Géographie humaine, Claire Simon, France, 2013, 101’

A film about and in a station… yes, at the Gare du Nord… The largest station in Europe, the third in the world… Certainly an excessive place, disproportionate for a film. It is an open, modern and old place. And then the Gare du Nord is 5, 6 stations nested one on top of the other: the RER station, the metro station, the suburban train station, the regional train station, the Long Distance Lines station and the Eurostar and the bus station on the new glass roof. This is the place of diversity…

What does Gare du Nord do to humans? That is the question that serves as the starting point for this film. The answer is random, based on the success of a cinematographic encounter, and seeks to discover the path that led people from there, from here, to this place in the station. Their trajectory, not just their route for the day. The path traveled by this person to get there, whether he was born in London, Paris, Aubervilliers, Brazzaville or Tizi-Ouzou. His way of life, his personal geography.