News from Paris: Cinéma du réel 2012
This years Cinéma du réel (March 22nd till April 3rd) is already more than half way through, however here is a quick overview of what the festival has to offer this year. Along with the films in competition (four categories: International, First Films, Short Films and French Films) the festival is rich, as usual, with an accompanying programme of retrospectives and tributes, news from, themes, special screenings, workshops, debates and meetings among professionals.
This involves the program Exploring documentary, curated by Nicole Brenez (specialized in avant-garde cinema and in charge of the programing, of experimental film at la Cinémathèque française) showing the works of filmmakers participating in the fighting on liberation fronts in different parts of the world over the past 50 years; A look into Italian political documentaries in the 1970ies through the program À nous la vie!; Tributes to Susana de Sousa Dias, John Gianvito, Dick Fontaine, Mario Ruspoli and Raúl Ruiz; The film historian Adriano Aprà is presenting a rare film; Workshops on sound in documentary films and much more…
The festival also launches a new special program: Arrested cinema, dedicated to news from filmmakers, experienced or not, who has filmed the political upheavals in their countries in risk of getting arrested, confined to residence, imprisoned or killed. This year the focus will be on Syria in presence of the Syrian filmmakers Hala Alabdalla and Oussama Mohammed (Saturday March 31, 21h).
The keyword this year is resistance, also in a broader sense, the focus is on committed cinema, le cinema engagé.
