54th Semaine de la Critique News

While traveling the parallel section of the Cannes fest released several news, following is a selection of the news, but perhaps the most awaited is the date for the press conference where they will announce this year's selection: April 20th.

The Poster

Recently La Semaine de la Critique unveiled their current edition poster with the message of "fresh air" which suggests that their films selection will bring a new/fresh perspective to the festival.

For the poster of its 54th edition, La Semaine de la Critique found inspiration in a still from Respire (Breathe) a second feature film directed by Melanie Laurent and part of last year's selection. Lively, bold freed of all constraint, the heroine played by the actress Lou de Laâge, embodies the breath of fresh air carried by emerging talents. The poster was designed by the Parisian agency “Les bons faiseurs“ from a photograph by Jérôme Plon.

Since its creation in 1962 within the Cannes Film Festival, La Semaine de la Critique continues to promote young promising filmmakers worldwide by selecting first and second feature films, as well as short films.

Current year honorees will follow the footsteps of such famous foregoers as Alejandro González Iñárritu, Ken Loach, Wong Kar-wai, Andrea Arnold, Leos Carax, Arnaud Desplechin, Guillermo del Toro, Jacques Audiard or Miranda July, all revealed by La Semaine. The 54th selection of La Semaine de la Critique, composed of 10 feature films and 10 short films, will be announced on April 20th.

Basic Info about La Semaine de la Critique

The history of La Semaine de la Critique started in the spring of 1961, during the fourteenth Cannes International Film Festival. Upon the initiative of the Association Française de la Critique de Cinéma (French Association of Film Critics), the Festival screened The Connection by Shirley Clarke (USA), an adaptation of the theater play by Jack Gekber produced by The Living Theatre. The film was part of a less popular wave of films, usually overlooked by production houses as well as film festivals. To have its screening at the Cannes Film Festival, ruled by producers and not very open to emerging tendencies, was a true phenomenon.

Following the success of the screening of The Connection, Robert Favre le Bret, Artistic Director of the Cannes Film Festival, decided, in agreement with the Film National Center, to repeat and amplify the experience. He entrusted the Association Française de la Critique with the programming of the Salle Jean Cocteau (in the former Palais) for an entire week on the occasion of the upcoming Cannes Film Festival. The film critic and director Nelly Kaplan invented the name La Semaine de la Critique (which means the critics’ week).

Since 1962, a lot of changes have been brought about. Short films have now their own Competition and Special Screenings have enhanced the diversity of the Selection of La Semaine de la Critique, which still screens very few films in order to offer them a greater visibility and a better support during the Festival. Most of the screenings take place at the Espace Miramar today. However, the ambition remains the same: to enable French Film Critics to support young film creation the best they can and to continue to explore and reveal filmmakers from all around the world.

Today the French Union of Film Critics is composed of 250 members, including writers and journalists. It is a professional union whose mission is to consolidate the fraternity between its members, to fight for their moral and material interest, to insure and secure freedom of critical expression and information, and to defend film creativity through various events all year round. La Semaine de la Critique is one of these events.

The Jury

A few weeks ago organizers announced that Israeli actress and filmmaker Ronit Elkabetz will presided over the jury of the 54th Semaine de la Critique. For the fifth consecutive year three prizes will be awarded by a jury (and not the press as was the case previously), so the jury chaired by Elkabetz will award three prizes: the Grand Prize and the Visionary Award for feature films and the Discovery Prize for Short Films.

Other jury members are French filmmaker Katell Quillévéré, British director of photography Peter Suschitzky, Toronto Festival programmer Canadian Andréa Picard, and Dutch-born journalist Boyd van Hoeij.

Win a Trip to Cannes

La Semaine and Sony CineAlta have a contest with a prize that is the dream of many, a trip for 2 people to Cannes for the festival with a VIP pass to La Semaine the la Critique! IF you own or have access to a Sony F-Series Camera (F5, F55 and F65) then take a photo of yourself, fill a form and submit it BEFORE May 1st. Good Luck!!!

Submission form is in Facebook Sony Professional page and use this link for more info or to submit your entry.