• Director(s):

    LAINE (PHILIPPE)

  • Producer(s):

    ARTE FRANCE, INSTITUT NATIONAL DE L'AUDIOVISUEL, ZADIG PRODUCTIONS

  • Territories:

    Worldwide.

  • Production year:

    2009

  • Language(s):

    German, French

  • Rights:

    NON-THEATRICAL, TV, VOD

South African choreographer Robyn Orlin directed and choreographed Handel's l'Allegro, Il Penseroso ed Il Moderato at the Opera Garnier in Paris in April 2007.

Robyn then wished to add a filmed element to the performance and entrusted the directing of the film to Philippe Lainé and Stéphanie Magnant. "Robyn Orlin, from Johannesburg to the Garnier Opera" is based on the creation of l'Allegro.

The choreographer is the central character. Confronted with Robyn's working methods, and following closely her questionings, intentions and concerns, the directors filmed the choreographer at the Opera Garnier, a symbol of classical ballet and western culture, in her relationship to dance and power, and her ambivalent relationship to her homeland, South Africa.

It is via the creation of the work that her contradictions become apparent, inextricably linked as they are to the reality of South Africa - her exile and the quest for recognition, guilt and commitment.