Cannes parallel section Critics’ Week opens Wednesday with French director Jonathan Millet’s psychological manhunt thriller Ghost Trail (Les Fantômes), starring Adam Bessa as man in in pursuit of a faceless, former torturer.
Running from May 15 to 23, the compact line-up will showcase 11 first and second works features by emerging directors, seven in competition, as well as 13 short films.
Deadline caught up with Artistic Director Ava Cahen on the eve of the 63rd edition.
Deadline: You’re on your third selection as Critics’ Week artistic director. How was it this year?
Ava Cahen: We always put the counters back to zero. So everything felt new, even if it’s my third year. We received a few more films than normal and screened 1,050 features. It’s hard when you’ve only got 11 slots. Obviously there were a lot more than 11 films that we would have liked to have welcomed. There was a lot of discussion.
Running from May 15 to 23, the compact line-up will showcase 11 first and second works features by emerging directors, seven in competition, as well as 13 short films.
Deadline caught up with Artistic Director Ava Cahen on the eve of the 63rd edition.
Deadline: You’re on your third selection as Critics’ Week artistic director. How was it this year?
Ava Cahen: We always put the counters back to zero. So everything felt new, even if it’s my third year. We received a few more films than normal and screened 1,050 features. It’s hard when you’ve only got 11 slots. Obviously there were a lot more than 11 films that we would have liked to have welcomed. There was a lot of discussion.
- 5/15/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Cannes isn’t Sundance. The movies on offer aren’t generally genre horror box office surprises or heartwarming indie dramedies, and sometimes they’re not even sure-fire Oscar hopefuls.
But as several sales agents and distributors told us, Cannes is slowly shifting back to being a home for discovery. With the audience now unbothered by subtitles, distributors aren’t just looking for the next “May December” but the next “Anatomy of a Fall.” And when it comes to the package titles on the Marché du Film, buyers are demanding more than the latest Nicolas Cage shark movie.
The sources IndieWire spoke to believe there’s more quality than quantity among this year’s official competition sales titles and the packages being shopped to distributors. And that’s a good thing, even though there are still plenty of hot packages trickling in by the day and buyers already scooping up competition...
But as several sales agents and distributors told us, Cannes is slowly shifting back to being a home for discovery. With the audience now unbothered by subtitles, distributors aren’t just looking for the next “May December” but the next “Anatomy of a Fall.” And when it comes to the package titles on the Marché du Film, buyers are demanding more than the latest Nicolas Cage shark movie.
The sources IndieWire spoke to believe there’s more quality than quantity among this year’s official competition sales titles and the packages being shopped to distributors. And that’s a good thing, even though there are still plenty of hot packages trickling in by the day and buyers already scooping up competition...
- 5/13/2024
- by Brian Welk
- Indiewire
Cannes Critics’ Week, now in its 63rd year, is always an opportunity to explore uncharted work from new and emerging filmmakers — and away from the glitter and glitz of the Croisette, where the main competition bows. Recent Critics’ Week Grand Prize winners have included everything from “Tiger Stripes,” a Malaysian coming-of-age debut opening in stateside theaters later this month, to 2019’s honoree “I Lost My Body,” the animated favorite that went on to be nominated for an Oscar.
Coming up in the Special Screenings category of Critics’ Week, Alexis Langlois makes their feature directorial debut with “Queens of Drama,” a French pop/punk musical that brings a mid-aughts camp sensibility to Cannes this year. Below, IndieWire shares an exclusive clip for the film along with a first-look image. “Queens of Drama” premieres at Critics’ Week on Saturday, May 18, with Charades handling sales.
Per the synopsis, in 2005, Mimi Madamour, the young pop idol,...
Coming up in the Special Screenings category of Critics’ Week, Alexis Langlois makes their feature directorial debut with “Queens of Drama,” a French pop/punk musical that brings a mid-aughts camp sensibility to Cannes this year. Below, IndieWire shares an exclusive clip for the film along with a first-look image. “Queens of Drama” premieres at Critics’ Week on Saturday, May 18, with Charades handling sales.
Per the synopsis, in 2005, Mimi Madamour, the young pop idol,...
- 5/9/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
The Cannes Film Festival is around the corner next month, so all the satellite sidebar festivals that orbit it are preparing their line-ups. The latest is Cannes Critic Week, organized by France’s Film Critics Union, which will run May 15-23. Today, Cannes Critic Week organizers unveiled their line-up
Eleven titles have been announced so far, including seven films in official competition. Some of the highlights include Belgian filmmaker Alexis Langlois’ debut film, “Queens of Drama,” described as an ‘irresistible lesbian pop and grunge musical,” starring Louiza Aura, Gio Ventura, Bilal Hassani, and featuring appearances by Asia Argento and Alma Jodorowsky.
Continue reading Cannes Critic Week Announces 2024 Line-Up at The Playlist.
Eleven titles have been announced so far, including seven films in official competition. Some of the highlights include Belgian filmmaker Alexis Langlois’ debut film, “Queens of Drama,” described as an ‘irresistible lesbian pop and grunge musical,” starring Louiza Aura, Gio Ventura, Bilal Hassani, and featuring appearances by Asia Argento and Alma Jodorowsky.
Continue reading Cannes Critic Week Announces 2024 Line-Up at The Playlist.
- 4/15/2024
- by The Playlist
- The Playlist
Charades has swooped in on Alexis Langlois’ debut feature Queens Of Drama (Les Reines du Drame), a French queer musical selected for a special screening slot at Cannes’ Critics’ Week.
Set in 2005, the film centres on the cursed and fiery romance between young pop idol Mimi Madamour and queer punk icon Billie Kohler as they navigate their desire for the spotlight with their passion for each other that leads them down a path of self-destruction.
Queens Of Drama is produced by Les Films du Poisson, the prolific Paris-based production house behind Mona Achache’s 2023 Cannes title Little Girl Blue starring Marion Cotillard.
Set in 2005, the film centres on the cursed and fiery romance between young pop idol Mimi Madamour and queer punk icon Billie Kohler as they navigate their desire for the spotlight with their passion for each other that leads them down a path of self-destruction.
Queens Of Drama is produced by Les Films du Poisson, the prolific Paris-based production house behind Mona Achache’s 2023 Cannes title Little Girl Blue starring Marion Cotillard.
- 4/15/2024
- ScreenDaily
Cannes Critics’ Week, spotlighting first and second features, has unveiled the competition and special screenings selection for its 63rd edition running May 15-23.
Scroll down for full list of titles
Artistic director Ava Cahen, now in her third year in the position, announced the selection of 11 features chosen from 1,050 films screened. Seven films will vie for four top prizes in competition, chosen by a jury led by Spanish filmmaker Rodrigo Sorogoyen. Nine are first films that will vie for the Camera d’Or and three are directed or co-directed by women.
The sidebar will open with French director Jonathan Millet...
Scroll down for full list of titles
Artistic director Ava Cahen, now in her third year in the position, announced the selection of 11 features chosen from 1,050 films screened. Seven films will vie for four top prizes in competition, chosen by a jury led by Spanish filmmaker Rodrigo Sorogoyen. Nine are first films that will vie for the Camera d’Or and three are directed or co-directed by women.
The sidebar will open with French director Jonathan Millet...
- 4/15/2024
- ScreenDaily
Cannes Critics’ Week, the sidebar dedicated to first and second films, will open with Jonathan Millet’s psychological thriller “Ghost Trail” and wrap with Emma Benestan’s genre film “Animale.”
“Ghost Trail” and “Animale” are two of the 11 features slated for Critics’ Week, which runs alongside the Cannes Film Festival.
The sole U.S. film of the selection is Constance Tsang’s “Blue Sun Palace,” a bittersweet film about two Chinese immigrants living in Queens who bond following a tragic death and find meaning in each other’s company. “As humble and dignified as its characters, this first, realistic and intimate, film sheds light on a community that is little seen,” said Ava Cahen, Critics’ Week’s artistic director. “Blue Sun Palace” stars Lee Kang-sheng whose recent credits include “Twisted Strings.”
Besides the opening and closing films, the Special Screenings section will comprise of Saïd Hamich Benlarbi’s “Across the...
“Ghost Trail” and “Animale” are two of the 11 features slated for Critics’ Week, which runs alongside the Cannes Film Festival.
The sole U.S. film of the selection is Constance Tsang’s “Blue Sun Palace,” a bittersweet film about two Chinese immigrants living in Queens who bond following a tragic death and find meaning in each other’s company. “As humble and dignified as its characters, this first, realistic and intimate, film sheds light on a community that is little seen,” said Ava Cahen, Critics’ Week’s artistic director. “Blue Sun Palace” stars Lee Kang-sheng whose recent credits include “Twisted Strings.”
Besides the opening and closing films, the Special Screenings section will comprise of Saïd Hamich Benlarbi’s “Across the...
- 4/15/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
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