email print share on Facebook share on Twitter share on LinkedIn share on reddit pin on Pinterest

CINEMED 2020

Mediterranean cinema set for the showcase in Montpellier

by 

- Despite the health restrictions, the 42nd edition of the Cinemed Festival will unspool from 16 to 24 October, notably screening nine fiction feature films competing for the Antigone d'Or

Mediterranean cinema set for the showcase in Montpellier
Teddy by Ludovic and Zoran Boukherma

Tomorrow will see the fascinating and Venice-approved film The Man Who Sold His Skin [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kaouther Ben Hania
film profile
]
, by Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania, open the 42nd Montpellier Mediterranean Film Festival, an edition which is set to unspool between 16 and 24 October in physical form and in full compliance with the health recommendations set out by the public authorities, notably the 9pm – 6am curfew (decided upon last night for eight French cities and the Ile-de-France region) which will come into force on Saturday evening and which has forced the team behind the event to carry out an acrobatic, last-minute re-jig of the festival programme.

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

In all, nine fiction feature films will battle it out for the 2020 Antigone d'Or, which will be awarded by a jury presided over by French director Grand Corps Malade. Stealing focus among then are four films selected for Cannes this year: Teddy [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Ludovic and Zoran Boukherma (boasting the Official Selection label), Skies of Lebanon [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Chloé Mazlo (Critics’ Week label), Should the Wind Drop [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nora Martirosyan
film profile
]
by Nora Martirosyan (decorated with both the ACID and the Official Selection labels) and Here We Are [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
by Israel’s Nir Bergman (Official Selection label). Likewise in the running are two titles unveiled in Venice’s Orizzoni line-up: Zanka Contact [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Morocco’s Ismaël El Iraki (a film which scooped the Best Actress trophy on the Lido) and Gaza mon amour [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Palestinian directors Arab and Tarzan Nasser). Rounding off the showcase are two films discovered in the Berlinale’s Panorama section (Sow the Wind [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Danilo Caputo
film profile
]
by Italy’s Danilo Caputo and Father [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Srdan Golubović
film profile
]
by Serbia’s Srdan Golubovic), not to mention Flashdrive by Turkey’s Dervis Zaim.

Five more fiction features will be screened in Montpellier’s Panorama offering: Padrenostro [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Claudio Noce
film profile
]
by Italy’s Claudio Noce, The Lamb [+see also:
film review
film profile
]
by his compatriot Mario Piredda, Mica [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
by the French director of Moroccan origin Ismaël Ferroukhi, A Thief’s Daughter [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Belén Funes
film profile
]
by Spain’s Belén Funes and Between Heaven and Earth [+see also:
film review
film profile
]
by Palestinian filmmaker Najwa Najjar.

Meanwhile, the Documentaries competition will see eight titles pitted against one another, including Fadma: Even Ants Have Wings [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Belgian-Moroccan director Jawad Rhalib, Acasa, My Home [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Radu Ciorniciuc
film profile
]
by Romania’s Radu Ciorniciuc, Their Algeria [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lina Soualem
film profile
]
by French-Algerian-Palestinian filmmaker Lina Soualem, A Tunnel by the Georgian duo composed of Nino Orjonikidze and Vano Arsenishvili, Express Scopelitis by Greece’s Emilia Milou, We Are From There [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
by Lebanon’s Wissam Tanios, A Class Story [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Italian-Swiss director Valerio Jalongo and Parle-moi d’elles by Egypt’s Marianne Khoury.

Rounding off the programme are 13 premieres, in the form of two French feature films adorned with Cannes’ Official Selection label (Red Soil [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Farid Bentoumi and The Speech [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Laurent Tirard), four films coming courtesy of Italian directors (Michele Pennetta’s documentary Il mio corpo [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Michele Pennetta
film profile
]
, decorated with Cannes’ ACID label, Giorgio Diritti’s Berlin-award-winning work Hidden Away [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Giorgio Diritti
film profile
]
, Gabriele Muccino’s The Best Years [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
and Gianni Amelio’s Hammamet [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
), the Spanish titles Rosa’s Wedding [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Icíar Bollaín and The Endless Trench [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Aitor Arregi, Jon Garaño an…
film profile
]
by Jon Garaño, Aitor Arregi and José Mari Goenaga, When Tomatoes Met Wagner [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Greece’s Marianna Economou and a further three French features: À l’abordage ! [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Guillaume Brac
film profile
]
by Guillaume Brac, Zaï Zaï Zaï [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
by François Desagnat, and Margaux Hartmann [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ludovic Bergery
film profile
]
by Ludovic Bergery which will be presented by actress Emmanuelle Béart, the guest of honour  (who’s also scheduled to deliver a masterclass) at this year’s Cinemed Festival.

Likewise worth a mention are the Special Screenings on the agenda, including that of Fernanda Valadez’s Identifying Features [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
and Jean-Patrick Benes’ documentary Le Président d’Yves Jeuland, Le Sens de la famille, which is closing the festival, the line-up dedicated to the complete works of Federico Fellini, the five horror films screening within the La Nuit en Enfer (litt. “Night in Hell”) section, three titles jostling within the Rendez-Vous Fantastiques (litt. “Sci-fi Meetings”) offering, the pat on the back planned for the Toulouse-based animation company TAT Productions, the Cinemed for Children line-up, the short films competition and its associated Panorama section, the festival’s many meetings and, from 20-22 October, the professional event Cinemed Meetings, which Cineuropa will provide further details on at a later stage.

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

(Translated from French)

Did you enjoy reading this article? Please subscribe to our newsletter to receive more stories like this directly in your inbox.

Privacy Policy