On France Culture, a podcast to delve into underground Marseille cinema

Marseille cinema developed against the tide: far from big industries and Parisian careerism. By focusing on self-production, directors, established or aspiring, create low-budget films, often shot in a short time and in the streets, to tell the stories of the invisible districts of Marseille.

Inspired by John Cassavetes, this “guerrilla” spirit gives birth to a new wave of self-produced works, driven by an artistic effervescence that touches all areas. Although the city does not yet have significant infrastructure and resources to make cinema accessible to all, a young generation from diverse backgrounds is uniting to reinvent Marseille cinema.

A cultural ferment

An adventure explored in this series from the LSD collection of France Culture, meeting numerous artists who share their journeys and their anecdotes about the difficulties of the first shoots, echoing the experience of seasoned professionals in their beginnings, including Robert Guédiguian and Jean-Bernard Marlin, to whom the first episode is dedicated. In the second, five figures from this Marseille underground discuss their working conditions and their passion for the big screen while the third focuses on the influence of urban music. The whole thing ends with a dive into the schools and associations that participate in this ecosystem.

Throughout his work, journalist Gaël Gillon walks his microphone between a screenwriting workshop in the northern districts, a film club near La Canebière set up incognito during the Covid and even in training courses using the method of the actor studio. To the rhythm of extracts and hip-hop music, his dense gaze reveals this organized gang from Marseille, followers of the D system, the only solution to respond to the urgency to create which drives everyone.