Cinéma du réel (Lit. "Cinema of the Real") is an international documentary annual film festival held in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France, since 1978. It is organised by the

Bibliothèque publique d'information The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the (), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English and colloquially as Beaubourg, is a building complex in Paris, France. It was designed in the style of high-tech architecture by the architectural team of ...

(BPI), and screenings take place at the

Pompidou Centre The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the (), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English and colloquially as Beaubourg, is a building complex in Paris, France. It was designed in the style of high-tech architecture by the architectural team of ...

in Paris as well as partner cinemas in the city. The 47th edition of the festival takes place in March 2025.

History

The festival was founded in 1977 by

Jean-Michel Arnold Jean-Michel Arnold, (April 5, 1938 – September 4, 2019) was General Secretary of the Cinémathèque Française, Vice President of UNESCO's IFTC (International Council for Film Television and Audiovisual Communication), founder of the Cinéma du ...

and

Jean Rouch Jean Rouch (; 31 May 1917 – 18 February 2004) was a French Filmmaking, filmmaker and anthropologist. He is considered one of the founders of cinéma vérité in France. Rouch's practice as a filmmaker, for over 60 years in Africa, was char ...

and the first festival was held in 1978.Official site
(archived October 2005) The 47th edition of the festival takes place in March 2025.

Description

The Cinéma du Réel is organised by the Bibliothèque publique d'information (Bpi; Public Information Library) which is the

in Paris, and screenings take place at the Bpi as well as other cinemas. The festival presents about 200 films per year in several sections by experienced documentary directors as well as emerging filmmakers. The event has developed into one of the major

documentary film festivals Documentary film festivals are film festivals devoted solely to documentary film, which is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt, in one fashion or another, to "document" reality. Although "documentary film" originall ...

, where public attendees view hundreds of documentaries. It also includes workshops, seminars, and a retrospective program highlighting the best of documentary cinema history. Includes prizewinners for 2007 and 2008.

Prizes

the prizes awarded at the Cinéma du Réel are:

Feature films

* Grand Prix Cinéma du réel / Cinéma du réel Grand Prize: funded by the BPI (€5,000) and (€ 3,000); awarded to a feature film in Competition. * Prix international Cinéma du réel / Cinéma du réel International Award: funded by the association Les Amis du Cinéma du réel (€5,000); awarded to an international feature film from the Competition * Prix Cnap du film français / Cnap Award for French films: funded by the

Centre national des arts plastiques The Centre national des arts plastiques (National Centre for Visual Arts, or CNAP) is a French institution established in 1982 under the Ministry of Culture and Communication that promotes creation of visual arts. It provides assistance to artists ...

(€5,000); awarded to a French feature-length film, "to support and promote contemporary artistic production coming from a wide variety of fields and professional backgrounds" * Prix Sacem / Sacem Award: funded by La Sacem (€1,000); awarded to the composer of original music of a feature film

First and short films

These prizes are awarded by the short film and first films jury: * Prix du premier film Loridan-Ivens / First Film Loridan-Ivens Award: funded by Capi Films (€3,500); awarded to a first film with a 50+-minute runtime, featured in competition category. The Loridan-Ivens Award was initiated by Marceline Loridan-Ivens to support emerging committed filmmakers "casting a sharp eye on the state of the world". It is given in honour of filmmaker

Joris Ivens Georg Henri Anton "Joris" Ivens (18 November 1898 – 28 June 1989) was a Dutch documentary filmmaker. Among the notable films he directed or co-directed are '' A Tale of the Wind'', ''The Spanish Earth'', ''Rain'', ''...A Valparaiso'', '' Misèr ...

, husband of Loridan-Ivens and an early supporter of the project. :This prize was formerly known as the Joris Ivens Prize for a Young Filmmaker, referred to as the Joris Ivens Award. In 2011 the award was worth €7,500, jointly funded by Loridan-Ivens, the Les Amis du Cinéma du réel, and the Joris Ivens European Foundation (Europese Stichting Joris Ivens). * Prix du court métrage / Short Film Award: funded by the BPI (€2,500) * Prix Tënk / Tënk Award: funded by Tënk (€500 and acquisition of SVOD broadcasting rights on the Tënk platform); awarded to a short film

Parisdoc Awards

* Coup de cœur Orlando * Prix Préludes / Préludes Award * Prix Route One/DOC / Route One/DOC Award

Other prizes

* Prix des jeunes – Ciné+ festival / Ciné+ Festival Young Jury Award: funded by Ciné+ Festival and awarded to a feature film; guarantees that the film is bought by the channel for €15,000 and broadcast on Ciné+ Festival (conditions apply) * Prix des bibliothèques / Library Award: funded by the Direction générale des médias et des industries culturelles of the

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: * Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) * Ministry of Culture (Algeria) * Ministry of Culture (Argentina) * Minister for the Arts (Australia) * Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan)Ministry o ...

(€2,500); awarded to an international film 50+ minutes long; the film is purchased by the BPI for inclusion in its national catalogue, ''Les Yeux Doc''. * Prix du patrimoine culturel immatériel / Intangible Cultural Heritage Award * Prix Clarens du Documentaire Humaniste / Clarens Award for Humanist Documentary Filmmaking * Prix des Détenus / Inmate Award; created in collaboration with the Fresnes Prison in 2013 and with the Bois D'Arcy Prison in 2017; awarded by a jury of incarcerated people to a short film featured either in competition or in the Première Fenêtre / First Window category * Prix du Public Première Fenêtre / "First Window" Audience Award

Past Grand Prix winners

* 2024: ''

Direct Action Direct action is a term for economic and political behavior in which participants use agency—for example economic or physical power—to achieve their goals. The aim of direct action is to either obstruct a certain practice (such as a governm ...

'' * 2023: ** ''Coconut Head Generation'', Alain Kassanda ** ''Up the River with Acid'', Harald Hutter

Footnotes

References

External links

*
Prizewinners, 2024
1978 establishments in France Documentary film festivals in France Centre Pompidou {{Europe-film-festival-stub