- "We are together" is online this Tuesday July 14 on Netflix.
- This documentary, directed by Stéphane de Freitas, tells the story of the filming of the clip for "Solidarity" and featuring human rights activists from around the world.
- "It is an act of rebellion to make words exist to remind us that we must remain federated, united", advises Stéphane de Freitas to "20 Minutes".
They live in Paris, Sarcelles, Rio de Janeiro, New York or Bamako and, in their own way fight against racism, violence against women, precariousness ... These five activists are all in the casting of the clip for Solidarité , chanson extracted from Lamomali , the album designed by -M- with artists from around the world, released in 2017. The director of the video, Stéphane de Freitas, retraces this story in his documentary On est ensemble , posted on 14 July on Netflix. Much more than a making-of, the film is interested in the action of these committed people and continues to accompany them long after the clip has been shot.
In a presentation of the clip of "Solidarity" on the Internet, you say that you had many discussions with Matthieu Chedid (-M-) on "the role of the artist involved". Is this the starting point for this project?
We are in a period of questioning many strata of society. We are wondering how to act on issues of society, the environment, precariousness ... We wondered how, from an artistic point of view, we could add a stone to the building by being the as concrete as possible. Today, it is risky when you are an artist and privileged, even if all the contributions are positive, to get involved. Matthieu Chedid wrote the title Solidarité with artists from around the world. I proposed to him to honor everyday heroes, it seemed to be a concrete way to give strength and light to people whom we unfortunately know too little.
You say that it is risky to commit when one is privileged. Have you asked yourself the question of the legitimacy of your approach?
The current period is extremely tense. To shed light on inequalities and injustices, such as certain police violence or feminicides, we must all "punchliner" [find formulas that mark the spirits], be hard-hitting, strike the spirits, the consciences. We have the impression that everyone is expressing themselves, but also that everyone is screaming. By wondering if we are legitimate to carry out a positive action, if we can make a contribution… we would almost come to paralysis, because each action that we are likely to take to make things change can be decried, denounced.
In reality, if we see the positive side of things and what is happening, we are creating a collaborative and participative world. We must not forget that, in this moment when we may be tempted to fall back on our community, our group of belonging, a great challenge arises in our generation: our lives are linked to each other and we are together. It is also an act of rebellion to make words exist to remind us that we must remain federated, united.
On paper, this idea that "our lives are linked", that we are "together", can pass for naivety or good conscience. Was it a fear?
The film does not tell the story of a group of artists who decide to give themselves a good conscience. I am militant, committed, I have associative experience. It's been 10 years since I imagined Eloquentia [an educational program of general interest around eloquence contests]. I also worked on mutual aid and the reuse of objects in relation to the environment. I struggled, I lived for five years in my offices to be able to get out of it. With Eloquentia, I first struggled to be given money to make this project exist to give voice to the youth of the suburbs. We are together is first of all the film of an activist who knows what he is talking about. I'm a director, but I was the one who went to find the artists and offered them to highlight leaders who, every day, try somehow to make things happen, in a concrete way, often with few means . It's anything but angelic. This film is a celebration of the associative world, of the millions of people who daily try to be in construction, in something positive. I assume.
Don't you fear cynical reactions?
Today, screaming, being violent and punchline is not being rebellious. This force may be necessary to occupy the public place, the debate and exist. But we are entering into an escalation of speech, of force. It is important that in parallel, to build, prepare for an after, we bring out visions that remind us that we are together and that there are people working every day for more empathy, mutual understanding, mutual aid. These values, if we forget them, if we let ourselves be gnawed by the cynicism and the rough period that we live, we lose the very meaning of life in society. Right now, we are in a great dizziness, we have the impression that there are a lot of arguments, tensions. To shed light not on the polarization of society but on a participative world is to walk against the current of hatred and ambient cynicism.
In the documentary, we also see what happens after the filming of the clip, in particular support for assistance in financing various projects…
There are a million associations in France, you have about 5% that concentrate all the money. This whole sector, which maintains social ties and corrects many inequalities in society, is very often left behind. An aid plan for businesses faced with the impact of Covid-19 has been announced, but what about associations that will suffer even more? From the start, my objective as an association was to ask myself how we could support the sector.
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