The Kiosk / Le Kiosque (2020) dir. Alexandra Pianelli

In her debut feature, Alexandra Pianelli captures the unique world in and around her family’s Paris newsstand, presenting a film diary that lovingly documents her time working there. Sequestered behind the cramped counter, Pianelli films the world as it passes before her with a boundless sense of curiosity and compassion. iPhone or GoPro strategically set up before her, she records idiosyncratic interactions with charming regulars who drop by for their newspapers and a chat, or the lost passers-by simply looking for directions. Le Kiosque is a tender study of humanity, as well as a bittersweet sketch of physical media’s dying days as the newsstand’s future becomes increasingly unclear. “The phone became my pen camera. It helped me capture reality as quickly as possible and find the right distance with customers. This is the challenge of the film: to evoke the end of print media with the digital tools that allow us, today, to be our own content editors.” ALEXANDRA PIANELLI