Portrait of a famous healer from the West of France.

Son of an Italian immigrant mason in the west of France in the 1920s, Celino, 78 years of age, is today an important person, a distinguished personality, in his village situated in the south of Mayenne. This, despite the fact that the ten-children strong family's integration was not without obstacles. For a long time, his parents and the rest of the family were up against the entire village's hostility, where his father had set up his own business. The region was known for its conservatism and the inhabitants had practically ostracised the whole family. Even so, Celino signed up with the FFI in 1943 to defend his adopted country. His life then underwent a drastic change: like his Italian maternal grandfather he discovered that he had the gifts of a healer and clairvoyant. The same people who once rejected him would soon come knocking at the door of the little house where he exercised his gift. Decades passed and Celino's reputation has spread at least over four regions. He is a member of the Municipality Council, that one cannot miss. "The entire village has been under his treatment", say the people of his town. The portrait of an exceptional man.

FRANCE
2003, 35mm, colour, 63'
Vers: French - Sub: Ita

Director: Pierre Guicheney
Screenplay: Pierre Guicheney
Cinematography: Gérard Sergent, François de La Patellière
Editing: Claude Le Gloux
Music: Stéphane Scott
Sound: Alain Philippon, Arnaud Jolif

Production:
24 Images Production
(Le Mans, T +33 243781845; F +33 243780279; contact@24images.fr; www.24images.fr)

Co-Production:
France 3 Ouest

Distribution:
24 Images

Prizes and selections: Krakow Film Festival 2008 (Don Quixote Award), Flahertiana Film Festival 2008 (Big Golden Nanook Award), Human Rights Watch International Film Festival 2008, SilverDocs: AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Festival 2008, Seattle International Film Festival 2008, International Documentary Festival Amsterdam 2008, Tetouan International Mediterranean Film Festival 2009 (Grand Prix of the City of Tetouan: Documentary), Asterfest Film Festival 2009 (Golden Horseshoe Award), MedFilm Festival, Roma, 2009 (Le Regard des Autres)

______________________

"Nulla è più vero dell'istinto e nulla è più falso del ragionamento". Il ritratto di un uomo fuori dal comune, lo sciamano Celino. Figlio di un emigrato italiano in Francia durante gli anni 20, oggi è una delle persone più rispettate della sua comunità, un piccolo paese situato nel sud della Mayenne. Non tutto però è come ora. A 78 anni Celino è un'autorità; da giovane, ha dovuto fronteggiare l'ostilità e la diffidenza degli abitanti del luogo. Una integrazione difficile, in una regione dominata da un pensiero chiuso e conservatore. Nonostante nel 1943 abbia aiutato la popolazione entrando a far parte dei Maquis, il movimento di resistenza e liberazione nazionale francese durante la Seconda guerra mondiale. La sua vita è cambiata quando ha scoperto, come suo nonno, di avere doti di guaritore e chiaroveggente. La stessa gente che lo ignorava, ora bussa alla sua porta per chiederne i favori. Tanto da aver nominato Celino membro del Consiglio Municipale.

Regia: Pierre Guicheney
FRANCE
2003, 35mm, colour, 63'
Vers: Francese - Sub: Ita