Now that Sunny Side of the Doc has thrown in the towel (read our news), the importance of FIPADOC for the national and European documentary industry has become even more critical, not least because of its position as the first gathering of the year in the international calendar. With 186 films from 35 countries on the slate, this 8th edition, held from 23 to 31 January in Biarritz (still helmed by president Anne Georget and general delegate Christine Camdessus), looks set to be a promising one, with the dynamism and diversity of the documentary form once again stealing the limelight despite a general atmosphere of tension when it comes to financing works.

13 films will vie for the Grand Documentary Prize, which will be awarded by a jury including Spanish filmmaker and producer Miguel Eek, his Slovenian counterpart Petra Seliškar and Danish editor Per K. Kirkegaard. Standing out among them are A Fox Under a Pink Moon by Mehrdad OskoueI and Soraya Akhalaghi (triumphant in the IDFA), Belgian-French-Vietnamese production Hair, Paper, Water... [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Trương Minh Quý
scheda film] by Trương Minh Quý and Nicolas Graux (awarded the Golden Leopard in Locarno’s Filmmakers of the Present section), Dutch-Belgian film Kabul, Between Prayers [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Aboozar Amini
scheda film] by Aboozar Amini (which premiered out of competition in Venice), Who Is Still Alive [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Nicolas Wadimoff
scheda film] by Swiss director Nicolas Wadimoff (also screened in Venice, within the Giornate degli Autori line-up), Dear Tomorrow [+leggi anche:
intervista: Kaspar Astrup Schröder
scheda film] by Dane Kaspar Astrup Schröder (unveiled in Austin’s SXSW) and two Italian titles: Lamb of God [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Italian filmmaker Massimiliano Camaiti (unveiled in Venice’ Biennale College Cinema) and She by fellow Italian Parsifal Reparato (screened in Locarno’s Critics’ Week). Likewise gracing the selection is the British production The Cycle of Love by Orlando von Einsiedel (which premiered in Telluride), The Clown of Gaza by Abdulrahman Sabbah (shown in the IDFA and co-produced by France, Jordan and Qatar), and Where Everything Disappears by Ukrainian director Oleksandr Tkachenko, alongside an Indian film and two American titles (by Bipuljit Basu, Joel Kachi Benson and Tony Benna).

The National Documentary competition will see 12 titles face off, assessed by a jury composed of Ukrainian writer Andreï Kourkov and French directors Sonia Kronlund and Yolande Zauberman. In the running are Shaïna: A Tale of Criminal Neglect by Tamara Erde, Future on a Tray by Julie Talon, Le Dilemme d'Hippocrate by Guillaume Estivie, Little Big Mind by Salma Cheddadi and Karelle Fitoussi, Stitch by Stitch by Nicolas Mingasson, The Exported: the Dark Trade of Cold War by Pierre Goetschel and The Return of the Projectionist [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Orkhan Aghazadeh
scheda film] by Paris-based Azerbaijani Orkhan Aghazadeh (discovered in competition in Visions du Réel). Also in the mix are The Taste of Sugar by Charlie Duplan and Thomas Loubière, Véto de campagne by Marianne Kerfriden, Wolobougou by Camille Varenne, Zone grise by Liza Guillamot, and Gabrielle Stemmer’s medium-length movie, The Strike.

The 13 titles in the Impact Documentary competition will be judged by a panel including Spaniard José Luis Rebordinos (director of the San Sebastián Film Festival), French filmmaker Marie-Monique Robin, and her Swedish counterpart Fredrik Gertten. Most notable among these works are Back to Fukushima by Belgian Thomas Licata, Black Water [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Natxo Leuza
scheda film] by Spain’s Natxo Leuza (screened in CPH DOX), US-French production Coexistence, My Ass! [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Amber Fares (rewarded in Sundance), The Six Billion Dollar Man [+leggi anche:
intervista: Eugene Jarecki
scheda film] by Eugene Jarecki (awarded a Golden Eye Special Mention in Cannes), German production Elon Musk Unveiled – The Tesla Experiment by Andreas Pichler, Le sang et la boue by France’s Jean-Gabriel Leynaud, Slave Island by Jimmy Hendrickx and Jeremy Kewuan, Australian-British film Trade Secret by Abraham Joffe, and An Eye for an Eye by Tanaz Eshaghian and Farzad Jafari (victorious in Tribeca).

Eye-catching works among the 12 titles selected in the Music Documentaries competition are We, The Orchestra of Paris by French director Philippe Béziat, La Leçon de violon by fellow French filmmaker Julie Bertuccelli, the Spanish productions Farruquito, a Flamenco Dynasty by the duo Santi Aguado and Reuben Atlas and Flores para Antonio by Isaki Lacuesta and Elena Molina (which screened in San Sebastián), and the British production Broken English [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Jane Pollard, Iain Forsyth
scheda film] by Jane Pollard and Iain Forsyth (unveiled out of competition in Venice), among others movies.

This deluge of films screening within the festival will be complemented by FIPADOC Pro (running 26 - 29 January), where the 2,600 professionals expected to attend will get to take part in multiple conferences (including on how shifting funding models are impacting documentaries) and which features Spain and Portugal as this year’s Focus countries. Likewise on the agenda are meetings with broadcasters (notably HBO Max and Arte France) and several pitching sessions (including those presenting 24 international projects).