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| Adam's Interest Photo: Courtesy of Semaine de la critique |
Belgian director Laura Wendel’s second feature Adam’s Interest (L’interêt d’Adam) will open the selection. Wendel burst on the scene in 2021 with her debut film Playground (Un monde) which won the Fipresci international critics’ award at the Un Certain Regard section of Cannes and the Sutherland Trophy at the BFI London Film Festival.
It was hailed as “one of the most insightful and incisive films made about childhood” and was set entirely within the confines of a school. Ava Cahen, the Week’s artistic director, announcing the selection, said Wendel’s new film continues her exploration of childhood, set in a paediatric ward and focusing on a helpless mother, her malnourished son and the nurse caring for them. Léa Drucker and Anamaria Vartolmei take the lead roles.
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| Ava Cahen at the Cannes Critics' Week press conference Photo: Courtesy of Cannes Film Festival |
On a different register two French comedies lighten the mood. Baise en ville is a idiosyncratic road movie, directed by Martin Jauvat and in which he also takes the main role of an unemployed young man trying to make his way in the world. Alice Couard makes her feature film debut with Love Letters (Des preuves d’amour) dealing with the machinations of motherhood as two women (Ella Rumpf and Monia Chokri) await the birth of their first babies.
Among the seven feature films in the Competition five are first films and two represent second features.
A Useful Ghost (Pee Chai Dai Ka) by Thai director Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke, is a first film with a zany narrative film in which ghosts protest against oblivion by reincarnating into home appliances in order to grab the attention of the living and set their particles in motion.
From Spain Sleepless City (Ciudad Sin Sueño), another first feature is shot in Europe’s largest slum - Cañada Real – with the support of its residents. It is the story of two inseparable friends and directed by Guillermo Galoe.
Kika, Belgian director Alexe Poukine’s first narrative feature is a hard-hitting portrait of a social worker suddenly struck by tragedy, doing what she can to cope, even if it means resorting to unconventional methods.
Imago, Chechen director Deni Oumar Pitsaev’s first feature film is an autobiographical documentary capturing life as it unfolds in a Georgian valley at the foot of the Caucasus, on the border of Chechnya.
Left-Handed Girl represents Taiwanese director Shih-Ching Tsou’s first solo feature, described as “a fast-paced urban melodrama that tracks a single mother and her two daughters, newly arrived in Taipei.”
Nino, French director Pauline Loquès’ first feature film, captures three decisive days in the life of a drifting young man, on the streets after losing the keys to his apartment. Told in real time the film follows protagonist as he wanders the streets. Quebecois actor Théodore Pellerin takes the main role.
In Rietland (Reedland), Dutch director Sven Bresser debuts with an enigmatic portrait of a reed cutter obsessed with the murder of a teenage girl.
The Closing Film will be an animation, Dandelion's Odyssey, by Japanese director Momoko Seto, about the incredible journey of four dandelions who have survived a nuclear explosion and seek a place to take root.
The Competition will be judged by a jury comprising: Spanish director, screenwriter, and producer Rodrigo Sorogoyen (president), accompanied by Moroccan film critic Jihane Bougrine, French-Canadian cinematographer Josée Deshaies, Indonesian producer Yulia Evina Bhara, and Oscar-winning British actor Daniel Kaluuya.
The short film selection will be announced on 17 April.
