03/11/2023 - The director unpicks the 24th edition of the festival, notably the European competition and the focus sessions, as well as the current state of distribution

Nadia Paschetto, the director of the Arras Film Festival, which she founded alongside Managing Director Éric Miot, chatted with us about the 24th edition of the event which is kicking off today (read our articles here and here).

Cineuropa: How would you describe the editorial line of your European competition?
Nadia Paschetto: We see a huge number of films, and the ones which prevail are cinematographic works, films which speak to us, which we like and which we want to carry forwards and champion. If they happen to be films by women directors (like this year’s movies Without Air [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Katalin Moldovai
film profile] by Hungary’s Katalin Moldovai, Slow [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Marija Kavtaradze
film profile] by Lithuania’s Marija Kavtaradze, Solitude [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ninna Pálmadóttir
film profile] by Iceland’s Ninna Pálmadottir and Holly [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Fien Troch
film profile] by Belgian director Fien Troch) or first feature films (like the first three afore-mentioned movies), that’s great, but it’s not our priority. Whether young filmmakers or more established authors, all of the films in competition, from Stella. A Life [+see also:
film review
interview: Kilian Riedhof
film profile] by Germany’s Kilian Riedhof to Let the River Flow [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ole Giæver
film profile] by Norway’s Ole Giaever and Libertate [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Tudor Giurgiu & Cecilia Ste…
film profile] by Romania’s Tudor Giurgiu, won unanimous approval from our selection committee.

But we also like to follow and support authors, and we make a point of it: when we discover a talent, an author whose universe and cinematography we like, we’re loyal to them. That’s the case with various filmmakers this year, two of which have been selected in competition. Bulgaria’s Stephan Komandarev, who we’d previously selected in competition with Rounds [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Stephan Komandarev
film profile] and who won the Arras Days Development Grant for his project Blaga's Lessons [+see also:
film review
interview: Stephan Komandarev
film profile], is now going to be presenting his film here (which triumphed in Karlovy Vary in July) and he’s also going to pitch his new project, Made in EU, in Arras Days. And Turkish director Selman Nacar previously competed in Arras in 2021 with his debut feature Between Two Dawns [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Selman Nacar
film profile], and he’d pitched Hesitation Wound [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Selman Nacar
film profile] in Arras Days, won a grant for it and is now taking it into this year’s European competition.

This year’s Focus is dedicated to Croatia.
As of last year, we fleshed out the professional aspect of Arras Days by inviting a country. After Slovenia in 2022, it’s the turn of Croatia. Five Croatian projects (three in development and two works in progress) are set to be presented on Sunday 12 November. During our prep work we also discovered lots of really interesting, recent Croatian films and we decided to programme some really different works on the festival side, ranging from films about the after-effects of war to social or couples-based comedies.

Polish director Agnieszka Holland and Italy’s Matteo Garrone are the festival’s guests of honour and they’re scheduled to deliver masterclasses.
It’s something I’m incredibly proud of. And the Q&A session following the screening of Me Captain [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] will be broadcast in thirty or so French and Italian cinemas within the context of the 8th European Arthouse Cinema Day (in partnership with CICAE and AFCAE). Agnieszka Holland and Matteo Garrone are two incredible and iconic filmmakers, and through a combination of circumstances and an alignment of the stars, Green Border [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] and Me Captain are two very human films which complement each other, with their very different aesthetics and outlooks on the migrant theme.

Central and Eastern European films were hit really hard during the pandemic period, with French distributors becoming incredibly cautious with acquisitions. What’s the situation at present?
There’s been some improvement. Out of our titles from Visions de l’Est, Restore Point [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Robert Hloz
film profile] by Czech director Robert Hloz, the animated Polish film The Peasants [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by DK and Hugh Welchman, and Phantom Youth [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Luána Bajrami have already secured a French distributor; it shouldn’t take Guardians of the Formula [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Dragan Bjelogrlić
film profile] by Serbia’s Dragan Bjelogrlic too long to find one, and I have high hopes for the documentary Photophobia [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ivan Ostrochovský, Pavol Pe…
film profile] by Slovakian directors Ivan Ostrochovsky and Pavol Pekarcik. Certain distributors are getting their appetites back; they might not release many films over the course of a year but they work hard on the ones they do commit to. But it’s not always easy, as we know only too well, and this is the case for films from the biggest countries too, because the general situation for distribution is a complicated one.

Arras has 43,000 inhabitants and the festival recorded over 45,000 admissions last year. Is this success with the public your biggest victory?
We have a fantastic audience who are incredibly curious and who trust us. When you have good films, you’re going to get admisions, and where there are admissions, you’ll get a good level of word-of-mouth which helps the films when they’re released in cinemas. It’s a virtuous circle.

(Translated from French)