Doha Film Institute
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In 1979, the Pacific Club opened in the basements of la Défense—Paris’ business district. It was the first nightclub to welcome Arabs from the suburbs. Azedine, 18 years old at the time, tells us the forgotten story of this club and those who visited it.
La Défense, the 1980s. Paris’ business district is booming—in the day, men and women come to work—in the night, the district empties. Meanwhile, French President François Mitterrand proudly launches the monumental Grande Arche de la Défense in honour of the French Revolution and “Liberty, Equality and Fraternity”. The Pacific Club opens beneath it all. In 1979, the Pacific Club was the first nightclub to welcome young Arab boys and girls from the suburbs, who were usually banned from Paris’ nightclubs. For a decade, they danced under the glass and steel towers of this district. They represented the first generation of sons and daughters of immigrants who dreamed of integrating into France. However, they weren’t dressed like other French youth, and they listened to a different type of music—hip hop, soul, and R'n'B. Guided by the voice of Azedine, 18 years old in 1983, the film sheds light on the segregation of the Parisian nightlife, mixing archives and wanderings. Pacific Club is a testimony, on film, of these forgotten and hidden places where immigrants lived, danced and loved, to prevent them from disappearing.

Credits

Director
Valentin Noujaïm
Screenwriter
Valentin Noujaïm
Producer
Manon Messiant

About the Director

Valentin Noujaïm
"Valentin Noujaïm graduated from the Screenwriting Department of La Fémis in Paris and was a guest student at the Städelschule in Frankfurt am Main. Noujaïm's work challenges dominant narratives in society, shedding light on the lives of individuals and communities historically marginalised by systemic violence. The fantasised worlds he creates through his films also underline his commitment to ex
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