On the occasion of the 20e edition of the Rencontres sur les docks festival, from May 2 to 5, the L’Atalante cinema, in Bayonne, rolls out the red carpet for Iranian directors. “We are a modest festival, in a region which has many festivals. But this event says a lot about our room, born from the observation that the essence of cinema is to film reality,” explains Jean-Pierre Saint-Picq, president of Cinéma et Cultures, an association supporting L’Atalante.
This is why the “Meetings” never take place without echoes of what is happening far from the borders of France, in these countries where totalitarian regimes hinder freedom. “The idea for this year’s focus on Iran was born last September, a year after the death of a young Iranian Kurd at the hands of the moral police and the demonstrations that followed this tragedy,” says Jean- Pierre Saint-Picq.
Fifteen films presented
No less than fifteen films from Iran or the diaspora are programmed throughout the festival. A window open on this restricted country little known to the general public. Certain filmmakers, like Rakhshan Banietemād, a great figure in Iranian cinema, or even Kaveh Mazaheri and Mahmoud Ghaffari, who represent the new generation of independent Iranian cinema, are expected on the banks of Adour to come and present their works, most often banned in their country.
At the same time, the festival will also offer, as every year, a focus on Basque cinema.
