28/06/2024 - Between 28 June and 7 July, the festival will present 228 films and host a myriad of events, including tributes to Michael Haneke, Françoise Fabian, Aktan Arym Kubat and Benjamín Naishtat

Alain Guiraudie’s brilliant Misericordia [+see also:
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interview: Alain Guiraudie
film profile] (discovered in Cannes) is set to open the 52nd Festival La Rochelle Cinéma (Fema) (running 28 June to 7 July) this evening, an event deeply attached to its strictly non-competitive identity and highly appreciated for its eclectic and demanding line-up.

Eye-catching tributes this year include an homage to Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke (who’ll be taking part in a round table on 6 July, notably alongside Isabelle Huppert), during which the full back-catalogue of his work will be screened, including his 12 feature films and his five TV films, and homages to French actress Françoise Fabian, Kirghiz director Aktan Arym Kubat and his Argentinian counterpart Benjamín Naishtat (showcasing his latest opus Puan [+see also:
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interview: Benjamín Naishtat and María…
film profile], among other works). Stand-out retrospectives include those for Chantal Akerman (with 18 films in the line-up), Marcel Pagnol (13 films) and Natalie Wood (7 films).

Stealing focus among the 29 favourite films of the year featuring in the Ici et Ailleurs section are 20 feature-length movies which were recently well-received in Cannes, including three works which triumphed in competition (All We Imagine As Light [+see also:
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film profile] by India’s Payal Kapadia, Grand Tour [+see also:
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interview: Marta Donzelli, Gregorio Pa…
interview: Miguel Gomes
film profile] by Portugal’s Miguel Gomes and The Seed of the Sacred Fig [+see also:
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interview: Directors Talks @ European …
interview: Mohammad Rasoulof
film profile] by Iran’s Mohammad Rasoulof), two rewarded in the Un Certain Regard line-up (Black Dog by China’s Guan Hu and The Story of Souleymane [+see also:
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interview: Boris Lojkine
film profile] by French director Boris Lojkine), one in the Directors’ Fortnight (Universal Language by Canada’s Matthew Rankin) and one in Critics’ Week (Baby [+see also:
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film profile] by Brazil’s Marcelo Caetano). Other movies making their way to the festival directly from the Croisette notably include The Other Way Around [+see also:
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interview: Jonás Trueba
film profile] by Spain’s Jonás Trueba, Three Kilometres to the End of the World [+see also:
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interview: Emanuel Pârvu
film profile] by Romania’s Emanuel Pârvu, When the Light Breaks [+see also:
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interview: Elín Hall
interview: Rúnar Rúnarsson
film profile] by Iceland’s Rúnar Rúnarsson, and the French films Ghost Trail [+see also:
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interview: Jonathan Millet
interview: Pauline Seigland
film profile] by Jonathan Millet, Le Royaume [+see also:
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interview: Julien Colonna
film profile] by Julien Colonna,  Jim’s Story [+see also:
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interview: Arnaud and Jean-Marie Larrieu
film profile] by Arnaud and Jean-Marie Larrieu, This Life of Mine [+see also:
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film profile] by Sophie Fillières and In His Own Image [+see also:
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interview: Thierry de Peretti
film profile] by Thierry de Peretti. This impressive Ici et Ailleurs line-up is rounded off by six films previously screened in Berlin (notably Crossing Istanbul [+see also:
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interview: Levan Akin
film profile] by Sweden’s Levan Akin and Foreign Tongue [+see also:
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interview: Claire Burger
film profile] by French director Claire Burger), one feature film discovered in San Sebastian (Last Shadow at First Light [+see also:
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film profile] by Singapore’s Nicole Midori Woodford), Sob a chama da candeia [+see also:
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film profile] by Portugal’s André Gil Mata and Stormskerry Maja [+see also:
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film profile] by Finland’s Tiina Lymi.

A brand-new section is also set to take flight, by the name of Au Cœur du Doc, which will present 18 films, notably Mati Diop’s Berlin Golden Bear winner Dahomey [+see also:
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film profile], Arnaud Desplechin’s Filmlovers! [+see also:
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film profile] and four world premieres in the form of Cavalier seul by Yves Jeuland, Le Veilleur by Lou du Pontavice and Victoire Bonin, Le Sentier des absents by Eugénie Zvonkine and The Neon People by Jean-Baptiste Thoret.

The copious festival agenda will also include, among other attractions, a Daniel Day-Lewis day (involving five films), a music masterclass with composer Amine Bouhafa and filmmaker Patricia Mazuy, and an editing masterclass with editor François Gédigier and composer Grégoire Hetzel, not to mention a film restoration masterclass, a round table featuring composers Irène Drésel, Julie Roué and Carla Pallone, twenty restored or re-released classics or rarities in the D’hier à Aujourd’hui section (notably featuring Napoléon vu par Abel Gance in the festival’s closing slot), seven additional line-ups (dedicated to Márta Mészáros, Yannick Bellon and Laurent Terzieff, among others) and, last but not least, the FEMA des Enfants, which notably features a tribute to Swiss director Claude Barras (including his latest opus, Savages [+see also:
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interview: Red Carpet @ European Film …
film profile]) and four feature films which recently dazzled in Annecy (Flow [+see also:
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interview: Gints Zilbalodis
interview: Red Carpet @ European Film …
film profile] by Gints Zilbalodis, Living Large [+see also:
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interview: Kristina Dufková
film profile] by Czech director Kristina Dufková, A Boat in the Garden [+see also:
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film profile] by Jean-François Laguionie and Into the Wonderwoods [+see also:
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interview: Vincent Paronnaud and Alexi…
film profile] by the directorial duo Vincent Paronnaud and Alexis Ducord).

(Translated from French)