Society & Economy

JOSEPH WRESINSKI

Joseph Wresinski´s story starts in the 1950s in a shanty town called Noisy-le-Grand outside Paris. Known at the time as the “riffraff priest,” he joined with the poor families living in the emergency camp to begin fighting extreme poverty. He would spend the rest of his life working for social and political change. He founded the ATD Fourth World Movement, which now brings together thousands of people living in poverty, human rights activists, and volunteers on four continents.
Wresinski´s story is told by Bernard Jahrling, Martine Le Corre and Muriel Scribot. All three have known and worked with Father Joseph. All three grew up in poverty themselves, and can bear witness that it is possible to climb out of poverty and overcome exclusion, learning to “steer one´s own life” and becoming a full-fledged citizen. This three-voice narrative takes viewers through thirty years of Father Joseph´s battle as well as the years following his death, when the ATD Fourth World Movement continued to fight to help poor families the world over.