Traditionally based in the Pompidou Centre and opening March 22, the 47th Cinéma du réel has shifted this year to Paris’ Latin Quarter, where it will play out across a series of commercial cinemas. There are 37 films in the competition, showcasing, as the festival tells us, ‘documentary creation in all its diversity, as well as world, international, or French premieres,’ further emphasising how Cinéma du réel ‘throws light on the formal developments and experiments affecting documentary filmmaking in connection with the history of film.’
Core to events is ParisDOC, the festival’s industry forum, which kicks off March 25. Whilst not a market, it is configured to ‘create a network that engages in discussions and concrete actions in the field of documentary filmmaking.’
Catherine Bizern, Cinéma du réel Artistic Director describes ParisDOC’s unique place in the documentary festival circuit. “In French we say cousu main, tailor-made. For us it’s very important that all the people we invite to participate in ParisDOC are the right people for the project. For the Work-in-Progress programme, we choose just six projects, from the rough-cut stage to the end of post-production – just six. And we received 200 projects. We propose to the filmmakers to show this film to very chosen people that we know, like sellers, festivals, distributor, and of course French distributors.”
The documentary scene in France is a uniquely vibrant one, Bizern adds. “The French theatrical market is an exception, because we have a lot of theatrical releases, and we have a lot of distributors. Between September to December, seven documentaries that were in Cinéma du réel were released theatrically.”
The Work-in-Progress projects selected for ParisDOC benefit from access to these French connections, as well as the wider scene. “We work together with the filmmaker and producer of the project to find out exactly who they want to meet.”
Small, but carefully designed, the Industry Days are “haute-couture,” Bizern uses another tailoring analogy to illustrate the concept. “It’s why we say that ParisDOC is not a market, but more of a laboratory. It’s something very important for us because we have not the money to make a big market.”
This makes for a winning formula, Bizern suggests. “For me, I think our selection for the works-in-progress is very, very interesting. And last year [two] of these films were selected for Locarno (Collective Monologue by Jessica Sarah Rinland) and Venice (Peaches Goes Bananas by Marie Losier). So we know that this proposition is very strong and also for the professionals, because we are in Paris, because we are in the middle of a very dynamic French professional milieu.” Two further works-in-progress from 2024 world-premiere at Cinéma du réel 2025. These are Adnan Being and Time by Marie Valentine Regan, and Les sanglières by Elsa Brès.
It’s not only the selected projects which benefit from the bijou nature of the festival, Bizern posits. Professionals have more time to meet and network at Cinéma du réel. “I think because also the festival is not so big – even though we now we have five different places in the Rive Gauche – it’s very easy to be together, to have time together. And I think for professionals it is so important to take the time to speak about their work and also to have time to have an exchange with the other sellers, with filmmakers, but also with festivals. Well, I think it’s a good place to have a résautage [networking] as we say.”
Cinéma du réel is also a chance to catch up on the latest releases on the doc scene. Bizern adds: “All our French films in the competition are in world premiere.” This has the added attraction of international attention. “Because of the interest of this selection, a lot of different sellers and also festival programmers are here from Guangzhou, from Yamagata, from Sundance…”
With the closure of the Centre Pompidou, the festival’s new home in the Latin Quarter is a highlight for Bizern this year. The presentation in commercial cinemas will bring new audiences and perspectives for the festival, she says.
The festival was established in 1979, and Bizern herself joined Cinéma du réel in 2018. BDE asked what the festival’s perspective is on the documentary market in general. There is a place for every project, she suggests, and this is where markets and festivals can help in connecting people. “For me, documentary is a name for a lot of different things and there are many different specific places in the market. It’s not the same between film for television, film for the theatrical market, for the art market.”
In an ever-changing world, it’s an industry that can really have an impact, bring new points-of-view, elicit change and understanding, Bizern underlines.
“We find that the world now is in a very difficult situation, and we know that filmmakers around the world are responding. The festival this year is not about what to do, but simply to do – it’s not a question, it’s an affirmation,” she adds philosophically. “We propose a programme where will be able to understand a little more how we can continue to fight… I don’t know if it’s fighting, but maybe to advocate.”
