Watch: Pacific Club by Valentin Noujaïm

Pacific Club by Valentin Noujaïm available to watch now on the Cubitt website on Thursday 14th December 2023. 

Valentin Noujaïm was born in 1991 to Lebanese-Egyptian parents in France and graduated from the screenwriting department of La Fémis, Paris, in 2020. His creative focus revolves around three central themes: improvised lives, compressed lives, and extinct lives. Noujaïm breathes life into marginal and eccentric characters within fantastical universes, employing a blend of 16mm film, digital media, special effects, and performances. His work, marked by social and historical issues, delves into the dynamics of power and domination within French society, guided by a profound ideal: revolutionary love or the love of revolution.

Participating in various group exhibitions, Noujaïm showcased his work in venues such as Salon de Montrouge (2022), Galerie Air de Paris, Getting Real Biennale in Los Angeles, Prix Utopi·e at Magasins généraux in Pantin, and Festival Parallèle in Marseille. Notable exhibitions in 2021 include "The Self and the Other" at Saatchi Gallery in London and presentations at CNAC Magasin in Grenoble and Centre Pompidou in Paris.

Currently engaged in a residency at Städelschule in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, Noujaïm previously held residencies at Artagon in Marseille (2022), Académie de France à Rome — Villa Médicis in Rome (2023), and Lafayette Anticipations in Paris (2023). He is actively working on a trilogy of videos titled "La Défense," with the first part, "Pacific Club," premiering at CPH:DOX and receiving a special mention from the jury. The film is now part of the CNAP's public collections, selected for the best short documentary category at the French Cesar Competition. The second film, featuring actress Kayije Kagame, has recently been completed, accompanied by a series of sculptures.

Noujaïm's films have garnered support from esteemed funding organizations, including the Doha Film Institute, AFAC, CNAP, and CNC. They have been featured in prestigious festivals such as Festival international du cinéma de Nyon in Switzerland, DocLisboa in Portugal, Qmra in Qatar, CPH:Dox in Denmark, BlackStar in the USA, DokuFest in Kosovo, Winterthur in Switzerland, and IFFR Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

Pacific Club, a short film by Valentin Noujaïm, 16’37, 2023 (4K)

Produced by Iliade et Films with the support of the Doha Film Institute and Sheriff

Project Director: Valentin Noujaïm

Producer: Manon Messiant - Iliade et Films

Distributor: Christina Demetriou - Oyster Films

Casting: Azedine Benabdelmounene, Benjamin Taos Bertrand, Julien Mezence

Director of photography: Pauline Doméjean

First assistant camera operator: Lou Lavalette

Recording supervisor: Lucas Doméjean Continuity: Lucia Martinez

Editor: Dinah Ekchajzer

Post-production manager: Tansi Makele

Visual effect: Nicolas Pirus

Sound editor: Ary Carpman

Music: Space Afrika