Themed retrospective: Rural Ways
The farmer, this familiar face in our world, is a rare character in cinema. The short film, a privileged place for the representation of those unseen, has always sought to give him a place.
In their time, behind the iconic Georges Rouquier, Alain Cavalier (La gaveuse), Jacques Demy, Raymond Depardon, Jacques Doillon, Jean Eustache and Éric Rohmer have testified to an era of ancestral farming where there was solidarity amongst farmers, who had no boss and worked hard, masters of their own time and space.
This world, with its secular culture and know-how, has strongly shaped our society and our land. We will be delighted to revisit the magnificent The Man Who Planted Trees (L’homme qui plantait des arbres) by Frédéric Back, told in the inimitable tone of the late Philippe Noiret.
This imprint, on both mankind and the earth, underwent profound changes in the 20th century. Productivity and mass distribution radically transformed our relationship with plants, animals and, as a result, human relations.
A new generation of authors, led by Hubert Charuel, director of the feature film Bloody Milk (Petit paysan, 2017) and member of the 2019 National Competition jury, takes on the universal stakes of a community in crisis (loss of meaning, transmission, solitude) yet one that remains combative, where characters, often female, defend their history and seek to reinvent themselves. They film the poetic and generous reality of these worlds, like the films of Ken Wardrop (The Herd and Useless Dog), who will be a member of the International Competition jury.
Once again actors in a future with major ecological challenges, where all scenarios are still possible, the rural worlds (from the digital farm to the short film circuit, via the worlds of genetics and the animal condition) forge the way towards a shared future.
