France / 2016 / 38mins / Documentary / French

An intimate exploration of a masculine territory in a French suburb, Towards Tenderness follows a group of vagrant men, while a universe is revealed where female bodies are nothing more than ghostly and virtual silhouettes.

Alice Diop

Alice Diop, born 1979 in Aulnay-sous-Bois, France is a director of Senegalese descent with a Masters in history and a Doctorate in visual sociology. She studied documentary filmmaking at La Femis in Paris and has written and directed several documentaries. In 2011, Alice Diop's feature documentary Danton’s Death won the Library Award at the Cinéma du Réel Festival as well as the Etoile de la Scam 2012 Award. Shot in 2015, Towards Tenderness had its World Premiere at Creteil Women International Film Festival and its US Premiere at the New York African Film Festival. It won Best Short Film at the French César Awards in 2017. On Call, her second feature-length documentary, won the Prix de l’Institut français Louis Marcolles at Cinéma du réel in 2016. Her 2020 documentary, Nous, won the Encounters Award at the 2021 Berlin International Film Festival. Learn More