It centres around Cité Gagarine, a housing project in Ivry-sur-Seine, on the south of Paris, where the film was shot right before its demolition.

[5] Youri, a 16-year-old boy living in Cité Gagarine, a housing project in Ivry-sur-Seine, protests the planned demolition of the community.

They first interviewed residents of Cité Gagarine at the request of architects who were studying the possible demolition of the building, which inspired them to write a fictional film set in the project.

[6] Gagarine was included in the First Features section of the official selection of the 2020 Cannes Film Festival, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The website's critics consensus reads, "Balancing whimsy-tinged magic realism against serious themes of community and displacement, Gagarine is as bracingly original as it is ultimately poignant.