L’Abri de Rien

The French have always been a dab hand at cinematic gorgeousness, and now they’re paving the way in the wide world of web documentary too. Just spotted on ARTE’s Webdocs Twitter feed is Samuel Bollendorff’s (reportage photography badasss and genre pioneer) brand new, beautifully simple series of audio-visual testimonies addressing dignity and degradation around the pressing issue of inadequate housing in Paris. Combining audio recordings with Bollendorff’s exquisite filmic stills and video, the project quietly, poignantly reflects on the volatility of access to decent housing; on how easily life’s trajectory can land one in a pile of marginal nothingness. Alas once again, the Frenchoids refuse to provide subtitles in languages other than their own – but even for non-speakers, the images alone are certainly worth a virtual visit.