. The graphically eloquent shots of desperate lions circling in a cage move us to the question of whether such animals can be happy. Although we watch a zoo employee going about his routine work, you can sense that he is unnerved by the question

biography

Paul Seban (1929–2020) started as an assistant director for Jean Renoir, then had the opportunity to work with Orson Welles, Stanley Donen, Alexandre Astruc, Joris Ivens and Marcel Carné. Unfortunately, he was not able to complete his film projects, so he began to shoot mainly for television. He was known as a militant member of the French Communist Party.

more about film

director:

Paul Seban

contact

Nathanaël Arnould
Département Distribution & Solutionsprofessionnelles
narnould@ina.fr