Special screenings
Opening night, sneak previews, French premieres of films acclaimed at A-list festivals, and other privileged encounters with both young and experienced filmmakers close to Cinéma du réel’s identity: every day, these special events bring audiences and filmmakers together and offer an exclusive chance to explore the most talked-about films of the moment.
A special screening will be shown each night during the festival.
Opening film
Nuestra Tierra by Lucrecia Martel
2025 | Argentina, United-States, Mexico, France, Netherlands, Denmark | 119′
Argentina, 2009. Three white men attempt to expel members of the indigenous community of Chuschagasta, claiming ownership of the land. Armed, they kill the community leader, Javier Chocobar. The murder is filmed, and in 2018, after nine years of impunity and centuries of colonial history, the trial begins.
AVANT-PREMIÈRE
Friday 20 March | 8.p.m. | L’Arlequin
Meeting with Lucrecia Martel Friday 27 March at 7:30 p.m. 19 at Reflet Médicis
Closing
En Nous by Juliette Binoche
2025 | France | 127′
In 2007, Juliette Binoche and dancer and choreographer Akram Khan put their careers on hold to embark on a daring artistic adventure, IN-I, a performance they have presented more than a hundred times around the world. Today, Juliette Binoche looks back on this intimate journey.
In presence of Juliette Binoche
Saturday 28 March | 8:30 p.m. | L’Arlequin
We Are the Fruits of the Forest by Rithy Panh
2025 | France, Cambodia | 87′
A four-year journey through Cambodia’s northern mountains reveals indigenous communities preserving their ancestral ways of life and deep connection to the natural world.
Followed by a discussion
AVANT-PREMIÈRE
Saturday 21 March | 4:30 p.m. | Reflet Médicis
Un hiver russe by Patric Chiha
2026 | France | 86′
After the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Margarita, Yuri and their friends are pushed into exile from Russia as they refuse to comply with the regime. Suspended between countries they have nowhere to return, and nowhere they feel truly welcome.
Followed by a discussion
AVANT-PREMIÈRE
Saturday 21 March | 9:15 p.m. | L’Arlequin
To Hold a Mountain by Biljana Tutorov et Petar Glomazić
2026 | Serbia, France, Montenegro, Slovenia, Croatia | 105′
In the remote highlands of Montenegro, a shepherd mother and daughter proudly defend their ancestral mountain from the threat of becoming a NATO military training ground, stirring memories of the violence that shattered their family.
Followed by a discussion
AVANT-PREMIÈRE
Sunday 22 March | 9 p.m. | Reflet Médicis
Mare’s Nest by Ben Rivers
2025 | United-Kingdom, France, Canada | 98′
Moon travels through a mysterious world free of adults. She meets many people who show her different possibilities for living. She observes and moves on into an unknown future.
Followed by a discussion
AVANT-PREMIÈRE
Tuesday 24 March | 9:30 p.m. | L’Arlequin
A Cry in the Dark by Bani Khoshnoudi
Performative and visual reading | 30′
Wednesday 25 March | 7 p.m. | Reflet Médicis
&
The Vanishing Point by Bani Khoshnoudi
2025 | Iran, United-States, France | 103′
After her film was banned in Iran, the filmmaker, now in exile, breaks her family’s long silence about a disappeared cousin, executed during the 1988 purges in political prisons. Intertwining her personal story with that of her country, she conveys an unquenchable collective thirst for freedom.
Followed by a discussion
Wednesday 25 March | 9 p.m. | Reflet Médicis
Eberhard as Seen by Amit by Amit Dutta
2026 | India, Switzerland | 96′
This film portrays Eberhard Fischer, a Swiss ethnographer and art historian whose life has been devoted to documenting artistic practices across cultures, from mask carvers in Africa to painters in India. His work led to enduring collaborations, including one with filmmaker Amit Dutta. Drawing on archival footage and memory, the film reflects on a long creative friendship.
Followed by a discussion
AVANT-PREMIÈRE
Friday 27 March | 2 p.m. | L’Arlequin
Eight Bridges by James Benning
2026 | United-States | 82′
“It seems to be the time to consider bridges.” – James Benning
AVANT-PREMIÈRE
Friday 27 March | 4:45 p.m. | L’Arlequin
Tall El Zaatar by Jean Chamoun, Mustafa Abu Ali, Pino Adriano
1977 | Palestine, Italia | 82′
A record of a history that has been erased, of the palestinian refugees camp of Tall el Zaatar in Lebanon, that was wiped off the face of the earth. It is the only film that has been made about the massacre.
Followed by a discussion
RESTORED VERSION
Friday 27 March | 7:30 p.m. | L’Arlequin
Remake by Ross McElwee
2025 | United-States | 117′
The death of his son suddenly causes Ross McElwee to reassess his approach to filmmaking and to his own life’s work.
Followed by a discussion
AVANT-PREMIÈRE
Friday 27 March | 8 p.m. | L’Arlequin
DAO by Alain Gomis
2026 | France, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau | 185′
Today Gloria is marrying off her daughter in the suburbs of Paris. Not long ago, in Guinea-Bissau, she attended the ceremony that enshrined her deceased father as an ancestor. Between past and present, life and death, reality and fiction, Gloria reconciles with her history, finds her place, and experiences a moment of peace.
Followed by a discussion
AVANT-PREMIÈRE
Saturday 28 March | 1:30 p.m. | L’Arlequin
Belleville nous verra toujours danser by Hugo Sobelman
2025 | France | 87′
At the foot of Belleville Park, “La Perm’,” a volunteer legal aid center, has become a second home for local teenagers. Here, they paint a picture of young people wondering where they belong in France, a country that can’t help but look at them askance.
Followed by a discussion
AVANT-PREMIÈRE
Saturday 28 March | 5:45 p.m. | L’Arlequin