In Royan, the social film festival takes a closer look at people

Around twenty films will be screened in preview until Sunday December 10. The programming for this third edition once again highlights a cinema that takes a keen look at social phenomena.

For three years that it has existed, the Royan society film festival (Charente-Maritime) has been exploring with finesse different problematic And different cultures of the world around us. In total, twenty-one feature films and documentaries from around the world are previewed over four days and seven of them are selected in the official competition.

Films accessible to as many people as possible that tell the small and big stories of today’s men and women. “We want to be surprised, to be disorientated, to learn something other than what we already know about an art and I think the selection is interesting enough to allow that,” assures screenwriter Jacques Fieschi who co-chairs the jury this year alongside actress Clotilde Courau.

Seven films in competition

Among the films selected in the official competition, My mother’s lifee by Julien Carpentier in which Agnès Jaoui plays the role of a mother suffering from bipolarity. A first feature film which echoes the personal story of the director who relishes this invitation. “When I see the directors who are there next to my name, it’s already honorary, I’m very happy, I see it with the eyes of a child,” he rejoices.

Also see, in the official competition, Me, Captain by Italian director Matteo Garrone, but also Innocence, a Japanese drama Hirokazu Kore-eda or the very beautiful feature film by Erwan Le Duc, Her father’s daughter with Celeste Brunnquell and Nahuel Perez Biscayart.

Like any self-respecting film festival, the final prize list closes the session and rewards the best film with a trophy. That of the Royan society film festival is a white stone monolith created by the artists Harumi Kazéhana and Julien Publie Tullière. This trophy will be awarded to the winner on Saturday December 9, 2023.

Accessible to everyone

In parallel with the official competition, the entire program is aimed at a wide audience. LSpectators can thus discover animated films (My robot friend, Sirocco and the kingdom of drafts), documentaries (Journey to the South Pole, Living with wolves), comedies (Iris and men, The kings of the track) or historical intrigues (A matter of honor). The organizers also intend to attract students from schools and training establishments in Royan and surrounding areas with specific programming. Building on this cultural policy, the price of tickets is set at 5 euros.

The interest of the Royan social film festival also lies in its desire to provoke meetings. The main player in the event, the Lido cinema, organizes moments of exchange and proximity with the film teams.

Royan Society Film Festival from December 6 to 10, 2023