– Between 26 June and 4 July, Fema will showcase close to 210 films in the presence of numerous directors, as well as paying homage to Cristian Mungiu, Nanni Moretti and Dag Johan Haugerud
Fjord by Cristian Mungiu
Final preparations are underway for the 54th edition of the Festival La Rochelle Cinéma (Fema) which will unspool between 26 June and 4 July, and which is set to be opened by Christophe Honoré’s Orange Flavoured Wedding (recently acclaimed in Cannes). True to the non-competitive editorial line and popular nature of this event (85,000 admissions last year) which presents artistically exacting works, the gathering presided over by Sylvie Pialat and artistically directed by Sophie Mirouze will offer up a rich programme packed with close to 210 films.
Names showcasing in the tributes section include Romanian director Cristian Mungiu (with screenings of all of his feature films, including the recent Palme d’Or winner Fjord and Teodora Ana Mihai’s Traffic, which he co-wrote), Italy’s Nanni Moretti (with screenings of his 16 feature films and three shorts), Norway’s Dag Johan Haugerud (showing seven features and a selection of shorts), French director Léa Mysius (notably screening her recent Cannes competitor The Birthday Party) and animation directors Regina Pessoa and Abi Feijó (and their Portuguese production company Ciclope Filmes).
Stand-out names on the retrospectives agenda are Estonia’s Leida Laius (eight films), Jacques Tati (six films and two documentaries), Diane Keaton (eight films) and Youssef Chahine (ten films).
Fourteen titles unveiled on the Croisette feature among the 19 favourite movies of the year gracing the Ici et Ailleurs section (screening in the presence of 11 selected directors): award-winning movies A Man of His Time by Emmanuel Marre and All Of a Sudden by Ryūsuke Hamaguchi, competitors The Unknown by Arthur Harari and Sheep in the Box by Hirokazu Kore-eda, the Un Certain Regard champion (Everytime by Sandra Wollner) and the Critics’ Week champion (La Gradiva by Marine Atlan), as well as The Meltdown by Chile’s Manuela Martelli, Yesterday the Eye Didn’t Sleep by Rakan Mayasi, Roma Elastica by Bertrand Mandico, Madame by Hélène Rosselet-Ruiz, Goodbye Cruel World by Félix de Givry, The Blow by Julien Gaspar-Oliveri, and Dimitri Planchon and Jean-Paul Guigue’s animated movie Blaise. Sharing the showcase are Rose by Austria’s Markus Schleinzer (which secured the Best Actress Prize in Berlin for Sandra Hüller), Mother’s Baby by fellow Austrian Johanna Moder (screened in last year’s Berlinale competition), Home Stories by Germany’s Eva Trobisch (also selected in competition in Berlin this year), Shame and Money by Kosovar Visar Morina (awarded the Sundance Festival’s Grand Prize) and Three Goodbyes by Spain’s Isabel Coixet.
The Fema line-up likewise include a section celebrating 80 years of the CNC by way of eight films supported by the Aide aux cinémas du monde fund, including Andreï Zviaguintsev’s Cannes Grand Prize winner Minotaur, the opening film at the most recent Berlinale No Good Men by Shahrbanoo Sadat, Yugo Florida by Serbia’s Vladimir Tagić, and five other titles unveiled on the Croisette.
The festival will also host the classic films section D’hier à Aujourd’hui and the 17 documentaries showcasing in the Au cœur du Doc line-up, notably the Cannes titles Gabin by Maxence Voiseux, Thanks For Coming by Alain Cavalier and Rehearsals for a Revolution by Pegah Ahangarani (which scooped the Golden Eye), alongside Igor Bezinović’s European Film Award winner Fiume o morte!.
Last but not least, animation is set to take centre stage in Fema’s children’s line-up, spotlighting Cannes attractions along the lines of Lucy Lost by Olivier Clert, Viva Carmen by Sébastien Laudenbach and Iron Boy by Louis Clichy (awarded the Special Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard section).
(Translated from French)
