For its 21st edition, the major documentary festival CPH:DOX, which took place in Copenhagen from March 23 through April 3, 2022, showcased 200 documentaries, including 36 French productions and coproductions. A total of 76 films have been presented in world premieres, including 5 French titles.
CPH:DOX is the world's third largest documentary film festival, after Hot Docs and the IDFA, with around 200 films on average screened each year to audiences of around 115,000 spectators and 2,000 accredited industry professionals. This event was the first festival to make the decision to be held online during the first lockdown in 2020, and launched its own online platform in 2021.
The festival offers a unique multidisciplinary approach that brings together cinema productions, visual arts, and music, in addition to a coproduction market. It also presents a program of films for young audiences, which attracts an average of 15,000 young spectators each year.
The French films in the various festival sections at CPH:DOX 2022
Competitive Sections
In the F:ACT AWARD section, which focuses on films highlighting political urgencies, audiences had the chance to discover A French Revolution by Emmanuel Gras and A Taste of Whale by Vincent Kelner.
The NEW:VISION section, the festival's artistic laboratory, which shows works at the crossroads between cinema and art, presented When There Is No More Music To Write, and other Stories by Éric Baudelaire, Mangrove School by Filipa César and Sónia Vaaz Borges, and We Knew How Beautiful They Were, These Islands by Younes Ben Slimane.
The NEW:WAVE section, devoted to emerging filmmakers in the international scene, featured the French films Sami’s Odysseys by Robin Dimet.
Furthermore, Fashion Babylon by Gianluca Matarrese were presented in the Special Premieres section.
Non-Competitive Sections
The Highlights section, which shines a light on outstanding films that have attracted acclaim and awards at festivals, included Dreaming Walls by Amélie Van Elmbt and Maya Duverdier, Heart of Oak by Laurent Charbonnier and Michel Seydoux, Nadia by Anissa Bonnefont, Restitution? Africa’s Fight for Its Art by Nora Philippe, A Marble Travelogue by Sean Wang, The Devil’s Drivers by Daniel Carsenty and Mohamed Abugeth, and Water Has No Borders by Maradia Tsaava.
The Artists and Auteurs section, which selects films by internationally renowned filmmakers, presented A Night of Knowing Nothing by Payal Kapadia, A Thousand Fires by Saeed Taji Farouky, Atlantide by Yuri Ancarani, Le Grand Mouvement by Kiro Russo, Il buco by Michelangelo Frammartino, Jane by Charlotte by Charlotte Gainsbourg, Mariner of the Mountains by Karim Aïnouz, Jojo by Antoni Collot, Pa Va Hêng (The Dust Of Modern Life) by Franziska Von Stenglin, Perfect Boyfriend by Kaori Kinoshita and Alain Della Negra, See You Friday, Robinson by Mitra Farahani, and Les Oubliés by Michale Boganim.
CPH:SCIENCE section: A.I. at War by Florent Marcie, and The Quintessence by Pamela Breda.
CHANGEMAKERS section: Bigger Than Us by Flore Vasseur, Spanton vs The French Police by Ovidie, The Caviar Connection by Benoît Bringer, and Those Who Care by François Ruffin.
INTER:ACTIVE section: Liminal Lands by Jakob Kudsk Steensen, End of Night by David Adler, and We Are At Home by Michelle Kranot and Uri Kranot.
The French artistic delegation included Flore Vasseur, Ovidie, Emmanuel Gras, Vincent Kelner, Anissa Bonnefont, Nora Philippe, Éric Baudelaire, and Robin Dimet & Gianluca Matarrese.
As is the case each year, a large number of parallel events completed the festival program (concerts, performances, panel discussions, roundtables), while industry activities in the FORUM sidebar notably included pitch sessions for 7 projects produced or coproduced by France.
Unifrance provided support to the French films selected at the event, through travel aid provided to the film's directors, as well as AIP funding support for producers.
For any further information, please contact: johanna.vonhessen@unifrance.org
