The Critics’ Week , a parallel section of the Cannes Film Festival, will take place from May 15 to 23, with a jury chaired by Colombian director Ciro Guerra ( Birds of Passage , currently on screen).

Devoted to the discovery of new talents, it presents only first and second films. Of the eleven selected, seven are in competition and four in special session.

Eight first films out of eleven selected

Among the eleven, appear eight first films, like Abu Leila of the Algerian Amin Sidi-Boumediene and the miracle of the unknown saint of the Moroccan Alaa Eddine Aljem. Two works that ” contrast with the type of productions that can be seen” in the Maghreb and are a reflection of “a new generation that comes from the short film” , according to Charles Tesson, General Delegate of the Week of Criticism.

The first deals with the civil war in Algeria, while the second is a fable about religious tourism.

Exploring other little-known regions of the 7th art, Critics’ Week has also selected first films from Costa Rica ( Sofia Quiros Ubeda’s Black Ash ) and Guatemala’s ( Nuestras Madres by César Diaz on the disappeared of the dictatorship). ).

The region will also be represented with the opening film, Litigante , second opus of the Colombian Franco Lolli ( Gente de bien ), presented as a portrait of a woman “in the vein of Pialat”.

French side, an animated film and two first films

France will be in competition with Jérémy Clapin’s animated film J’ai perdu mon corps , which explores many registers and tones: the fantastic, the poetic, the love story, almost the horror film, has underlined Charles Tesson.

In a special session, two first films complete the French contingent: The heroes never die of Aude Léa Rapin, with Adèle Haenel, who evokes the war in Bosnia by indirect routes (that of a possible reincarnation) and You deserve a love , first feature film by actress Hafsia Herzi, revealed by Kechiche, exploring the love relationships of young people.

Only feature-length film in the running, Vivarium , the second installment of the Irish Lorcan Finnegan, plunges a young couple (Jesse Eisenberg and Imogen Poots) in a fantastic camera.

In closing, will be the first film of Chinese Xiaogang Gu ( Dwelling in the Fuchun Mutains ), the first part of a trilogy and family saga to the rhythm of nature and the life of a river.

The jury will present three prizes including the Nespresso Grand Prix and an award for an actor considered a revelation, after rewarding last year Diamantino , pastiche on a football player in crisis, and Félix Maritaux for his interpretation of a prostitute in Wild .

Source: Cannes 2019: a week of criticism rich in first films