• TITLE (ORIGINAL): Le Havre

    TITLE (English): Le Havre: The Port of Hope
    DIRECTOR: Aki Kaurismäki
    COUNTRY: France, Finland
    YEAR: 2011
    LENGTH: 93 min
    COLOR/B/W: 35mm/Digital / Color
    LANGUAGE: French with Spanish subtitles
    CREDITS

    Director: Aki Kaurismäki
    Producer: Aki Kaurismäki
    Executive Producer: Hanna Hemilä
    Script: Aki Kaurismäki
    Cinematography: Timo Salminen
    Editor: Timo Linnasalo
    Cast: André Wilms, Kati Outinen, Jean-Pierre Darrousin, Blondin Miguel, Elina Salo, Evelyne Didi, Quoc-Dung Nguyen, Laïka

    FILM SYNOPSIS
    In this affectionate portrait of the French port city LeHavre, we see how destiny throws a young African refugee, Idrissa,  into the path of Marcel Marx, a bohemian who shines shoes. With innate optimism and firm support from his community, Marcel stands strong against the authorities who want to deport Idrissa.

    The film is like a political fairytale that exists somewhere between the reality of contemporary France and the charming imagination of Aki Kaurismäki.  The director offers us a look at the moral and financial crisis facing refugees who have been traveling to Europe for many years now, in search of a better future. Funny and moving and with his trademark deadpan humor intact, Kaurismaki creates a world of solidarity, optimism and love. Le Havre: The Port of Hope won the FIPRESCI Prize and the Ecumenical Jury Prize at Cannes in 2011.

    Director's Biography
    Aki Olavi Kaurismäki was born in 1957 in Orimattila, Finlandia. Kaurismäki is a writer and film director. He earned a degree in Media and Communications at the University of Tampere. He began in film working as a co-director in movies made by his brother, Mika Kaurismäki. His own films include: “Crime and Punishment”, “Juha”, “Ariel”, “Lights at Sunset” and “The Man with No Past”.