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What Does The Cannes Film Festival Have Against Documentaries?


The Cannes Film Festival doesn't give a lot of recognition to documentaries, leaving them out of official competition this. year.

Two years ago, it appeared Cannes might be turning a corner in its view of documentary as cinema – inviting not one but two nonfiction films to screen in Competition: Kaouther Ben Hania’s Four Daughters and Wang Bing’s Youth (Spring). The Critics Week jury, comprised of Oscar-winning actor Daniel Kaluuya and others, awarded the French Touch Prize to Imago, praising its subtlety: “It observes but never insists, listens but never forces, captures but never encloses.” On the basis of past history, I would argue Cannes remains all about poetry, fantasy, and romance as embodied by the spectacle of the red carpet ( le tapis rouge) and the stars ascending the stairs to the Palais, where they are typically greeted by Thierry Frémaux.

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