Cinéma du réel

“Two out of three protagonists of Anatomy of a Portrait are on stage while the third, despite being the reason for their initial encounter, is a ghost,” begins the synopsis of Mattia Colombo and Francesco Clerici’s latest documentary opus, presented at this week’s ParisDOC Work-In-Progress forum. BDE was intrigued enough to catch with the film’s producer, Marco Malfi Chindemi to find out more.

“First and foremost, it is a rare and unique point of view, one of the very few representatives of Chechen culture in contemporary cinema,” says French producer Alexandra Mélot ahead of the March 27 ParisDOC Work-in-Progress screening of Imago by director Déni Oumar Pitsaev. “Imago is an initiation tale about a free-spirited young man's search for his roots as he confronts the traditional dogmas of his clan, which he left as a teenager to exile in France.”

“Crossing the Mountains is a necessary and urgent film, telling the story of one of Europe’s most symbolic borders through an intimate and political lens,” says producer Céline Loiseau of her ParisDOC 2025 project. “At a time when fascism and migration repression are intensifying, this film offers a powerful narrative of resistance and solidarity. It is not just a documentary about the migration crisis, but a broader reflection on our times, on the struggles of those who challenge borders, and on the fragility of our idea of freedom.”

‘From a child’s perspective, I soon questioned the imbalance in these relationships, wondering how these incredibly young women had the strength to leave their homes,’ Portuguese director Leonor Noivo describes how a seed planted in her childhood eventually grew into her latest work, Filipinas, which follows the fate of three women at different stages of their experiences as live-in maids - a phenomenon she’d observed growing up in 80s and 90s Macao.

This weekend saw the presentation of the awards of the 47th Cinéma du reel. The Grand Prix, valued at a total of €8,000 was handed to James Benning for his film, little boy. The Cinéma du réel International Award 2025 was won by two films, In the Manner of Smoke by Armand Yervant Tufenkian, and Monólogo Colectivo by Jessica Sarah Rinland, with a split pot of €5,000. The ParisDOC Works-in-Progress prize went to Bahía Honda by Alejandro Alonson. All awards…

BDE caught up with Dutch artists/filmmakers Lonnie van Brummelen & Siebren de Haan, as well as Surinamese writer, theatre maker and performer Tolin Alexander, the three directors of Monikondee (Money Land), which world-premiered at Cinéma du réel. Produced by Vriza Productions, the film follows a boatman, Boogie, who delivers cargo to remote indigenous and Maroon communities along the river bordering Suriname and French Guyana, overcoming increasingly complex challenges en route.