19/04/2010

A quartet of young European directors will take part in competition at the 49th International Critics’ Week (SIC), which will run from May 13-21 as part of the 63rd Cannes Film Festival. Unveiled this evening in an online press conference (which can be viewed on the Critics’ Week website) by delegate general Jean-Christophe Berjon, the 2010 programme includes seven European productions and co-productions out of a total of ten features.

Scandinavia is in the spotlight this year with two titles vying for the Critics’ Week Grand Prize: Danish director Janus Metz’s documentary Armadillo and Sound of Noise by Swedish duo Ola Simonsson and Johannes Stjärne Nilsson.

France will also be well represented with Rebecca Zlotowski’s Belle Epine (“Beautiful Thorn”, see news) in competition; and three features in the special screenings selection: Michel Leclerc’s The Names of Love (see news), which will open Critics’ Week; Quentin Dupieux’s Rubber (see news); and Marc Fitoussi’s Copacabana (see news).

Co-productions include Phang Dang Di’s Vietnamese/French/German film Bi, Don’t Be Afraid.

Missing last year, US films return to the competition (with one film), as do Asian titles, which dominate the 2010 selection with three directors vying for the Grand Prize.

Features competition
Armadillo - Janus Metz (Denmark) debut feature - documentary
Sound of Noise - Ola Simonsson & Johannes Stjärne Nilsson (Sweden) - debut feature
Belle Epine - Rebecca Zlotowski (France) debut feature
Bi, Don’t Be Afraid - Phang Dang Di (Vietnam/France/Germany) - debut feature
Bedevilled - Jang Cheol So (Korea) - debut feature
Sandcastle - Boo Junfeng (Singapore) - debut feature
The Myth of the American Sleepover - David Robert Mitchell (US) - debut feature

Special Screenings - Features
Opening film: The Names of Love - Michel Leclerc (France) - second feature
Rubber - Quentin Dupieux (France) - second feature
Copacabana - Marc Fitoussi (France) - second feature

Shorts competition
A Distração de Ivan - Cavi Borges & Gustavo Melo (Brazil)
Berik - Daniel Joseph Borgman (Denmark)
The Boy Who Wanted to Be a Lion - Alois Di Leo (UK)
Deeper Than Yesterday - Ariel Kleiman (Australia)
Love Patate - Gilles Cuvelier (France)
Native Son - Scott Graham (UK)
Vasco - Sébastien Laudenbach (France)

Special Screenings - Short and medium-length films
L’Amour-propre - Nicolas Silhol (France)
Fracture Nicolas Sarkissian (France)
Cynthia Still Got the Keys - Gonzalo Tobal (Argentina)

Joint screening with Official Selection
Women Are Heroes - JR (France)

(Translated from French)