Tomorrow will see the opening, in Châlons-en-Champagne, of the 9th War on Screen Festival (running 28 September – 3 October), an event which is gaining increasing notoriety and whose high-quality programme is likewise growing in size at a time when cinema is reflecting the fiery nature of our world, now more than ever before.

The international competition jury (which notably includes French producer Patrick Sobelman and the Netherlands’ Bianca Stigter) will have to decide between ten feature films, six of which having already received Cannes’ stamp of approval. Jostling among them are two titles unveiled in the Directors’ Fortnight - the French-Belgian co-production Our Men [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Rachel Lang
scheda film] by Rachel Lang (to be released in France on 6 October via Bac Films) and Europa [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by the Italian-Iraqi filmmaker Haider Rashid - another work awarded the SACD Prize at Critics’ Week (Swiss-French production Olga [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Elie Grappe
scheda film] by Elie Grappe – due for release in France on 17 November via ARP Sélection) and a further film screened in the Un Certain Regard section (Israeli-French title Let It Be Morning [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Eran Kolirin – which Pyramide will distribute in France in March). This flurry of films “made on the Croisette” also boasts two documentaries in the form of Lebanese-French title Little Palestine (Diary of a Siege) [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Abdallah Al-Khatib (selected for the ACID line-up following its premiere at the Visions du Réel Festival) and Downstream to Kinshasa [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Dieudo Hamadi (awarded Cannes’ Official Selection Label in 2020 and hitting screens on Wednesday courtesy of Laterit Productions).

Rounding off this particular line-up are three films discovered in Venice (the Italian-Polish co-production Thou Shalt Not Hate [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Mauro Mancini
scheda film] by Italy’s Mauro Mancini, Gaza My Love [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Tarzan and Arab Nasser – in cinemas on 6 October via Dulac Distribution – and the Oscar-nominated work The Man Who Sold His Skin [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Kaouther Ben Hania
scheda film] by Tunisia’s Kaouther Ben Hania) and former Berlin competitor Memory Box [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Joana Hadjithomas, Khalil …
scheda film] by Lebanese directors Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige (due for release in France on 19 January courtesy of Haut et Court).

Stealing similar focus on the festival programme is a new “Perspectives” section showcasing 11 films, which include Cannes-award-winner Ahed’s Knee [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Nadav Lapid
scheda film] by Israel’s Nadav Lapid, animated feature The Crossing [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Florence Miailhe, Cœurs vaillants [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Mona Achache, the Oscar-nominated Venetian competitor Quo Vadis, Aida? [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Jasmila Žbanić
scheda film] by Bosnia’s Jasmila Zbanic, the remarkable Onoda – 10,000 Nights in the Jungle [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Arthur Harari
scheda film] by Arthur Harari (which opened Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section), the documentaries There Will Be No More Light [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Eléonore Weber and Notturno [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Gianfranco Rosi
scheda film] by Italian director Gianfranco Rosi, Faithful [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Helier Cisterne, and the two titles scheduled to open and close the festival: A Radiant Girl [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Sandrine Kiberlain (Cannes’ Critics’ Week) and Secret Name [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Aurélia Georges
scheda film] by Aurélia Georges (which competed in Locarno).

A very wide range of films featuring in the "Rock’n’War", "Surveillance, Manipulation, Sabotage", "War As Seen By…", "Cinema, A Fragile Resistance", "The Unknown" and "Shared Recollections" sections are also well worth a mention, without forgetting the festival’s young audiences line-up and guest of honour, the composer Michel Portal.