Revin will be released on the big screen this Wednesday, January 26, 2022. The Ardennes town of 6,500 inhabitants, deindustrialized, is the setting for the film “Municipale”, a docu-fiction filmed in Revin during the 2020 municipal campaign.
“Municipale” features an actor, Laurent Papot, hired to stand as a candidate. He registers on the electoral lists, opens a local campaign, distributes leaflets, organizes public meetings.
When fiction meets reality
This life-size experience is intentionally confusing. When he presents himself to the inhabitants, the pseudo-candidate from Paris and unknown to all raises questions. “But do you only show up for the needs of the film or if ever you are elected do you stay until the end?“, asks a trader. “I’m an actor. There is a film being shot in Revin in which I am running for municipal elections in Revin. And the fact is that I show up“, answers Laurent Papot to another Revinois.
We didn’t know if it was fact or fiction – Jose de Sousa, Revino trader who appears in the film.
“We were deliberately transparent about the fictional status of the character and his status as an actor, which opens a door for people to come and take that and come and play inside it.“, explains the director, Thomas Paulot. His intention, through this experience, is to to question the functioning of our democracy and the principle of the election of a representative.
Questioning representative democracy
Laurent Papot has no real program. If elected, he promises to leave the mayor’s seat empty in order to allow the inhabitants to invent a new mode of organization. And he indeed manages to unite support and recruit running mates.
The true-false candidate animates the campaign in the same way as the other list leaders, who appear in the film: Daniel Durbecq, Christophe Léonard, Dominique Ruelle, Maryse Despas and Chabane Sehel. The latter, leader of the citizen list “Yellow Vests”, could be worried to see this initiative deprive him of a voice. But Chabane Sehel rather takes the side of observing this experience with an interested eye. “It was a risk, but the one who doesn’t take a risk is a little bored“. At first, Chabane Sehel believed in a hoax. Now, he wants to see Laurent Papot lead the campaign for the next municipal elections in 2026.
The docu-drama “Municipale” also features reluctance and critical voices faced with this incursion into local political life. “We are not ready for self-management“, launches a sympathizer during a public meeting. “This character who comes from nowhere will leave nowhere. And people will stay put (…). The system is far from perfect but people know that they will be able to see the mayor who will be elected and that he will be responsible“, explains a long-time trade unionist, declining the proposal to join the list.
These reactions from people who didn’t necessarily agree with the idea were very important. It had to generate questions – Thomas Paulot, director of “Municipale
The real main characters of the film are ultimately the Revinois. Because even when they express their distrust of the project, all the protagonists accept dialogue, exchange and reflection. “Despite the problems the city continues to go through, there is a collective urge that exists“, concludes Thomas Paulot.