Day by day

Un certain Monsieur Joinet

France // 2011 // Couleur // 52'
French with English subtitles

In OMCT Award competition

Louis Joinet is a rare individual. One of those you have to respect because they act in the wings, constant and tenacious, in the interests of just causes. A man who truly deserves the spotlight that Frantz Vaillant trains on him. A retired magistrate, this tireless human rights defender shares his astonishing path with us: from a job as a street educator to the drafting in 1988 of the first UN declaration on forced disappearances, and including a stint with the Magistrates’ Union. Fifty years of passionate commitment that take us to Algeria during the war for independence, to Latin America during the dictatorships, but also to France with the Basque problem and Tunisia for the Arab Spring.
This highly personal portrait reveals the intelligence and simplicity of Un certain Monsieur Joinet as well providing us with a welcome opportunity to meet un Grand Monsieur.

Frantz Vaillant