200 French-speaking high school students view 3 documentaries discuss, write their comments and vote for their favorite movie. The atmosphere is studious, attentive.
The first highlight of Primed on 2018!
Here are 3 documentaries in competition : GURS, HISTOIRE ET MÉMOIRE | LE GRAND SAPHIR – UNE RÉVOLTE ORDINAIRE | LES AMOUREUX DES BANCS PUBLICS
Find here the map of the films of 22nd edition of PriMed.
This map was developed on the basis of the locations affected by the topics of the 25 competing documentaries.
Among the Mediterranean countries concerned we have Spain with 4 films, France with 2 films, Bosnia and Herzegovina (1 film), Greece (3 films), Turkey (1 film), Cyprus (1 film), Israel / Palestine (3 films), Syria (2 films), Libya (1 films, Tunisia (3 films), Algeria (3 films) and Morocco (1 film).
Find here the statistics about registered films on PriMed last editions
Ever since the protests in December 2010, street-art has taken over public spaces in Tunisia. They have become places where artistic and cultural creations directly address citizens. Dance companies, theatre companies and film clubs are using Tunisian squares, medinas and markets as new performance areas, accessible to everyone. By following various collectives such as Zwewla, Mass’Art and many others, this documentary shows that art is every person’s duty. Speaking to everyone, especially to younger generations, it has the power to awaken consciences and mobilize a lot of people to fight infringements of civil liberties and extremist rhetoric.
Gaia VIANELLO is a project leader and director.
For several years she lived in North Africa and the Middle East, working with NGO’s and international organisations as a gender and migration specialist. Since 2011 she has worked with the production company Sunset soc.coop. She wrote and produced “Aicha è tornata” (2011), and produced and directed “This is not paradise” (2014) and “Les amoureux des bancs publics” (2017). Currently she is working at Università Ca’ Foscari in Venice and for several audiovisual production companies.
Juan Martin BAIGORRIA was born in Argentina in 1977. For several years he has lived in Bologna (Italy), where he works as documentary maker and DoP for the production company Sunset soc.coop., specialising in social communication.
This film is about several public spirited waste-collection initiatives, both at sea and on land. The starting point is Emmanuel Laurin’s initiative, known as “The Great Sapphire” and combining protection of the environment with physical endurance. For nearly 14 days Laurin swam along 120 km of coast-line, collecting larger pieces of waste to raise public awareness of the critical state of pollution in the Mediterranean. The film also shows the way ecological activism has evolved: blaming others is now a thing of the past, these new whistle-blowers use a proactive and positive approach. They prove to us that, although our societies are collectively responsible for the terrible state of the environment, each of us can and must act every day to improve it.
Jérémi STADLER est réalisateur, cadreur et monteur. C’est en pratiquant dès son plus jeune âge le skate qu’il a découvert une toute autre passion : la vidéo. Diplômé d’une licence professionnelle de concepteur et réalisateur audiovisuel à Montpellier en 2014, il s’est lancé dans un master en cinéma l’année suivante. Il travaille actuellement au sein de la société de production Satellite Multimedia, et a également créé son entreprise Jérémi Stadler – FilmMaker.
(Gurs, History and Memory)
Gurs is more than a place. Located in France at the foot of the Pyrenees, near the town of Oloron-
Sainte-Marie, this refugee camp was built for people fleeing Spain (Spanish Republicans, International Brigade fighters) when General Franco took over power. During the Second World War Gurs became an internment camp. “Gurs, History and Memory” painstakingly records the oral history of those who spent time there, offering recognition to the victims of brutality and asking us to remember them all.
Verónica SÁENZ GIMENEZ took an on-line Master in film and HD technology, and a Master in script writing at Zaragossa’s vocational school CPA Salduie. She has worked on television series such as “Cuéntame cómo pasó”, “Los Serrano”, “Doctor Mateo”, “Con el culo al aire”, “Bajo Sospecha”, as well as two films “Truman” and “La mujer olvidada”. She has made several shorts: “Abuelitos”, “Y yo” about integrating deaf children in society, and “A vinos”. “Gurs, History and Memory” is her first documentary.
A short documentary about a group of handicapped dancers and the way they use art to help them confront their daily lives.
Vivian PAPAGEORGIOU was born in Greece and lives in Athens. She studied English literature at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and film-making at the Stavrakos Film School. Having a Master in audiovisual studies at the Sorbonne, she is currently doing a doctorate at Athens University.
The Treasure
Little Vera is about to leave with her grandfather in search of a treasure hidden in a wood. In the middle of the trees, the girl discovers the true
meaning of the trip. A film full of tenderness.
Marisa LAFUENTE was born in Madrid in 1970. She is a multimedia and transmedia artist, working mainly on non-fiction forms of narrative.
A graduate in journalism at the Complutense University of Madrid, she has specialised in script-writing at the International Film School of San Antonio de los Baños in Cuba. She made “Platicando” (2005), a documentary about the life of immigrants through their telephone conversations, which has won several awards.
Néstor DEL CASTILLO was born in Madrid in 1966. He is founder and manager of the production company De Cabo a Rabo S.L., through which he has made and produced many advertising campaigns for Spanish television, for businesses and for the Spanish Ministry of Culture.
(Homage to Kobani)
A trip through the city of Kobanî, the administrative centre of the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria, commonly known as Rojava,
narrated by a 19-year old fighter, Narine. In a letter to her mother, she reveals her daily life in the ruins of a city shattered by war and deserted by its inhabitants, from whom she unearths memories buried under the rubble.
Soran QURBANI was born in 1983 in Mahabad (Iran). Aged 19 he left for the autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan. After studying archaeology, he taught himself film-making before joining the Doku Workshops. He made a film about excision, “Les larmes d’Eve”, which has been shown in several festivals, and works for the television channel of an Iranian opposition party, the PDKI. Having related his journey in “Soran fait son cinéma”, he was granted refugee status by the United Kingdom, where he is studying documentary film-making at Edinburgh University
In “Dying for Europe”, the largest tide of migrants since the Second World War is shown through fragments of personal stories. Constructed as a trilogy, this harrowing film sheds light on the strength and hope of those who, daring to dream of a better life in Europe, are ready to sacrifice their own.
Nikos PILOS is a photo journalist who has won many awards. He currently lives between Athens and Belgrade. He has travelled extensively documenting war, natural disasters, poverty, socio-economic struggle and cultural change. He covered historical events such as the overthrow of Ceauşescu in Romania, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the conflicts in the Balkans and the war in Iraq. More recently, he has covered anti-government protests in Turkey, the rise of nationalism in Europe and the current refugee crisis. His work appears regularly in international newspapers and magazines such as the New York Times, Stern Magazine, Die Zeit, NRC Handelsblad, Newsweek Japan, Time, USA Today, Polka Magazine, Zreportage.com, and other media.
13 minutes, 2018
Dr. Fatma, an Algerian gynaecologist obstetrician takes us into the difficult medical universe of young mothers or mother-to-be who come to her surgery.
Narcisse YOUMBI is a young Cameroon director passionate about images and digitally-generated special effects. Having graduated in management at the University of Douala, he moved back to his first loves: comic strips and animated film. In 2010 he made his first animated film, “Le chasseur et l’antilope”, which won him several awards and recognition in Africa, Europe and Asia. Currently he is working in Algeria, directing his own production company and following his passion by directing and producing advertising films, industrial films, and now films for the big screen.