Lili Hinstin, well-known among movie lovers in Belfort and beyond, passed away on March 31st at the age of 48 after a long illness. She served as the general delegate of Entrevues, the Belfort International Film Festival, from 2013 to 2018. The news of her death was shared by the Belfort-based association Cinémas d’aujourd’hui, the organizers of the festival.
“Lili was a cinema enthusiast, a daring, committed, and visionary programmer,” the association expressed on social media on April 1st. The festival mourned the loss of Lili Hinstin, highlighting her passion for cinema and her impactful contributions to the festival.
Gilles Lévy, the president of Cinémas d’aujourd’hui, referred to Lili as the festival’s second mastermind after Janine Bazin, the founder. Lili was known for her legacy, audacity, and passion for Rome. She left Villa Medici, where she was a programmer from 2005 to 2010, to become the artistic director of the Festival international de films documentaires Cinéma du réel, before taking the reins of Entrevues in 2013.
Following her time at Entrevues, Lili Hinstin became the artistic director of the Locarno Film Festival in late 2018. She later stepped down in September 2020 due to strategic differences. In 2021, she joined the selection committee of the festival at Villa Medici. Since 2023, she had been the programming director of the Biarritz International Film Festival, Nouvelles vagues. The upcoming 4th edition of the Basque event will be dedicated to her memory.
