Through this new partnership, you'll be able to unearth recent treasures from a French festival at the forefront of experimental documentary forms. And while you're making these discoveries, FIDMarseille will be the first to have an in-person edition for 2020 in the wake of the Coronavirus.

Last year, FIDMarseille (Festival international de cinéma de Marseille) memorably took place amidst the twin spectacles of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations and Bastille Day, two events that had particular importance in a French port city with a large African-origin population. The place was chaos: its streets full of revelers, armored riot police on street corners, air filled with the smoke of firecrackers. Car and air horns blared virtually non-stop as festival-goers passed nervously from one screening room to another. Even inside the theaters, deafening fireworks seemed to cause the walls to shake.

We still have that which has always made FIDMarseille one of the most vital of European festivals: its independent artistic spirit. This month, they will become the first major film festival to have an in-person edition in 2020. We shouldn't understate the significance of this gesture for the world of movies. The artistic team of FID put it better than most could: "Convinced that a film is a living organism, as fragile as it is powerful; convinced even more than ever that a festival, in bringing together these magnificent fragilities and incredible strengths, is in turn a mobile assembly..."

In solidarity and in celebration of this bold gesture, we present a parallel selection of some of the best works from 2019, a year of beauty and chaos that anticipated the fierce dedication and struggle that gave rise to this latest edition. In turn, we hope that those unfamiliar with FIDMarseille will get a taste of the magic. Never mind the distance between continents. You can share in the vibrancy of the FID even from your living room.