Expo 2020 : The Institut Français presents Life underground

On the occasion of Expo 2020, the Institut Français in the UAE will support Life Underground exhibition.

Life underground is an interactive web documentary about the subways of the world and the minds passengers. Awarded at numerous festivals and received a nomination for the best international documentary award at the IDA (International Documentary Association). Hervé Cohen, the director, will give master classes in the France Pavilion.

Life Underground invites visitors on a journey into the subways of theworld through the personal stories of passengers. Shot in over 18 city subways, LifeUnderground captures the pulse of these vibrant environments and the millions of people who pass through them every day. The project has been developed as both an interactive web documentary and media art installation for museums and public spaces. By documenting passengers’ stories of love, dreams, family, migration, and much more, Life Underground reminds us that beneath the surface, we’re all connected.

Relying entirely upon chance encounters, Life Underground is a product of true human engagement. Over 55 passenger stories have been recorded since the beginning of the project. Across 3 continents, in over11 languages, their stories of identity, migration, family, love, and ambition, are the threads that connect us.

The creator and director, Hervé Cohen is an award-winning filmmaker and cinematographer and has traveled the world to capture compelling stories: from the Amazon, filming a musical poetic piece about environment, to the country side o fChina, following the work of three traveling projectionists; via Senegal capturing the initiation ceremony of ayoung Diola; the entire United States, filming a family road movie during the Democratic Primaries; Benin, West Africa, following the life of a 7 year old girl over the course of 12 years of her school life, for the PBS series “Time for School”, and of course Paris (where he is originally from) filming a personal story about the exile of the Algerian Jews. He has also shot 2 feature narratives, in San Francisco and in Haiti.