30/06/2016 - Six Turkish filmmakers are set to feature in the Découverte section of the 44th edition of the festival, which will host almost 200 films between 1 and 10 July

Famed for the quality of its vast programme, the 44th edition of the La Rochelle International Film Festival opens tomorrow with the 2016 winner of the Palme d'Or, I, Daniel Blake [+see also:
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film profile] by British director Ken Loach. Between 1 and 10 July, almost 200 films will be screened at the event, which has notably decided this year to showcase the work of Yesim Ustaoglu and female Turkish directors. 

On the menu for the Découverte section are the five feature films by Yesim Ustaoglu that accompanied the renaissance of Turkish film, from her debut opus La Trace (1995) to Araf. Somewhere in Between [+see also:
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film profile] (screened in the Horizons section at Venice en 2012), via Aller vers le soleil (screened in competition at Berlin in 1999), Waiting for the Clouds [+see also:
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film profile] (shown in the Panorama section at Berlin in 2005) and Pandora’s Box [+see also:
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film profile] (which won the Golden Shell at San Sebastián in 2008). These films undoubtedly paved the way for other female directors from her country, such as Pelin Esmer, whose three feature films will be screened at La Rochelle: documentary La Pièce and fictional pieces 10 to 11 [+see also:
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film profile] (2010) and Watchtower [+see also:
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film profile] (2012). The programme is completed by four debut films: Nobody’s Home [+see also:
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interview: Deniz Akcay
film profile] by Deniz Akçay (Venice Days 2013), Motherland [+see also:
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film profile] by Senem Tüzen (Critics’ Week at Venice 2015), Dust Cloth [+see also:
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interview: Ahu Öztürk
film profile] by Ahu Öztürk (Forum of the Berlinale 2016 and winner of the Cineuropa Prize at the Istanbul Film Festival), and the Oscar-nominated Mustang [+see also:
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interview: Deniz Gamze Ergüven
film profile] by Deniz Gamze Ergüven (Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes 2015).

The La Rochelle Film Festival will this year pay tribute to  directors Alain Guiraudie (with all his films, most notably Staying Vertical [+see also:
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interview: Alain Guiraudie
film profile], which was screened in competition at Cannes), Barbet Schroeder and Frederick Wiseman, who will be attending the festival, along with retrospectives dedicated to filmmaker Carl Thedor Dreyer (with an outstanding director’s cut) and Jean Vigo, as well as Italian actor Alberto Sordi.

Worth mentioning is the section exploring the world of animated documentaries, which will feature Crulic – The Path to Beyond [+see also:
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interview: Anca Damian
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film profile] by Romanian director Anca Damian, and Rocks in My Pockets [+see also:
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interview: Signe Baumane
film profile] by Latvian filmmaker Signe Baumane, among others.

Among the 40 or so feature films that will have their French premiere at the festival or that have yet to be released in France, are 21 Cannes entries, including, among others, Toni Erdmann [+see also:
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Q&A: Maren Ade
film profile] by German director Maren Ade, Graduation [+see also:
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Q&A: Cristian Mungiu
interview: Cristian Mungiu
film profile] by Romanian Cristian Mungiu, Sieranevada [+see also:
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Q&A: Cristi Puiu
film profile] by his fellow countryman Cristi Puiu, The Salesman [+see also:
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film profile] by Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi, Aquarius [+see also:
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film profile] by Brazilian Kleber Mendonça Filho, The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki [+see also:
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interview: Juho Kuosmanen
film profile] by Finnish director Juho Kuosmanen, Dogs [+see also:
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interview: Bogdan Mirica
film profile] by Romanian director Bogdan Mirica, Albüm [+see also:
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interview: Mehmet Can Mertoglu
film profile] by Turk Mehmet Can Mertoglu, After Love [+see also:
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interview: Joachim Lafosse
film profile] by Belgian filmmaker Joachim Lafosse, Sweet Dreams [+see also:
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Q&A: Marco Bellocchio
film profile] by Italian Marco Bellocchio, In Bed with Victoria [+see also:
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interview: Justine Triet
film profile] by Justine Triet, and Mercenary [+see also:
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interview: Sacha Wolff
film profile] by Sacha Wolff.

Six features that were showcased at Berlin will also put in appearance, with winner of the Golden Bear Fire at Sea [+see also:
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interview: Gianfranco Rosi
film profile] by Italian director Gianfranco Rosi, United States of Love [+see also:
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interview: Tomasz Wasilewski
film profile] by Polish filmmaker Tomasz Wasilewski, Letters from War [+see also:
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Q&A: Ivo M Ferreira
film profile] by Portuguese director Ivo M. Ferreira, Mellow Mud [+see also:
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interview: Elina Vaska
interview: Renars Vimba
film profile] by Latvian Renars Vimba, On the Other Side [+see also:
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interview: Tihana Lazovic
interview: Zrinko Ogresta
film profile] by Croatian filmmaker Zrinko Ogresta, and documentary Homo Sapiens [+see also:
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interview: Nikolaus Geyrhalter
film profile] by Austrian director Nikolaus Geyrhalter. The line-up also includes Sparrows [+see also:
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interview: Atli Óskar Fjalarsson
interview: Rúnar Rúnarsson
film profile] by Icelandic filmmaker Rúnar Rúnarsson, Dead Slow Ahead [+see also:
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interview: Mauro Herce
film profile] by Spaniard Mauro Herce, Thirst [+see also:
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interview: Svetla Tsotsorkova
film profile] by Bulgarian Svetla Tsotsorkova, Lea [+see also:
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film profile] by Italian director Marco Tullio Giordana, and Faultless [+see also:
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film profile] by French filmmaker Sébastien Marnier. 

Last but not least, the festival will host the world premieres of documentary Dernières nouvelles du cosmos [+see also:
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film profile] by Julie Bertuccelli and fictional feature Gorki-Tchekhov, 1900 by Fabrice Cazeneuve. The 2016 edition of the La Rochelle Film Festival promises to be packed full of content, also featuring pieces from film schools, a section of re-mastered works, a ‘music and film’ focus and a ‘night of forbidden planets’.

(Translated from French)