Private Project

The Grapepickers - Le Temps des Vendangeurs

I am stuck in Tuchan, a tiny village, deep in Cathar Country, South-West France. All international borders are closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and I can not get back to Qingdao, China, where I live and work, so, I film the annual grape harvest which is mostly hand-picked, and where the vines cling precariously in rugged mountainous terrain.

I follow Momo, one of the main characters, he lives in a small village alley, and runs the team with Alain Perez-Le Peps, the patron. Momo has gipsy heritage from his Spanish mother and Polish father and both Alain and Momo share the story of their grandparents who ran from Spain's Franco, across the border, to France.

The team is made up of migrant workers and local village people, and everything is going well until Le Peps becomes seriously ill after being bitten in the vines. He lives his 'dark night of the soul.'

I follow as the pickers rally around Alain, they are committed and do what they can to save his harvest, not knowing if he will live or die.

This is a documentary about unity, a rural community, healing and grapes. It is an observational film with touches of poetry and humour, where the grape vines and the mysterious mists of the Cathar country, camaraderie, wildness and spontaneity entwine, capturing the slow, ancient nature of Les Corbières, and the stories of the pickers over three weeks.

(This film is bilingual in French and English).

  • Jeanne Pope
    Director
    Re: Filmography attached
  • Jeanne Pope
    Writer
  • Scatterflix & FilmBandits Jeanne Pope
    Producer
    Moving House, The SeaHut, Jean Capdeville, voyage vers le noir
  • FilmBandits/- Helena Michie/Jeanne Pope and Mitchie
    Producer
  • Momo Valenentin Guitton
    Key Cast
    "Himself"
  • Alain and Guy Perez
    Key Cast
  • Matuba
    Key Cast
  • Jean-Marc
    Key Cast
  • Maire
    Key Cast
  • Remi
    Key Cast
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Le Temps des Vendangeurs
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 10 minutes 4 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    May 30, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    3,000 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    France
  • Language:
    French
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16.9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • PARIS WORLD CINEMA FESTIVAL
    PARIS
    France
    November 10, 2023
    French Premiere
    Finalist
  • Serbest International Film Festival (SIFF)
    Kishinev
    Serbia
    August 15, 2023
    Primiere in Europe
    Quater Finalist
  • Black Cat International Awards Bolivia
    La Paz‎‏
    Bolivia, Plurinational State of
    November 14, 2023
    South American
Director Biography - Jeanne Pope

Jeanne is a traveller, award-winning filmmaker, and passionate documentary film teacher. She received her BFA from Concordia Film School, Canada. 2008- 2015 she worked on her own productions and taught. 2015 to 2020, she taught film production at Qingdao Film Academy, China. Since 2022, she gives production workshops and Digital Storytelling courses at Adult Education, KCC UK and hosts lots of free film production resources on her website: www.scatterflix.com

She travels between the UK and Tuchan, her village, where she is filming her next documentary: The Time of Rugby. Her motto is DIY - "Do It Yourself - invent, express, create, believe, and don't give up!

Jeanne est une voyageuse, une réalisatrice primée et une professeure de cinéma documentaire passionnée. Elle a obtenu son BFA à l'école de cinéma de Concordia, au Canada.
De 2008 à 2015, elle travaille sur ses propres productions et enseigne.
De 2015 à 2020, elle enseigne la production cinématographique à la Qingdao Film Academy, en Chine.
Depuis 2021, elle donne des ateliers de production et des cours à l'éducation des adultes, au KCC, UK. Elle se rend souvent à Tuchan, son village, où elle tourne son prochain documentaire : Le temps du Rugby. Sa devise est DIY - "Do It Yourself - inventez, exprimez, créez, croyez et n'abandonnez pas ! "


Add Director Biography
Director Statement

I have wanted to film the grape harvest in Tuchan, my village in France, for over twenty years. The gift of the pandemic gave me this chance.

No one could leave France for months during 2020, and when I arrived I had no equipment with me, so I borrowed an old camera and made do with what I had which meant I had to work alone, against elements such as wind, rain, and blinding sun while running from one side of the vines to another.

Tuchan's nature is a living portrait. I had a perfect backdrop, a tapestry of sounds and colours. Visually rich, dense with different light, and abundant with heavy vines. Entwined are the vibrancy, mystery and wonderful moments of hilarity with the grape pickers which was so delightful to film.

The vendangeurs - pickers - in Alain Perez's team are locals and migrant travellers. They start their day at 7.30 am and finish around 4.30 pm. For three weeks they work, side-by-side climbing the stoney paths tucked away along winding mountain hillocks which lead to his vines, often only accessible by foot. The sun blasts, then the rains come and mists; a chill in the air, to blazing heat again. Tempestuous and volatile. This Cathar land produces an earthy heavy wine of 14 degrees called Fitou.

How to document my friends without being intrusive?

I decided to stand back and watch and gently dance around them as they worked. It was paramount that I was there for the entire pick, for this is where the story is formed. The essence of documentary filmmaking is TIME, and where magic happens.

I thank them for the proximity they allowed. I thank them for their generosity in sharing their moments of intimacy, accepting the camera, never forcing anything, and allowing me this privilege to document them so closely.