In My Imaginary Country Chilean Patricio Guzmán documents the recent history of his country, while Riposte Féministe by French feature debutants Marie Perennès and Simon Depardon focuses on the ‘colleur.euses’ movement bringing the high level of femicides in France to the attention of the public. The two docs join the previously announced Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble In Mind by Ethan Coen and Ukrainian Sergei Loznitsa’s The Natural History Of Destruction.
Patricio Guzmán’s My Imaginary Country examines the protests that exploded on the streets of Santiago in 2019 as Chileans demanded a greater sense of social equality and democratic accountability. The film features the testimonies of journalist Mónica González, feminist collective Las Tesis, Mapuche constituent Elisa Loncón, among many others. Sales are handles by Pyramide International.
The long doc Riposte Féministe by art curator Marie Perennès and filmmaker Simon Depardon follows the ‘colleur.euses’ protest movement that glues messages, slogans and artworks, that include the names of femicide victims, on walls across France. The film is sold by Wild Bunch. “The collage in the streets is a direct action but in essence ephemeral,” Perennès told the online site marcelle in March 2021 (translation). “It seemed important to us to leave a trace of this movement and to make it accessible to as many people as possible.”
As earlier reported, Ukrainian Sergei Loznitsa’s The Natural History Of Destruction is also selected for Cannes Premiere. The film id inspired by W.G. Sebald’s text ‘Luftkrieg und Literatur’ which describes how the mass bombing of German cities during the 2WW by the Allies is processed within post-war European literature. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 Loznitsa resigned from the European Film Academy over what he believed to be its initial timid response to the conflict, but was himself expelled from the Ukrainian Film Adademy for not supporting a total boycott of Russian cinema.
The fourth doc in Cannes Premiere is Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble In Mind by Ethan Coen, in which the esteemed director chronicles the life of the first ‘wild man’ of rock n’roll.
Cannes Midnight Screenings also places rock n’roll centre stage with the selection of Brett Morgen’s Moonage Daydream about the late David Bowie. The film, by the director of the Kurt Cobain doc Montage of Heck and boasting never-before-seen performance footage as well as 48 musical tracks, is made with the blessing of the Bowie estate. Neon will handle US distribution for the film while UPCG will release it internationally. HBO Documentary Films holds North American rights for streaming and cable in the spring of 2023.
