Neïl Beloufa’s first feature-length film, Tonight and the People, was shot in Los Angeles, where the story also unfolds. The urban setting was entirely fabricated in a studio, its artificiality embraced as a defining trait of the cinematic capital. The film follows the intersecting paths of a diverse cast of characters. The dialogue was developed from interviews with the actors, and together these voices create a composite portrait of the city and its inhabitants. [1] The characters embody familiar stereotypes—cowboys, teenagers, hippies, activists—who exchange views on seduction, politics, personal aspirations, ecological awareness, and drop references to Hollywood figures. All wear red bandanas, a marker of recognition adopted across the U.S. by communities so diverse that it ultimately unites them. This accessory becomes the emblem of the characters’ underground lives and of the radical change each of them longs for—because what they all truly share is a sense of waiting for the Grand Soir. As a silent conspiracy brews in the background, the narrative weaves together multiple genres, veering from the banal to the supernatural in a futile attempt to neutralize humanity’s eternal contradictions.

Marilou Thiebault, 2020

Translated by Laurie Hurwitz

[1] Conversation with the artist, October 29, 2020. His video People’s passion, lifestyle, beautiful wine, gigantic glass towers, all surrounded by water (2011, 11:00), shot in Vancouver, is another example of a “portrait of a city,” though with a different approach and methodology.