Cinéma du Réel
A strong presence of Canadian documentary

The 45th “Cinéma du réel” documentary film festival will be an opportunity to understand the world through films that challenge our imaginations, to confront a diversity of cinematographic approaches and to look at our contemporary world.

Discover the diversity of forms and cinematographic approaches of the international documentary production from March 24 to April 2 at the Centre Pompidou and its partner venues.

This year, several Canadian documentaries have been selected:
In the International Competition: Infinite Distances by Pablo Alvarez Mesa, Laberint Sequences by Blake Williams and The Newest Olds by Pablo Mazzolo.
The « Front(s) populaire(s) » selection: Animal macula by Sylvain L’Espérance and Geographies of Solitude by Jacquelyn Mills.

International Competition

Infinite Distances, Pablo Alvarez Mesa
24 min, Canada, 2022
Infinite Distances explores how we communicate, evoking recent nostalgia for the landline and pointing to our fundamental need to connect, share, and be heard.

Laberint Sequences, Blake Williams
21′ / Canada / 2023
In Barcelona, in Horta’s Laberint, the film traces several routes in search of the centre of the garden, where a statue of the god Eros sits. As we move from one deceptive route to another, the repetitive structure of the labyrinth gradually cracks, and a mysterious underlying world floods the enclosure.

The Newest Olds, Pablo Mazzolo
14 min, Canada/Argentine, 2022
The Newest Olds transforms Detroit’s iconic cityscapes, dislodging buildings from their foundations and collapsing the physical, political, and sensory boundaries between Canada and the United States through alchemical, in-camera, and optical printing techniques.

 « Front(s) populaire(s) » Selection

Animal Macula, Sylvain L’Espérance
1h21 min, Canada, 2021
Animal Macula is based on a colossal archaeological work, searching for occurrences of animal representations in the archives of world cinema of the last 125 years. An assemblage from which emanates a complex and troubled, often violent, relationship between humans and animals. In this proximity, it is also our linked destinies that the film encourages us to rediscover.

Geographies of Solitude, Jacquelyn Mills
01h40min, Canada, 2022
Ecologist Zoe Lucas first came to Sable Island, a remote island off the coast of Nova Scotia, in the 1970s and has lived on this remote strip of land for decades, almost alone. Her studies of the island’s biodiversity have made this self-taught scientist a valued expert.

In partnership with the Canadian Cultural Centre