1 “Mais entre nous, ça se fait”. The Conversation with Friends as a Means for Acknowledging the Other in Robert Guédiguian’s Films Pablo Alzola Cerero & Ana Romero-Iribas (University Rey Juan Carlos) NECS2021 Conference, “Transitions: Moving Images and Bodies” 7 th -13 th June 2021, University of Palermo 1. Introduction There is a common thread that runs through the entire filmography of French filmmaker Robert Guédiguian, from Dernier été (1981) to Gloria Mundi (2019), namely the concern for the everyday difficulties faced by small communities of working-class friends and neighbours. These difficulties often consist of situations of social injustice, which put the bonds that link the members of the local community to the test, as well as their ethical stance towards these situations. In this regard, a situation that stands out in the latest films by Guédiguian is the arrival of helpless people who come to the community from outside it. This situation opens the opportunity for the members of the community to welcome those foreigners and, consequently, to reshape the community for the common good. Among the various welcoming responses that we find in these films, conversations play a prominent role. Hence, the local friends and neighbours are presented with the opportunity of transforming conversation into a place of acknowledgment of the other. This way of understanding conversation is clearly present in three recent films by Guédiguian: Les Neiges du Kilimandjaro/The Snows of Kilimanjaro (2011), La Villa/The House by the Sea (2017) and Gloria Mundi (2019). In all the three narratives we can identify common features: (1) the existence of an already established local community facing a difficult situation (financial or otherwise), (2) the encounter of people belonging to the community with foreign people in need of help, (3) the emergence of a threat against the latter, (4) the