The Walking Man

Intro and Q&A with Aurélia Georges!

Inspired by the life of Russian-Jewish painter and author Vladimir Slepian, director Aurélia Georges’ striking debut feature chronicles two decades in the life of an émigré artist who becomes the toast of Parisian literary circles after publishing a text, Fils de chien, about a man’s transformation into a dog. Flush with success, he inexplicably sells his apartment and moves into a hotel, then spends the next two decades struggling to publish again, traversing the streets of a changing Paris alone but for the occasional kindness of strangers. Rooted in a spellbinding performance by Spanish actor, César Sarachu, The Walking Man is a mysterious, unforgettable film about the passage of time, the challenge of art, and unwavering devotion to one’s own principles.

“The Walking Man wouldn’t exist without César Sarachu, an actor summoning the ghostly silhouettes of sculptor Alberto Giacometti. Aurélia Georges doesn’t seek empathy towards this wanderer, pariah and anti social hobo. She observes his isolation, the unruly idealism that leads him to refuse any gesture of pity or false kindness.”
—Le Monde