Édition 2024

Films where the cinematographic gesture in the face of violence is that of a witness but also one that reconfigures the field of memory, a gesture of sharing new principles of intelligibility. Individually and together.
From the Christians’ commitment to political struggles in Latin America to the story of the Farcs’ reorganisation of the guerrilla in Colombia, we revisit the story of how the Latin American oligarchies use violence to hold onto their privileges. This struggle of the poorest for a harmonious coexistence is also found in the small activist community that set up at the roundabout in Le Tampon on Reunion Island. Here in France, walls are the rallying points for the struggle against the patriarchy, the urban space being more than ever claimed as a space of freedom and the affirmation of a collective revolt.
Throughout the programme, situations mired in the violence of war follow on from each other, creating a shot/reverse-shot effect or rather the dreadful propagation of a disaster that repeats itself. This reminds us of the words of Jean-Luc Godard in Our Music “Why Sarajevo? Because Palestine”. Today it is the story of the siege of Sarajevo and the ways in which filmmakers bore witness to this time that inevitably takes us back to Gaza and its population under the bombs, here and now.  It is the images of the exodus of men and women forced to leave all their possessions and land in Nagorno-Karabakh, expelled by the Azerbaijani army that suddenly concretises the cruel scenes that we know the Gazans are living through.
The war in Palestine. The films we have chosen, one of which was shot just after October 2023 (No Other Land), documents what the Israeli military occupation means; they also recount the Palestinians’ combat against obliteration.  What can cinema do? The question asked by Cahiers du cinéma in their February issue is also ours but is it not a question that each film raises in its own specific way and that it directs not at cinema but suggests that the viewer explore? Popular Front(s) endeavours to create the conditions for this exploration.

Catherine Bizern

A great programmer who excelled at passing on her love of films, Marie-Pierre Duhamel was General Delegate of Cinéma du réel from 2005 to 2008—and much, much more. The festival pays tribute to this guiding force through a selection of films reflecting Marie-Pierre Duhamel’s tastes and finds. A night dedicated to remembering an inspiring figure, her great knowledge, her wit, and her curious mind.

On the night of Saturday 30 March to Sunday 31 March, from 7.30pm to 8am.
The night ends with a complimentary breakfast for the audience.

The films in progress are selected according to their stage of production, their needs and potential in terms of diffusion, and their concordance with the editorial line of Cinéma du réel.

The selected films in progress have the opportunity to be screened, once, in their entirety, between the 27 and 28 March at the Centre Pompidou.

The professional audience is made up of carefully selected French and international experts, playing an active and strategic role in the distribution and placement of new films in the industry: festival programmers, sales agents, TV programmers, theatrical distributors, web platforms and exhibitors.

Each screening is followed by a discussion time, which can take the form of an informal meeting.

With a tailor-made offer, ParisDOC Works-in-Progress is a unique opportunity for project holders to reflect and build the path of their film in a favorable environment, and for professionals to have exclusive access to new promising projects.

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AWARD – POST-PRODUCTION SUPPORT:

In order to best support the selected projects, Studio Orlando is a partner of ParisDOC Works-in-Progress. As such, one of the selected projects benefits from post-production support (sound mix or color grading) from Studio Orlando.

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EXPERTS:

Cinéma du réel invites three experts to exchange with the project holders. As peers, they share analyses and recommendations.

Richard Copans – Producer, director and cinematographer
Antonio Pezzuto – Festival Programmer
Claire Simon – Director, screenwriter, cinematographer and editor

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We would like to extend our warmest thanks to all the producers and filmmakers who submitted their works-in-progress for this call for projects.

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Download the 2024 Presentation and Regulations Pdf: here
Consult the previous selections of ParisDOC Works-in-Progress: here

Running from 6 to 216 minutes, from Japan to Argentina and from France to China, the 37 films in the Competition once again showcase the most outstanding contemporary documentary creations, as world, international or French premieres.

To encourage meetings between professionals, Cinéma du réel has created the Matinales. These 3 meetings bring together established and emerging filmmakers as well as those involved in production, distribution and research, who bring contemporary documentary to life. These discussions provide an opportunity for feedback.

These discussions are structured around a theme chosen by the Friends of the Cinéma du réel association, which then ensures that the discussions run smoothly thanks to a working group set up specifically for this purpose. The aim of the Public Forum is to highlight the concerns faced by professionals in the sector in France and the issues involved in documentary production.

The Public Forum for this 46th edition of the Cinéma du réel festival is based on the following question:

Documentary creation: territories to defend

Documentary has always been a space for invention and renewal of forms. Its history, from the birth of cinema to the present day, reminds us of the great inventiveness shown by those who have defended it, from its writing to its direction, production and distribution. It has never ceased to make its way, taking different forms, from direct cinema to films that combine elements of reality and fiction in their staging. From cinemas to new distribution media and television, it remains a territory of experimentation.

How can we defend the creative freedom that is necessary for all kinds of daring in the face of possible market injunctions? How can we preserve a creative space supported by public policy while guaranteeing independence?

Cinéma du réel aims to be a meeting place for all those involved in documentary cinema. As such, the festival is hosting three events that give a voice to associations and collectives in order to initiate debate.

Common, Commons

In the past, commons were land that belonged to no one and was used by all so that everyone could live off the fruit of their labour. Starting in the 17th century, commons began to vanish, wiped out by reforms that allowed the Church and the nobility to snatch up the land. This was the starting point of capitalism.

Since time immemorial, fights for the preservation of commons, access to vital resources, and the defence of shared spaces have shaped the history of political struggles, some of them resulting in victories, including in France, in the 1970s Larzac, or more recently, at Notre-Dame-des-Landes. In addition to common goods (which include water, land, forests, and threatened farmland), negative commons (such as landfills, contaminated soils, nuclear plants, Anthropocene-related waste) also call for a collective approach.

To take up the notion of commons is to stand up for the collective interest instead of proprietary logics. It’s also about fostering social relations defined by collective management and a politics of sharing: it’s about working in common, passing on and pooling tools as well as knowledge and practices.

During the fifth edition of Festival Conversations, cartographers, writers, historians, philosophers, filmmakers, and activists are invited to consider not only the spaces, resources, and histories that we share, but also the practices, knowledge, and imagery that may provide an alternative to prevailing narratives.

Each year, Editions de l’œil publishes a book based on Festival Conversations. Festival Conversations#4, which explored the notion of event in 2023, will be released in March 2024