The Directors' Fortnight celebrated its 40th anniversary. It presented 22 features, 10 shorts and three special programs. In addition, the Fortnight included a screening of Stranger Than Paradise (1984) to accompany the SRF presentation of the Carrosse d'Or award to director Jim Jarmusch.

This year's three special screenings had a more or less direct connection to the Fortnight's 40th anniversary. There was the 35mm restoration of Robert Kramer and John Douglas's masterpiece Milestones, a beacon of American independent cinema in the 70s, as well as the two latest films by Jean-Marie Straub, Le Genou d'Artemide and Itinéraire de Jean Bricard, both made after the death of his wife and collaborator Danièle Huillet. And, of course, there was Olivier Dahan's 40X15, produced by MK2TV and France 4, which related the birth of the Fortnight and described the ins and outs of the profession of programmer.

Five feature films represented France: Claire Simon's Bureaux de Dieu (Les), a deeply moving film that mixes fiction and documentary. We were pleased to welcome Bertrand Bonello with his fourth feature, De la guerre, and Rabah Ameur-Zaïmeche third film, Dernier maquis, Nicola Sornaga's Monsieur Morimoto, Arnaud et Jean-Marie Larrieu's Voyage aux Pyrénées (Le). Latin America was represented by four films, all by young directors: Lisandro Alonso's Liverpool (Argentina), Pablo Larraín's Tony Manero (Chile), Federico Veiroj's Acne (Uruguay), and Pablo Aguero's Salmandra (Argentina).

As for Europe, two Belgian films were genuine hits: Eldorado, a tragicomic road-movie written and directed by and starring Bouli Lanners, and Elève libre, which confirmed Joachim Lafosse as a major directing talent. Two of the most important films at the Fortnight this year were by two young directors, respectively Spanish and Portuguese: Albert Serra's Cant dels ocells (El) and Miguel Gomes's second film, Aquele querido mês de agosto, the precocious masterpiece of a 36-year-old filmmaker.

This year's somewhat special selection wouldn't have been what it was without the opening film from a master of world cinema who had been silent for 17 years: Four Nights with Anna (Cztery noce z Anna) by Jerzy Skolimowski.
Jim Jarmusch and Skolimowski were in a way the benign godfathers of this 40th edition.

Feature films (22)

Acne
Acné
Uruguay, Argentina, Spain, Mexico - 1h27 (2008)
Federico Veiroj

Aquele querido mês de agosto
Ce cher mois d'août
Portugal, France - 2h27 (2008)
Miguel Gomes

Boogie
Romania - 1h43 (2008)
Radu Muntean

Bureaux de Dieu (Les)
France, Belgium - 2h02 (2008)
Claire Simon

Cant dels ocells (El)
Chant des oiseaux (Le) / Birdsong
Spain - 1h39 (2008)
Albert Serra

Cztery noce z Anna
Four Nights With Anna
France, Poland - 1h27 (2008)
Jerzy Skolimowski

De la guerre
On War
France - 2h10 (2008)
Bertrand Bonello

Dernier maquis
Adhen
France, Algeria - 1h33 (2008)
Rabah Ameur-Zaïmeche

Eldorado
Belgium, France - 1h25 (2008)
Bouli Lanners

Elève libre
Private Lessons
Belgium, France - 1h45 (2008)
Joachim Lafosse

Liverpool
Argentina, France, Netherlands, Spain, Germany - 1h24 (2008)
Lisandro Alonso

Monsieur Morimoto
France - 2h05 (2008)
Nicola Sornaga

Niu Lang Zhi Nu
Knitting
China - 1h40 (2008)
Yin Lichuan

Now Showing
Philippines, France - 4h40 (2008)
Raya Martin

Pleasure of Being Robbed (The)
U.S.A. - 1h20 (2008)
Josh Safdie

Resto della notte (Il)
Reste de la nuit (Le)
Italy - 1h41 (2008)
Francesco Munzi

Salamandra
Argentina, France, Germany - 1h31 (2008)
Pablo Agüero

Shultes
Russia - 1h40 (2008)
Bakur Bakuradze

Slepe lasky
Blind Loves
Slovakia - 1h17 (2008)
Juraj Lehotsky

Taraneh Tanhaïye Tehran
Lonely Tunes of Tehran
Iran - 1h19 (2008)
Saman Salour

Tony Manero
Chile, Brazil - 1h38 (2008)
Pablo Larraín

Voyage aux Pyrénées (Le)
France - 1h42 (2008)
Arnaud et Jean-Marie Larrieu

Short films (12)

Acquaintances of a Lonely John (The)
U.S.A. - 13mn (2008)
Benny Safdie

Ciel éteint !
Sky's Black Out !
France, Russia - 23mn (2008)
F.J Ossang

Easter Morning
U.S.A. - 10mn (2008)
Bruce Conner

Il fait beau dans la plus belle ville du monde
France - 12mn (2008)
Valérie Donzelli

Je vous hais petites filles
France - 43mn (2008)
Yann Gonzalez

Kamel s'est suicidé six fois, son père est mort
France - 9mn (2008)
Soufiane Adel

MAN
U.S.A. - 16mn (2008)
Myna Joseph

Mes copains
France - 26mn (2008)
Louis Garrel

Muro
Le mur
Brazil - 18mn (2008)
Tião

Sagan Om Den Lille Dockpojken
The Tale of Little Puppetboy
Sweden - 14mn (2008)
Johannes Nyholm

Summer Afternoon
Taiwan - 16mn (2008)
Wi-ding Ho

Vsakdan ni vsak dan
Every Day Is Not The Same
Slovenia - 12mn (2008)
Martin Turk

Special screenings (4)

40X15
Les Quarante Ans de la Quinzaine des Réalisateurs
France - 1h37 (2008)
Olivier Jahan

Itinéraire de Jean Bricard
France - 40mn (2008)
Jean-Marie Straub
Danièle Huillet

Le Genou d'Artemide
Il Ginocchio di Artemide
France - 26mn (2008)
Jean-Marie Straub

Milestones (Reprise)
U.S.A. - 3h15 (2008)
John Douglas
Robert Kramer