Les Rencontres Internationales: Where Cinema Meets Contemporary Art

Since 1997, the Les Rencontres Internationales festival has celebrated new cinema and contemporary art in Paris and Berlin, expanding to Madrid in 2007. The 2016 edition in Berlin featured 120 pieces from 40 different nations, including screenings, videos, and discussions. Highlighted works comprised 'Vapour' by Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 'Suspension' by Sebastian Diaz Morales, and 'Spectrographies' by Dorothée Smith. The festival places a strong focus on the French experimental art scene, notably Le Fresnoy. This event mirrors a growing trend of art films in mainstream culture, as exemplified by Jonathan Glazer's 'Under the Skin' and Matthew Barney's 'River of Fundament'. Philippe Parreno's 'Hypothesis' at HangarBicocca in Milan further investigates this blend, curated by Andrea Lissoni and Marco Muller.