GARDOUCH
On the banks of the Canal du Midi, in Gardouch, these places hold a history.
For centuries, the canal sustained the local area. Boatmen transported goods along it, whilst families worked and lived there. Then commercial shipping disappeared, giving way to new uses: recreational boating, tourism, housing… whilst the canal gradually became more of a feature of the landscape than a working tool.
A few metres from the water, an old flour mill has a different story to tell. Having once been a place of production and an integral part of village life, it lay derelict for many years. Today, it is being given a new lease of life as a ‘third place’, driven by a team keen to turn it into a space for socialising, culture and community life.
Through the stories of those who knew the canal of the past and those who are shaping the village of today, the film explores what becomes of places when their original functions disappear.
What do we preserve of our heritage? What do we pass on? And how can a region continue to foster a sense of community when its uses change?
From the world of the canal boatmen to the life of a contemporary rural village, the Canal du Midi and La Minoterie tell the same story: that of a region undergoing transformation, yet where the places themselves endure.
– 52 minutes –
Come and watch the screening of Pierre Foucher’s documentary film on Saturday 17 October from 6.30 pm.
Screening of the film (52 mins) followed by a chance to share thoughts and discuss the film.
Free admission
A voluntary donation on the door is welcome
