Solent Production

This documentary by director Claire Billet and historian Christophe Lafaye details the massive and systematic use of chemical weapons during the Algerian War. Algerian fighters and civilians, sheltering in caves, were gassed by "special weapons sections" of the French army. The gas identified on military documents is CN2D, whose widespread use forced insurgents to flee "treated" sites, at the risk of dying there. The method is reminiscent of the "enfumades" used by the French expeditionary force during the conquest of Algeria in the 19th century. Between 8,000 and 10,000 such operations are believed to have taken place on Algerian soil between 1956 and 1962. This historical aspect is little known due to the difficulty of accessing archives, many of which are still classified, raising questions about memory, historical truth, and justice.

Will trees save the planet? That is the promise made by many public policies, timber companies, NGOs, and multinational corporations. With deforestation accelerating and CO2 emissions reaching record levels, planting trees is presented as a common-sense solution to the ecological disaster. But is it really that simple?

Nobody remembers their first school playtime. That day when the adults had gone. That day, I was in the playground. For eight years I filmed the same group of childen, asking myself: how do we grow under the gaze of others? As the years pass, the playtime games gave way to role playing; the "You're not my friend any more" gave way to the "you're not playing". One day I arrived late. Behind the cries, I could see them hitting Élise. How didn't I see it coming?

Samvel and Avo, Erik and Karen live in the land of a century-old conflict, rooted in the rubble of the Russian Empire. In Nagorno-Karabakh, people live, dream and prepare for a tragedy that is always on the horizon. Over 3 years, Alexis Pazoumian films the epilogue of the black garden, a land where war waits for no one.

An elderly painter wakes up in a wooden boat in the middle of the sea with no memory of who he is. The only thing he has in him is a letter he has yet to open to read. “Stand By Me” explores the depth of human connection, the fragility of memory, and the extraordinary courage it takes to love unconditionally in the face of an ever-changing reality.