Embracing the future of cinema

11 features, 13 short films, 14 countries to take you round the world and surprise you. All of this year’s selection of first or second films have their own signature, lighting and pace. 

There’s so much to discover in both selections: while short films include fiction, documentary, animation and experimental films; features span fantasy, romantic comedy, psychological thriller, neoclassical film, and survival.  

To bookend this selection, we’ve prepared French treats. The edition will open with Ama Gloria; after Party Girl, which she co-directed with Clare Burger and Samuel Theis, Marie Amachoukeli delivers a delicate and intimate film, a child’s perspective on a journey that takes her from France to Cape Verde. Erwan Le Duc will play us out with No Love Lost, his second feature film, a dramatic and whimsical comedy that will make you want to embrace your closest and dearest. As masterfully conveyed on our 62nd edition poster, hugs mean a lot to us here at La Semaine de la Critique. 

We’re fascinated by the adventures that the 7 features films has taken us on, whether big or small, happy or sad: the wild existence of a Malaysian teenager, as told by Amanda Nell Eu in Tiger Stripes ; the sleepless nights of a high-school student as he struggles with his mother’s strong ties to Milošević’s regime in Vladimir Perišić’s Lost Country; the missteps of a dejected midwife in French director Iris Kaltenbäck’s The Rapture; the struggles of a young Brazilian athlete to get an abortion in Lillah Halla’s Power Alley; a young couple’s unbearable nights with their dog and their baby in Korean director Jason Yu’s Sleep; Belgian director Paloma Sermon-Daï’s It’s Raining in the House portrays the routine of two siblings as they face adversity together; and finally, Amjad Al Rasheed’s Inshallah a boy is the unexpected empowerment story of a Jordanian woman. These 7 films are a testament to the drive and broad creative range of young filmmakers across the world. 

Three short films, two from France and one from Greece, for a special screening about desire, whether lost or found: Stranger by Jehnny Beth and Iris Chassaigne, a musical drama with Agathe Rousselle; Manolis Mavris’ Midnight Skin, a fantastical film on the nature of erotic fantasy; and Pleure pas Gabriel by Mathilde Chavanne, a modern, melancholic romantic comedy starring Dimitri Doré and Tiphaine Raffier.

But that’s not all, more special screenings await. An unexpected romantic comedy that is bound to make you blush and laugh: The (Ex)perience of Love, Ann Sirot and Raphaël Balboni’s very inspired second feature starring Lucie Debay, Lazare Gousseau, Nora Hamzawi and Florence Loiret-Caille. And finally, we will worry sick and rack our brains in Stephan Castang’s first feature, Vincent must die, a tale of survival with the excellent Karim Leklou and Vimala Pons. 

Events, discoveries and films every day at the Miramar to see what cinematic treasures the future has in store.

Ava Cahen

Artistic Director