XENIA

Xenia is the story of two women, of two invisible heroines, that is, the cleaning women, cashiers and salesgirls we run into everyday. It is also a revealing look at the struggle of just getting by, an eye-opening incursion into the real-life workplaces of today's Thelma and Louises.

Xenia ("foreigner" in Greek) is a 23 years old mother with a 5 months old baby. She is barely able to make ends meet by cleaning offices for a corporate cleaning company, when her boyfriend takes off with all of their savings. With no one to look after her son now, Xenia is forced to take him to work, a makeshift solution that works for a while, thanks to the help of her colleagues. Eventually she is caught at work with her son and is fired on the spot. Luckily, Xenia's neighbours are there for her, especially Blandine who gets her a cashier job at the local supermarket. Soon, amid laughter and tears, romances and quarrels but also hope and insurrection, Xenia and Blandine are sharing the same daily routine : the same job, the same apartment and the same furious drive to work their way to a better life. Then one day their world comes crashing down around them : Blandine is caught taking fruit from the supermarket's dumpster and is threatened with losing her job. Her fate sparks outrage among the inhabitants of the neighbourhood, however, and spurred on by Xenia, they rise up against Blandine's unfair treatment. Xenia and Blandine story is like a whirlwind, filled with heartwarming moments, everyday trials and triumphs and the incessant struggles of earning a living at nose-to-the-grind jobs that don't leave much time for actual living. Along the way, we encounter a group of truly amazing people who face the hardships of life with quiet dignity and a ready smile. There is Gauvain, the laid-off bank employee who will win Xenia's heart ; Mrs Aziz, the affectionate old Algerian woman and her shopkeeper son ; Biglouche, the mechanic with a heart of gold and Samuel, the young half-black man in search of an identity. They invite us into their world, which is also our own, a world where solidarity is not just another empty word. And a world that Xenia and Blandine are determined to change for the better, even if it means first setting it on fire ! Gérard Mordillat is a writer and a filmmaker. He has published numerous novels, including L'Attraction universelle, Les Vivants et les Morts (Calmann-Lévy 2005), Notre part des ténèbres (Calmann-Lévy, 2008) and Ce que savait Jennie (Rentrée Littéraire 2012). He and Jérôme Prieur are the coauthors of Corpus Christi, a three-part documentary film on the origins of Christianity. He has made over twenty films and wrote the film adaptation of his novel, Les Vivants et les Morts, for France 2.