French filmmaker Olivier Assayas’ presents his State of Cinema, titled ‘Cinema in the Present Tense’. The text is available on Sabzian in French, and in English, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Slovak, Romanian and Italian translation.

In 2018, by analogy with similar initiatives in other art forms, Sabzian created a new yearly tradition: Sabzian invites a guest to write a State of Cinema and to choose a film that connects to it. This way, once a year, the art of film is held against the light: a speech that challenges cinema, calls it to account, points the way or refuses to define it, puts it to the test and on the line, summons or embraces it, praises or curses it. A plea, a declaration, a manifest, a programme, a testimony, a letter, an apologia or maybe even an indictment. In any case, a call to think about what cinema means, could mean or should mean today.