The films of Valérie Mréjen

Born in 1969 in Paris, Valérie Mréjen is a versatile creator who draws her inspiration from the subtle observation of everyday life: childhood and its memories, the cruel or burlesque details of existence, misunderstandings, impossible dialogues...

She studied at the École nationale supérieure d'art de Cergy-Pontoise from which she graduated in 1994. In 1997, she made her first videos, participating in numerous festivals and exhibitions in France and abroad. Valérie Mréjen started working in cinema by making several short fiction and documentary films. In 2004, she directed Pork and Milk, a documentary in which she filmed former Orthodox Jews who had chosen to leave their religious environment. Then came Valvert, in 2008, about a psychiatric hospital in Marseille. In 2009, she directed French Courvoisie, then co-directed with Bertrand Schefer her first feature film En ville, presented at the Directors' Fortnight, and competing for the Caméra d'or at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. In 2013, she directed a series of short documentaries, produced by the Parc de la Villette, for the open-air cinema. She is currently preparing a documentary on the students of the École des Beaux-Arts de Paris. 

"Her videos show ordinary people, make us apprehend the familiar language of our daily lives, our tics, our vacuities and repetitions, and make us glimpse the flaws and contradictions of this language. Valérie Mréjen tames words, those words we use every day and that seem unimportant, but when the artist gets behind the camera, she brings her prose to life." (Galerie Art & Essai, University of Rennes)