There's no stopping the inventiveness of documentaries, and perhaps it's in this area of cinema that the freest and most stimulating creations can be found today. The films selected for the 47th edition of Cinéma du Réel, taking place in Paris from March 22 to 29, bear witness to this. Due to the closure of the Centre Pompidou cinemas, where the festival traditionally takes place, this year's event is spread across four cinemas, L'Arlequin (6th arrondissement), Reflet Médicis (5th), Saint-André-des-Arts (6th) and Christine Cinéma Club (6th).
Looking at the 37 films in the competition, from 10-minute shorts to nearly two-hour features, what is striking is the extraordinary variety of forms used to express solitude, the obstacles faced by the individual, the difficulty of fighting together or coming together.
One of the exceptions is the sublime Balane 3 by Portugal's Ico Costa. The 16-millimeter film captures the intensity of a Mozambican town, Inhambane, between desires, intense exchanges and the desire to live.
Elsewhere, it stings a bit, even if the filmmakers manage to distract from the bleak atmosphere through aesthetics. In Air Base, a Canadian film by Wuhan-born Chinese filmmaker Luo Li, who studied fine arts at York University in Toronto, the director orchestrates a strange stroll through his hometown, now known as the origin of the Covid pandemic.
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