«Les Promises» is an artistic collaboration between six teenage women living in the 15th and 16th districts of Marseille, artists, social workers and anthropologists. The project started in 2019 and continued until 2021 through the writing of a documentary film that retraces the creative work carried out during two years.

The film «Les Promises» is written by several hands and conceived as a window into the lives of these teenagers. The work is based on interviews, dance scenes and videos made by the teenagers with their smartphones. Through speculative scenarios, the performers stage real and imaginary stories, thus delivering their reflections on possible futures, terrifying or utopian, intimate and universal at the same time.

Cast & Credits
Performers & co-authors:
Amira Njahi, Rachel Houmadi, Fatima Khadissova, Ilhem Mechentel, Minane Ould Ibbat & Djenna Sekarna

Co-authors:
Artistic director & choreographer: Marion Zurbach
Film director: Giulia Angrisani
Artistic accompaniment : Arthur Eskenazi
Cameraman / film director assistant / editor: Mattia Petullà
Compositor / sound technician: Giorgio Gristina
Costumes designer / Scenography builder : Silvia Romanelli

Artistic assistant: Vittorio Bertolli
Light designer: Agathe Nevière
Drone pilot: Florian Chavanon
Cameraman 2: Juan Mathias Chachay
Educators: Mohammed Kassouri, Pascale Borghi
Translator & subtitles editor: Eleonora Vacchi & Ingo Baltes
Production : Martina Langmann, Maxine Devaud & Prune Allain-Bonsergent

Production
Unplush

Coproduction
Dampfzentrale Berne (Ch)

In partnership with
addap 13 & S.A.L.C

Locations
Centre Social Del Rio, Artagon Marseille, Foresta, Théâtre de l’œuvre, Cité Des Arts De La Rue

Thanks to
@mars_massala, families, Fabrizio Terranova, Eva Baudry, Marie-Agnès Fontaine & the families

Financial sponsors and supports
Kultur Stadt Bern, SWISSLOS-Kultur Kanton Bern, PRAIRIE Migros-Kulturprozent, Stanley Thomas Johnson Stiftung, French Ambassy in Switzerland, Ernst Göhner Stiftung, Burgergemeinde Bern, SIS, HMSL, Ruth und Arthur Scherbarth Stiftung, Stiftung Anne-Marie Schindler, Artagon Marseille, Cinéma l'Alhambra Marseille, Festival Parallèle

Photos: ©Maïa Izzo-Foulquier

A selection of stage works and installation performances