17 documentaries are competing for the L’OEil d’Or – Documentary Award. The Jury, with Gianfranco Rosi as President and consisting of Anne Aghion, Natacha Régnier, Thierry Garrel and Amir Labaki, will present the award on Saturday, 21 May at 12pm at the Palais des Festivals.
Elated by the large presence of documentary features, with a high quality selection, LaScam is also delighted by the homage to two major figures of documentary cinema, both already recompensed by LaScam with a lifetime achievement award for their films: Raymond Depardon and Frederick Wiseman.
Two other documentaries (out of competition for the L’OEil d’Or) are to be presented at Cannes by Acid: Swagger by Olivier Babinet (France) and Mrs. B, A North Korean Woman by Jero Yun (France/South Korea). These additional screenings reflect the growing popularity of documentary films in cinemas.
Solidarity with the Iranian, Keywan Karimi
The L’OEil d’Or jury has drawn attention to the fate of Iranian filmmaker, Keywan Karimi, sentenced by an Appeal Court in February 2016 to one year’s imprisonment, 223 lashes and a fine of 20 million rials for his recent documentary film, Writing on the City, about the graffiti and messages written on the walls of Teheran from the 1979 revolution to the 2009 political movement. He is accused of “insulting sanctities” for a love scene that he denies filming and “propaganda” against the government. International efforts must continue to have his sentence overturned and demand the lifting of all sanctions and freedom for artistic creation worldwide.
Contacts
Astrid Lockhart: +33 (0)6 73 84 98 27 – astrid.lockhart@scam.fr
Catherine Walrafen Modolo – +33 (0)6 83 56 24 64 – prixdudocumentaire-cannes@scam.fr
Log onto http://www.scam.fr/LOeildorDocumentaryAward to read the complete dossier and all the jury biographies.
La Scam* in partnership with Ina