Renaud Cohen

Bio

Renaud Cohen received a degree in Chinese Studies and in Cinema from the French National Film School, (FEMIS). As a film director and fluent Chinese speaker, Renaud has made ten documentaries, several of which have screened in documentary film festivals around the world.

As a scriptwriter/director, Renaud directed two feature films, When We Grow Up (2001) and In Case I Don’t Win the Golden Palm (2012), two comedies that were selected in more than twenty film festivals around the world and won many awards.

His latest documentary film, Chinese Tobacco, is about a Chinese family running a bar in Paris. The film was completed in January 2016.

Reflection

Shooting breit milah ceremonies was a great experience. It was a nice opportunity to meet three different families at a very emotional and symbolic moment of their family life. The tired mothers, just one week after the birth of their sons, were not only anxious but also confident about what was going to happen. That day was both for the parents and the baby, the first opportunity to go out of their home, and for the baby to be introduced to the whole family and to the world as a new person. Our presence as outsiders filming the ceremony was adding to the importance of the event. In some ways, we were part of the ceremony, and each time we felt very moved by this welcoming ceremony.