After 31 editions of devoting itself to general, non-specific audiovisual production, the FIPA has decided to change tack, taking note of the huge upheaval that has occurred in the festival landscape – particularly the heightened competition generated by the emergence of events devoted to series. Rechristened FIPADOC and equipped with a brand-new team (with Anne Georget serving as president and Christine Camdessus as artistic director), the gathering, whose 2019 edition will unspool in Biarritz from 22-27 January and will be opened by the British production John and Yoko: Above Us Only Sky by Michael Epstein, has thus opted to favour the documentary, a genre in which it undeniably has the upper hand in terms of the industry calendar.

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In its international competition, 11 titles (which are as yet unreleased in France) will be weighed up by a jury that includes US director Shola Lynch, Finland’s Leena Pasanen (who is the artistic director of Dok Leipzig and will take over the reins of the Biografilm festival in 2020) and French broadcaster Charles Hembert (Le Meilleur du Cinéma/UniversCiné; Blaq Out). The movies in the running are Graves Without a Name [+lee también:
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entrevista: Rithy Panh
ficha de la película] by Rithy Panh (unveiled at Venice, in the Giornate degli Autori), The Apollo of Gaza [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] by Switzerland’s Nicolas Wadimoff (which premiered at Locarno), Totems et Tabous by Belgium’s Daniel Cattier, Another Day of Life [+lee también:
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entrevista: Raúl de la Fuente
ficha de la película] by Raúl de la Fuente and Damian Nenow (revealed as a Special Screening at Cannes and winner of the 2018 European Film Award for Best Animated Film), Goya’s Skull [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] by Spaniard Samuel Alarcon, La ciutat dels morts by his fellow countryman Miguel Eek, Home Games [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] by Alisa Kovalenko (a production involving Ukraine, France and Poland), Vote for Kibera [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] by Czech director Martin Pav (Audience Award at the Ji.hlava IDFF), Putin’s Witnesses [+lee también:
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entrevista: Vitaly Mansky
ficha de la película] by Vitaly Mansky (Grand Prix at Karlovy Vary) and Walking on Water [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] by Andrey Paounov (produced by the USA, Bulgaria and Italy – presented out of competition at Locarno). The selection is rounded off by A Sister’s Song by Israel’s Danae Elon.

Thirteen films will be taking part in the national competition, including Les Enfants maudits by Cyril Denvers, Daraya, la bibliothèque sous les bombes by Delphine Minoui and Bruno Joucla, The Grand Hotel Ballet [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] by Jacques Deschamps, and Otages by Michel Peyrard and Damien Vercaemer. Also locking horns are Le souffle du canon by Nicolas Mingasson, On nous appelait Beurettes by Bouchera Azzouz, Algérie, la guerre des appelés by Thierry de Lestrade and Sylvie Gilman, La Disgrâce by Didier Cros, François Dolto, au nom de l’enfant by Virginie Linhart, Quelle folie by Diego Gouvernatori, Vertige de la chute by Vincent Rimbaux and Patricia Landi, D’ici là by Matthieu Dibelius, and Corleone, la mafia par le sang by Mosco Levi Boucault.

Several other competitions are on the menu, including one endowed with a Grand Prix, which will see nine music docs go head to head. The FIPADOC is also instigating a competitive section called Impact, which will offer eight movies centring on social justice, human rights and the protection of the environment. Also of note is a “Panorama of French-language Creation” that brings together nine titles, 26 shorts within the “Young Creation” competition, 21 digital documentary experiences (VR, web docs, native content for mobile phones and tablets, augmented reality and so on) on the “Smart FIPA” programme, a German Focus comprising eight films, a spotlight on director Serge Viallet, preview screenings of movies such as L’Odyssée du loup by Vincent Steiger and Chabrol L’anticonformiste by Cécilia Maistre-Chabrol, a focus on the Tënk, nokZeDoc and UniversCiné platforms, the FIPADOC Campus, and a professional sidebar taking place from 23-25 January, including conferences, themed presentations, round-tables and pitching sessions, with a particular emphasis on French-German cooperation.