Gagarine

France, 98m, DCP

Showtimes & Tickets

Screened April 1–14, 2022

Youri (Alseni Bathily), 16, has lived all his life in Gagarine Cité, a vast red-brick housing project on the outskirts of Paris. From the heights of his apartment, he dreams of becoming an astronaut. But when plans to demolish his community’s home are leaked, Youri joins the resistance. With his friends, Diana (Lyna Khoudri) and Houssam (Jamil McCraven), he embarks on a mission to save Gagarine, transforming the estate into his own “starship” — before it disappears into space forever. The film was shot on the cusp of the actual demolition of the Cité Gagarine housing project in collaboration with its residents in Ivry-sur-Seine. A Cohen Media Group release

In French, Romany, and Russian; with English subtitles

Official Selection: Cannes Film Festival, Philadelphia Film Festival, Göteborg Film Festival, Busan International Film Festival, Glasgow Film Festival

A film by Fanny Liatard Jérémy Trouilh

‘Gagarine’ is a dream built from debris, a rocketship made from rubble, and a touching tribute to stratospheric aspirations thriving against the odds in even the most maligned and marginalized communities.”

Jessica Kiang, Variety

Import[s] a coming-of-age dynamic into a rich, historically significant milieu, which bemoans the end of one chapter in the country’s history even as it finds some measure of hope in a new generation.”

Eric Kohn, IndieWire