- Tweeter
republish
Fipadoc, the new general festival of the "best documentary", opens its doors on January 22 in Biarritz, France. With the selection of over a hundred films from around the world, this International Documentary Festival wishes to establish itself as a reference in its genre. And Christine Camdessus, Executive Director of Fipadoc, is already launching " an appeal to African filmmakers to register their films ". Interview on this meeting supposed to become indispensable for the professionals and the general public, invited to watch, to discuss and to build the role and the future of the documentary.
RFI : In 2019, the old and very famous International Festival of Audiovisual Programs (Fipa) is transformed into Fipadoc. Some called the Fipa " the Cannes of television ". What are your requirements and your ambition for the Fipadoc ?
Christine Camdessus : This is going to be the "Cannes" of the documentary. The idea is to make a big general festival of the documentary. In this great country of production and diffusion of documentaries which is France, there is one thing that was missing: a big festival of all the documentaries, the courts, the means, the long ones, for the big screens, for the television, telephones, cinema ...
There are already many festivals in France showing documentaries : the International Film Festival of Marseille, the International Film Festival in Nancy, the International Short Film Festival in Clermont-Ferrand, the Cinéma du Real in Paris, the Etats Généraux du documentary film in Lussas ... Why is the Fipadoc essential ?
I really like these festivals, but, what we did not have compared to all the big European countries, it is a big festival with the ambition of a great European festival, dedicated 100% to the documentaries. So, a place where all creators, professionals and the general public can meet, to see documentary, to build documentary, to make documentary and to allow documentaries to have its nobility.
A British documentary will open this evening the opening of Fipadoc, John and Yoko, Above Us Only Sky , Michael Epstein. An emblematic film for this first edition ?
It is emblematic for several reasons. First, it's a real documentary that can touch all generations. And then, start a new festival with a song like Imagine , it puts us in a good mood, it makes you want!
The Fipadoc offers a focus on Germany, according to you " one of the pillars of the European documentary ". France and other European countries, what can they learn from the German documentary system ?
In European diversity, there is also diversity in production. Our German friends tell stories that are quite close to us, but they do not tell them the same way. Then, thanks to the existence of Arte, there is a habit, in France and in Germany, of seeing films coming from one side or the other of the Rhine. And the strengthening of Franco-German cooperation - including in documentary coproduction - seems to us to be a very important issue for the development of European production.
Among the innovations presented by Fipadoc, there is a " Competition Impact ". Could you cite the example of a documentary that had an impact on society in France ?
The most frequently cited example is Demain [ French documentary released in 2015, by Cyril Dion and Mélanie Laurent, more than one million viewers in France, distributed in 27 countries, César 2016 for best documentary, editor's note ]. This film made people think a lot about how everyone cares about our planet. The idea of this selection and the idea of "impact producing" is to identify some films that are little more than films, because they have the capacity and the ambition to move the people and make things happen. This competition is there for that. This year, she will highlight the two people who received the Nobel Peace Prize [ Sahra Mani : " At Thousand Girls Like Me ", and Angèle Diabang : " Congo, a doctor to save women ", note ], so positive personalities showing that we can change the world and make it better to live together.
The former Smart-Fipa is transformed into Smart-Fipadoc offering documentaries in virtual and augmented reality. What are the effects of technology on the genre of documentaries ?
When there are new tools, they allow new narrations. In Smart-Fipadoc, digital experiences are mainly documentaries. The documentary lends itself a lot to projecting into the world of the other. The digital experience - including VR or VR 360 - not only allows you to tell a story, but to participate in this story. And when this story is based on a real story, it allows you to live this experience. For us, it is very important to be at the forefront of these new experiences. They will not replace other forms of narration, they will coexist. And for some subjects, they are more adapted.
In the program of Fipadoc appear eleven films that speak of near or far of Africa. Does this reflect an awareness of this continent by documentary ?
What is very surprising, when you make a selection, to realize [after] how some themes are more important than others. We did not choose the films by themes, but by their quality. What we like so much is "the window to the world". This great continent next to us, we do not meet there only sad stories, we also meet there happy stories. And have a look at this Africa close to us, yes, it is very important for us. It was not premeditated, they are films that have imposed themselves.
At the same time, there are only two African directors, Rafiki Fariala and Angèle Diabang. Is the Fipadoc more for Western directors ?
We are quite open and this is one of the themes we will be thinking about next year. This is a first edition. We make the selection on the basis of the films that register. So, call on African filmmakers to register their films at Fipadoc for the 2020 edition. We will be delighted to welcome them.
► See also: Fipa 2018: "Television still has a bright future ahead", rfi, 23/1/2018
► Fipadoc, International Documentary Festival, from January 22 to 27 in Biarritz.