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CANNES 2019 Critics’ Week

Five European filmmakers in the Cannes Critics’ Week

by 

- Jérémy Clapin, Hlynur Pálmason and Lorcan Finnegan are in competition, while Aude Léa Rapin and Hafsia Herzi get Special Screenings; Latin America and North Africa are also represented

Five European filmmakers in the Cannes Critics’ Week
A White, White Day by Hlynur Pálmason

Three European filmmakers will be taking part in the competition of the 58th Critics’ Week, which will unspool from 15-23 May as an integral part of the 72nd Cannes Film Festival. Unveiled today by General Delegate Charles Tesson via an online press conference (available to view on the Critics’ Week website), the programme of the 2019 edition includes seven titles in competition (five of which are feature debuts), which will be weighed up by a jury chaired by Ciro Guerra (see the news).

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The directors in the running for the Critics’ Week Grand Prize include France’s Jérémy Clapin with the animated film I Lost My Body [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jérémy Clapin
film profile
]
, Iceland’s Hlynur Pálmason with A White, White Day [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Hlynur Pálmason
film profile
]
(his second feature, following the acclaimed Winter Brothers [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Elliott Crosset Hove
interview: Hlynur Pálmason
film profile
]
) and Ireland’s Lorcan Finnegan with Vivarium [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lorcan Finnegan
film profile
]
(his second feature, after Without Name [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, unveiled at Toronto in 2016).

The competition will also include two feature debuts helmed by North African directors (Algeria’s Amin Sidi-Boumédiène with Abou Leila [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
and Morocco’s Alla Eddine Aljem with The Unknown Saint [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
) plus two others directed by Latin American filmmakers (Argentinian-Costa Rican director Sofia Quiros Ubeda with Land of Ashes [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
 and Guatamala’s Cesar Diaz with the Belgian-French production Our Mothers [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Cesar Diaz
film profile
]
).

The 2019 selection also includes four features set to screen out of competition: Litigante [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Colombia’s Franco Lolli (who rose to fame in the 2014 Critics’ Week with Gente de bien [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
), which will be the opening film, and the feature debuts Heroes Don’t Die [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Aude Léa Rapin
film profile
]
by France’s Aude Léa RapinYou Deserve a Love [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Hafsia Herzi
film profile
]
 by her fellow countrywoman Hafsia Herzi and Dwelling in the Fushun Mountains by China’s Gu Xiaogang, which will close the Critics’ Week and will be the sole Asian representative at this edition. Interestingly, this year sees a total absence of North American productions. 

Here is the list of selected films:

Feature-film Competition

Abou Leila [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
Amin Sidi-Boumédiène (Algeria/France)
Land of Ashes [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
Sofia Quiros Ubeda (Costa Rica/Argentina/France)
A White, White Day [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Hlynur Pálmason
film profile
]
– Hlynur Pálmason (Iceland/Denmark/Sweden)
I Lost My Body [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jérémy Clapin
film profile
]
 - Jérémy Clapin (France)
Our Mothers [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Cesar Diaz
film profile
]
Cesar Diaz (Belgium/France)
The Unknown Saint [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
 - Alaa Edine Aljem (Morocco/France/Qatar/Germany/Lebanon)
Vivarium [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lorcan Finnegan
film profile
]
– Lorcan Finnegan (Ireland/Belgium)

Feature-length Special Screenings

Litigante [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
Franco Lolli (Colombia/France) (opening film)
You Deserve a Love [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Hafsia Herzi
film profile
]
 - Hafsia Herzi (France)
Heroes Don’t Die [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Aude Léa Rapin
film profile
]
 - Aude Léa Rapin (France/Belgium/Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Dwelling in the Fushun Mountains – Gu Xiaogang (China) (closing film)

Short-film Competition

Party Day - Sofia Bost (Portugal)
The Trap - Nada Riyadh (Germany)
Ikki illa meint - Andrias Høgenni (Denmark/Faroe Islands)
Journey Through a Body - Camille Degeye (France)
Community Gardens - Vytautas Katkus (Lithuania)
Lucía en el limbo - Valentina Maurel (Belgium/France/Costa Rica)
The Manila Lover - Johanna Pyykkö (Norway/Philippines)
Tuesday From 8 to 6 - Cecilia de Arce (France)
She Runs - Qiu Yang (China/France)
The Last Trip to the Seaside - Adi Voicu (Romania)

Short-film Special Screenings

Demonic -
 Pia Borg (Australia)
Naptha - Moin Hussain (UK)
Please Speak Continuously and Describe Your Experiences as They Come to You - Brandon Cronenberg (Canada)
Invisible Hero - Cristèle Alves Meira (Portugal/France)
Tenzo - Katsuya Tomita (Japan)

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(Translated from French)

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