Eighty-eight debut feature film projects across ten editions and a growing presence within the showcases of the biggest international festivals: the profile of the Next Step programme is becoming increasingly clear. Thomas Rosso, the general co-ordinator of the Cannes Film Festival’s Critics’ Week line-up since June 2020 and the head of Next Step itself, explains the secrets behind the success of this initiative situated at the crossroads between the past and the future (read our article on the class of 2024).

Cineuropa: How is Next Step looking at the end of ten editions?
Thomas Rosso: Next Step was born out of the idea that support for filmmakers and their short films selected in Critics’ Week shouldn’t stop after their screening in Cannes, it should continue into their first feature film; firstly, in order to reinforce our aim of discovering and supporting young talent, but also to create an atmosphere of mutual assistance between filmmakers. Because Critics’ Week is a bit like a family; it’s the Official Selection’s little sister, but it’s also a place where we welcome filmmakers compassionately and attentively into the swirling chaos of Cannes, which is as formidable as it is impressive. Next Step is an extension of this spirit. And we’re realising that it really works, because four films developed within Next Step were presented in Cannes last year: How to Have Sex [+lee también:
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entrevista: Molly Manning Walker
ficha de la película] by Molly Manning Walker (awarded the Un Certain Regard Prize in 2023), The Settlers [+lee también:
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entrevista: Felipe Gálvez
ficha de la película] by Felipe Gálvez and Power Alley [+lee también:
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entrevista: Lillah Halla
ficha de la película] by Lillah Halla (which both won the Un Certain Regard’s FIPRESCI Prize and other parallel sections), and The King of Algiers [+lee también:
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entrevista: Elias Belkeddar
ficha de la película] by Elias Belkeddar - four films which demonstrate great diversity, which is a far cry from the standardisation we might otherwise associate with "labs" and workshops; a variety which is incredibly rich artistically speaking and highly promising in industry terms.

It also reflects the very strong idea that’s been central to the Next Step programme from the outset: selecting filmmakers rather than projects and having access to a workshop where support is tailored according to everyone’s individual needs. The short films selected in Critics’ Week are very diverse in terms of themes, geographical origins and genres, carried by incredibly young filmmakers but also seasoned directors: they all need our help and there’s actually an emulation effect which takes place between them over the course of this week-long workshop in December in Moulin d’Andé and Paris. Also, filmmakers come to Next Step when they’re ready: some come to us six months after Cannes, while others have already waited two or three years, the time it takes to develop a solid enough feature film project to present to consultants and to present during an industry day, which is attended by 80 or so French professionals. It’s a much appreciated day because these projects are at very different stages of development. Some are in the early stages of development, with treatments, which means producers can come on board very early and get fully involved in a project’s development. And that’s quite rare in "labs" and other workshops where projects are often at a more advanced stage. Conversely, we also have projects which have already secured co-producers and which are looking for additional funding, sales agents or distributors.

What improvements have you noticed over the years?
After ten years, the workshop is reaching maturity. We know that feature films take time to make, and we’ve found our cruise speed. In 2022, six or seven Next Step films were released, last year too, and we’ll no doubt find the same number in major international festival showcases in 2024. We have a success rate of 66.6%; it’s huge and I don’t think there are many other programmes which can compete on this level, even if it is quite logical, given that our filmmakers have already been selected for other events: they have to have been selected via a short film in Critics’ Week (10 films are chosen out of the 2,000 submitted) and then make it through the Next Step filter. Also, nowadays, it’s probably because of Next Step that certain filmmakers and producers choose to attend Critics’ Week with their short films. It’s a virtuous circle because these filmmakers come to us with projects boasting real potential. A real eagerness has evolved around this workshop, which is really successful, which enjoys great visibility, and which we’re trying to develop. That’s why we’ve created Next Step Volume 2 (read our article) where we don’t only have debut feature film projects, we also have second feature film projects. It helps the different generations to come into contact with one another, and these different levels of experience result in lots of energy, exchanges and a really powerful ripple effect. And we have other ideas for developing Next Step even further and welcoming greater numbers of filmmakers, notably through partnerships like the one we have with Morelia in Mexico.

Over ten editions of Next Step, 43% of its participants have been women, which is almost gender parity.
We’re getting closer and closer to it. It’s a general trend, and given that at Critics’ Week we select young filmmakers, we’re dealing with the new generation, and one thing that’s  for sure is that this new generation is more egalitarian than the old one. There’s been a groundswell since the 2000s and we’re simply the beneficiary of it: we don’t work with quotas. We’re seeing that girls are making more and more films, with increasing resources and that, little by little, slowly but surely, things are starting to change. In fact, the last Next Step cohort was an equal split between boys and girls.

What Next Step films should be ready this year?
Arcadia by Greece’s Yorgos Zois, Ebba by Finnish-Swedish director Johanna Pyykkö, Come Back by Belgians Jan and Raf Roosens and Some Rain Must Fall by China’s Qiu Yang. We’ve also got Cora by Greek director Evi Kalogiropoulou and Forastera by Spain’s Lucía Aleñar Iglesias which are either being shot or on the verge thereof. The documentary Michelle Remembers by Australian Pia Borg is currently undergoing editing and the animated movie How the Dead Live by Brit Joseph Pierce is in production. The future is looking bright.