The first major international documentary event of the year, the 5th edition of FIPADOC is set to unspool between 20 and 28 January in Biarritz, returning full throttle to its usual effervescence after the constraints of previous pandemic years.

Due to open with a world premiere and a film concert of 29173NM by Vincent Bonnemazou and Romain de la Haye-Serafini, the event will present an enormous line-up of 200 documentary works exploring all kinds of genres (including 147 cinema and TV films), while upwards of 2,000 international professionals and 30,000 viewers are also expected to attend.

12 films, produced over the past year and as yet unseen in France, will be battling it out for the Grand Documentary Prize, which will be decided upon by a jury including Georgian director Salomé Jashi, Finnish producer IIkka Vehkalahti (IV Film) and Sweden’s Anita Reher (director of Nordisk Panorama).

Stealing focus among these movies are Casa Susanna [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Sébastien Lifshitz
scheda film] by French filmmaker Sébastien Lifshitz (well-received in Venice and Toronto), Umberto Eco – A Library of the World by Italy’s Davide Ferrario, Fledglings [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Lidia Duda
scheda film] by Poland’s Lidia Duda (unveiled in Locarno’s Critics’ Week), Catching The Pirate King by Belgian directors Lennart Stuyck and Maarten Stuyck, and Rules Of War by Holland’s Guido Hendrikx.

Likewise in the running is Dror Moreh’s Israeli-French-German co-production The Corridors of Power, Nishtha Jain’s The Golden Thread (combining the production prowess of India, the UK, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Netherlands and Norway), Elvis A-Liang Lu’s Taiwanese-French co-production A Holy Family [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], Lea Najjar’s Kash Kash [+leggi anche:
intervista: Lea Najjar
scheda film] (steered by Germany in league with Lebanon and Qatar) and Savoy by Zohar Wagner (Israel/Germany/France). Rounding off the line-up are Silent House by Iranian directors Farnaz Jurabchian & Mohammadreza Jurabchian, and American production Les Corbeaux sont Blancs by Ahsen Nadeem.

In terms of the Grand Prize for Best National Documentary, 13 as yet unseen films are all in the running, notably Charlotte Salomon, Life and the Maiden by Muriel and Delphine Coulin, Exclusion, Rébellion, Affirmation – Newark USA by Steve Faigenbaum, Godard Cinema [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Cyril Leuthy and The Last Souls of Syria [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Stéphane Malterre and Garance Le Caisne.

FIPADOC’s plentiful programme also includes a breath-taking European Stories competition, screening The Cathedral [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Slovakia’s Denis Dobrovoda, Holy Dilemma [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Hungarian directors Julianna Ugrin and Marton Vizkelety, The Investigator [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Viktor Portel
scheda film] by Czech filmmaker Viktor Portel, The Visitors [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by his compatriot Veronika Lisková, Too Close [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Romania’s Botond Püsök, Girl Gang [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Susanne Regina Meures
scheda film] by Switzerland’s Susanne Regina Meures, and the Italian-French-Greek co-production Kristos, The Last Child [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Giulia Amati
scheda film] by Giulia Amati, to name just a few.

Europe will likewise be honoured by way of a Regional Focus, this year dedicated to the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) and to Finland, as well as via the Ukraine Visions line-up.

Standing tall in the sphere of international competitions is the Panorama of French-Language Creation, the Short Film Competition, the young creation section (New Talents) for graduate films, and the Smart line-up for digital works (VR, web-series, augmented reality...), while a further five selections are also screening out of competition.

The FIPADOC Industry Days event is scheduled to unfold between 23 and 26 January, boasting upwards of 50 seances, pitching sessions, conferences and meetings, including a round table on the international distribution of French documentaries (moderated by Unifrance) and the 24 Co-Production Forum projects.