Joyeuse retraite papa

From September 24, 2026, to February 21, 2027, the Frac Île-de-France presents __Joyeuse retraite papa__ at Le Plateau, the first institutional exhibition in Paris by video artist Rayane Mcirdi. Blurring the lines between documentary and fiction, Rayane Mcirdi constructs his films from stories, memories, and anecdotes gathered from his family, loved ones, and residents of Asnières-sur-Seine and Gennevilliers, where he grew up. Drawing on the stories passed down through his family across Algeria and France, he brings these narratives to life with great cinematic precision, transforming these ordinary stories into a tapestry where the personal and the collective intersect. His films bring to life rarely told memories and offer—far from conventional portrayals of the suburbs—stories marked by solidarity, contradictions, dreams of elsewhere, humor, and family ties. What unfolds in them is always unique, yet resonates far beyond the people being filmed. From one film to the next, Rayane Mcirdi explores what is passed down from one generation to the next, how identity is shaped by multiple legacies, the bonds that connect individuals to those who came before them, to a territory, and to a shared memory—as well as the moments when a life is turned upside down and a new horizon opens up. Designed specifically for Le Plateau, the exhibition version of his new film _Le dernier jour de Dino_ unfolds throughout the space as a journey composed of several chapters, extended by scenes that echo one another from one room to the next. Inspired by the story of the artist's father, the film takes us through a seemingly ordinary day: the day a factory worker leaves the factory for good after forty years of service. Between his final tasks at his workstation, the camaraderie that binds his colleagues, and his return to his family, this suspended moment gradually reveals what it means to leave a world to which one has devoted an entire lifetime. This moment of transition becomes the starting point for a sensitive narrative in which solidarity, tenderness, nostalgia, and unspoken truths intertwine, ultimately bringing to light—behind this family portrait—a profoundly universal experience. Beyond the end of a career, Rayane Mcirdi delicately captures a pivotal moment where generations intersect and where each person tries to find their place in the face of what is coming to an end, as well as what remains to be passed on.