Pre-opened yesterday evening by Régis Sauder’s En nous, the 44th Cinéma du Réel International Documentary Film Festival is in full swing today, unspooling from 11 to 20 March with an especially tantalising programme concocted by Catherine Bizern, amidst delight at the festival returning to a physical event (and to the festival’s Parisian locus, the Pompidou Centre) after two years of acrobatic adaptations for remote and online access.

Twenty movies (of which 10 are feature films) steal focus in the International Selection. Especially eye-catching are Mr. Landsbergis [+leggi anche:
recensione
scheda film] by Ukrainian director Sergei Loznitsa (crowned at the IDFA) and four titles travelling straight from the recent Berlinale, in the form of Mutzenbacher [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Ruth Beckermann
scheda film] by Austria’s Ruth Beckermann (the champion of the Encounters competition), We, Students! [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film] by Rafiki Fariala (a French co-production unveiled in the Panorama section) and two Forum discoveries: Afterwater [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film] by Serbia’s Dane Komljen and the Brazilian-Portuguese co-production Dry Ground Burning [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film] by Joana Pimenta and Adirley Queirós. The other feature films in competition consist of two majority Canadian productions (offered up by Daphne Xu and the duo Ryan Ermacora - Jessica Johnson), one Argentine (directed by Jonathan Perel), one Australian (David Easteal) and one American (James Benning).

In terms of the French Selection, 21 movies are set to be presented in world premieres, including 9 feature films: Relaxe [+leggi anche:
recensione
scheda film] by Audrey Ginestet, Ceux de la nuit by Sarah Leonor, Boum Boum [+leggi anche:
recensione
scheda film] by Laurie Lassalle, Le chant des oubliés by Luc Decaster, La lumière des rêves by Marie-Pierre Brêtas, Nachtlied by Baptiste Pinteaux, Navigators by Noah Teichner, and two French-German co-productions (Les voix croisées by Raphaël Grisey and Bouba Touré, and Les lettres de Didier by Noëlle Pujol).

Dazzling options on the Special Screenings agenda include the Berlinale’s Silver Bear winner Everything Will Be OK [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Rithy Panh
scheda film] by Rithy Panh, another two titles selected by the German festival (American Journal [+leggi anche:
recensione
intervista: Arnaud des Pallières
scheda film] by Arnaud des Pallières and Rewind & Play [+leggi anche:
recensione
intervista: Alain Gomis
scheda film] by Alain Gomis), alongside Édouard Louis, ou la transformation by François Caillat, L‘hypothèse démocratique – Une histoire basque by Thomas Lacoste, the Belgian production Prisme by Rosine Mbakam, the Zorn three-parter by Mathieu Amalric and Who’s Stopping Us [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Jonás Trueba
scheda film] by Spain’s Jonás Trueba (awarded the FIPRESCI Prize in San Sebastian – due for release in France on 20 April via Arizona Distribution).

Equally appealing is a focus on Documentary Africa, the short films selected within the First Window line-up, the traditional Popular Front(s) section, and the professional ParisDOC sidebar. The latter will notably be hosting round tables (exploring the visibility of works and author-producer pairings, among other topics) on Tuesday 15 March, the European Heritage Documentary Meetings on 18 March and a Work in Progress session running 15 to 17 March, with 9 feature films set to be screened, including Navire Europe by Marina Deak, Ciompi [+leggi anche:
recensione
scheda film] by Agnès Perrais, De part et d’autre by Matthieu Chatellier, Otro Sol by Francisco Rodriguez Teare (steered by France, Belgium and Chile) and Río Rojo by Guillermo Quintero (produced by Colombia and France).