As artistic director of a documentary film festival, Émilie Bujès has to consider the increasing use of artificial devices (re-enactments, staged scenes) that blur the line between fiction and non-fiction. "In the history of doc films, these things have always been there. It's just that today they are more visible. Even Jean Rouch [who "invented" the so-called "cinéma vérité"] made use of some artifices. What is important for us, as we deal with the 'cinéma du réel' [the cinema of the real], is that it is about someone who wants to express and translate something into cinema, something that relates to reality, and if at some point it requires a bit of fiction, I'm really fine with it. But it's hard to decide where to set boundaries."
Sébastien Agnetti
"Edna", by Erik Rocha (Brazil 2021).
Living next to the Transbrasiliana motorway in Brazilian Amazonia, Edna is a witness to a land in ruins built upon the massacres perpetrated by
the military dictatorship. Using her personal journal, the film draws a magnificent portrait of this survivor who, with unheard strength and courage, has persevered in resisting this “endless” war.
Visions du Réel
"After the Flood", Yuan Zheng (China, 2021)
The Chinese metropolis of Lanzhou lies along the Yellow River. Over a four-year period, the director Yuan Zheng follows the traces that could have been left by the great developments on the river, undertaken in the 1950s. But strangely, nothing seems to remain of this huge upheaval and the population, suffering from a general amnesia, continue with their lives.
The film is in the Burning Light competition, comprehending medium length and feature films, dedicated to new vocabularies and expressions and to the research of daring formats and narratives.
Visions du Réel
"Splinters", Natalia Garayalde (Argentina 2020)
Director Natalia Garayalde was 12 years old when the Río Tercero munitions factory in Argentina explod in 1995. Equipped with her father’s camcorder, along with her younger brother, she documents the scale of the disaster in their town. 20 years later, she digs out these archives and uses new ones to retrace this attack by the State, the smell of ammonia of which still fills the air.
Visions du Réel
"1970", Tomasz Wolski (Poland 2021)
1970. Striking workers in communist Poland demonstrate against price increases. In the dignitaries’ offices, tension and violent repression grow as the revolt intensifies. Using stop motion animation to bring the telephone
recordings to life, Tomasz Wolski composes a highly precise and prodigious film.
Visions du Réel
"Bellum - the Daemon of War", David Herdies, Georg Götmark (Sweden, Denmark, 2021)
War has always been the fate of humanity, its form evolving with “progress” over the ages. But the advent of artificial intelligence and the
hyper-digitalisation of weapons is a game changer. In these new conflicts, which are increasingly remotely operated, the front seems to take the shape of a new demon.
Visions du Réel
"The First 54 Years", Avi Mograbi (France, Germany, Israel, Finland, 2021)
A highly respected filmmaker, Avi Mograbi has relentlessly dealt with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in his work. In the form of a sarcastic and sombre military occupation manual, he looks over and denounces this 54-year history through the testimonies of veteran soldiers having served in the Israeli army.
Visions du Réel
"Our Little Palestine (Diary of a Siege)", Abdallah Al-Khatib (France, 2021)
During the Syrian civil war, the city of Yarmouk, home to thousands of Palestinians, became the scene of dramatic and ferocious fighting. "Our Little Palestine (Diary of a Siege)" is a film that follows the destiny of civilians
during the brutal sieges that took place in the wake of the battles. With his camera, Abdallah Al-Khatib composes a love song to a place that proudly resists the atrocities of war.
Visions du Réel
"The Moon Represents my Heart", Juan Martín Hsu (Argentina, Taiwan, 2021)
Haunted by the tragic death of his father, Juan Martín Hsu, a young Argentinian filmmaker of Taiwanese origin, returns to Taipei to film the reunion with his mother. Reality and fiction blend in a moving personal quest in which an incredible portrait of a Mother Courage stands out from the picture of a family saga marked by uprooting.
Visions du Réel
"The Mushroom Speaks", Marion Neumann (Switzerland, 2021)
Under each mushroom, there hides a network that is invisible to the naked eye and that is evolving beneath our feet. The Mushroom Speaks ventures into this underground world, to hear what these organisms have to tell us.
An initiatory journey to discover the fungal realm, the planet’s real immune system.
Visions du Réel
"Les Guérisseurs", Marie-Eve Hildbrand (Switzerland, 2021)
The film that opens the 52nd edition of Visions du Réel. Dr. Hildbrand is about to retire as other young doctors take over. At the intersection of generations and practices, Les Guérisseurs questions the vocation and profound meaning of caring for others. Marie-Ève Hildbrand focuses on the human dimension of medicine in a system undergoing change.
Visions du Réel
"The Lunar Course of my Life", Valerie Bäuerlein (Switzerland, Germany, 2021)
In Japan, the term hikikomori designates people who isolate themselves from society. Nanako, aged 24, joins in the activities of an organisation that helps withdrawn young people to reintegrate. With modesty, Valerie Bäuerlein follows the path of the young woman as she regains confidence in herself. The portrait of an increasingly competitive and oppressive society is implicitly sketched.
Visions du Réel
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