Cinéma du réel mixes documentary, essay, and experimentation in selections that reflect the diversity of genres and forms of the cinematographic approach in the world. It is one of the rare documentary film festivals that emphasises the heritage and the memory of the genre while bringing them into dialogue with contemporary creation. This year, the 44th edition of Cinéma du réel takes place 11 – 20 March, in Paris.
Ahead of the 44th edition, Modern Times Review spoke with Artistic Director, Catherine Bizern on this year’s physical festival, the place of Cinéma du réel within the wider festival landscape, and more.
How has the festival prepared itself after two years of pandemic-related adjustments? What does this 2022 physical festival bring that the previous digital editions could not?
In my opinion, a festival has to be a live event uniting the team, the public, the filmmakers and their collaborators as well as all of the people involved in the festival’s program. Even though we were a little bit afraid of not knowing how to do this anymore, we have prepared the festival with the desire to reconnect with the public, to offer more opportunities of meetings, discussions, networking and conviviality. All these moments we have missed for two years are essential for all of us. In a sense, this edition has been actively prepared for two years, especially the panorama of contemporary African documentary cinema. We have begun working on this programmation for the 2021 edition but since our project is to welcome and bring together all professionals in Paris, we have postponed the project for one year. We do hope that it will be up to our expectations.
In your opinion, what role does the festival occupy in the wider continental documentary landscape? What separates, or makes Cinema du Reel distinct, versus other documentary festivals?
Because Cinema du réel is an international festival which takes place in France and more precisely in Paris, its role is essential to professionals.
French documentary production is one of the most important in the world (both in quality and in quantity) and we offer international professionals the unveiling of more than 20 French films in world premiere (with the international premiere available) at Cinéma du réel.
Furthermore, Paris and France are some of the most dynamic and open places in terms of distribution and exploitation market regarding documentary films. Being screened in front of foreign professionals allows the films to be in contact with the French market, particularly with French distributors. For several years, we have been very attentive to creating and maintaining a strong connection between the festival and film distribution professionals. We can say that we are now more of a cinema festival than just a documentary film festival.
What is a documentary? This is a topic tangled by our programmation every year, the driving force of the festival.
Expanding on this topic, would you describe a specific “Cinema du Reel” film? What sorts of criteria are the selection team looking for?
What is a documentary? This is a topic tangled by our programmation every year, the driving force of the festival. That’s the reason why we screen films that are very different from one another. They are selected for the singularity of their response to this question, which is most of the time subversive.
What are some key points of personal interest from the 2022 festival programme?
Obviously, the panorama of contemporary African documentary cinema – because we have been working on it for many months and it takes a lot of energy to bring in all our guests. And more specifically within this program, the five case studies – each focused on five different linguistic/cultural African region, during which production issues, from financing to esthetic questions, will be presented, explained and commented on.
Moreover, several films selected in competition have a very specific shape and question the place of the spectator and the filmmaker’s gaze in an unusual way. I am looking forward to seeing how the public will welcome all these different perspectives of so-called non-fiction cinema.
Personally, what is a seminal film or filmography (or filmmaker) that really kick-started your interest in documentary?
I have no more particular interest in documentaries than in fiction. I am just interested in cinema in general and the seminal filmmaker who really started this interest – documentary and fiction – is Jean Luc Godard.
