Festival:
The 40th Cinéma du Reél
Dates:
March 23-April 1
About:
Approximately 50 new features screen at this long-running Paris nonfiction event, as well as a considerable retrospective programming slate.
IN THE STILLNESS OF SOUNDS
The French Competition includes: Marine de Contes’
THE GAME, an immersion into pigeon hunting; Pierre Tonachella’s
UNTIL THE DAWNING OF THE DAY, a portrait of the filmmaker’s childhood friends; Aminatou Echard’s
JAMILA, about the cultural impact of a 1958 Kyrgyz novel and its titular heroine; Grégoire Beil’s
NATIONAL NARRATIVE, an exploration of social media and exhibitionism; Julien Faraut’s
IN THE REALM OF PERFECTION, a portrait of tennis legend John McEnroe filtered through instructional videos; and Serge Steyer and Stéphane Manchematin’s
IN THE STILLNESS OF SOUNDS, a meditation on listening.
L COHEN
Among the titles on offer in the International Competition are: Kristina Konrad’s
ONE OR TWO QUESTIONS, which assembles popular opinion about a proposed Uruguayan amnesty bill in 1986; Leonor Teles’
ASHORE, a portrait of a Portuguese fisherman and his family; Sophie Bruneau’s
DREAMING UNDER CAPITALISM, an exploration of the impact of capitalism on the unconscious; and James Benning’s
L COHEN, which trains his camera on a barren Oregon landscape.
THE TREES
Debut docs squaring off in the International First Films Competition include: Mariano Luque’s
THE TREES, in which the filmmaker explores the family of his recently deceased grandfather; Antoine Bourges’
FAIL TO APPEAR, a hybrid about a social worker’s relationship with her first case assignment; Ivan Ramljak’s
DOM BORACA, which explores a nearly abandoned Communist memorial in Croatia; and Zaheed Mawani’s
HARVEST MOON, a portrait of a Kyrgyzstan mountain forest community.
what (not) to doc 