The filmmaker's presence in French contemporary autofiction. From filmeur/filmeuse to acteur/actrice

The materialization of autofiction in cinematic practice allows a new identification, adding to the literary author-narrator-character that of the actor/actress. The filmmaker then plays him/herself generating multiple and interesting procedures of this autofictional presence only possible in audiovisual narration. This article aims to analyse these procedures in French cinematic creation, in which the thoroughness and relevance of literary autofiction have a determining influence. The analysis of this practice establishes a double axis. The first classifies the films in a progressive evolution from the factualisation of the fictional (documentary starting point) to the fictionalisation of the factual (fictional starting point). The second analyses them regarding the filmmaker’s presence: from the cinéaste-filmeur/filmeuse who stands behind the camera and records the images him/herself to the cinéaste-acteur/actrice who exclusively appears in front of it. This cinematic exploration of the self situates the filmmaker in all possible positions, developing autofictional procedures that delve into the concepts of postmodern identity and alterity using parody and irony as efficient tools. In this laboratory of the self, filmmakers experiment with the topics they address –cinematic reflection, creative search, personal self-knowledge, ideological self-criticism, social and political criticism– as well as they create valuable materialisations of resilience, empathy, sorority and even pedagogy.