11 films have been selected for this year’s 2023 Cannes International Critics’ Week (Semaine de la critique), with 7 first films and 6 directed by women. To kick off this 62nd edition, Ama Gloria, first solo film by French director Marie Amachoukeli – winner of the Caméra d’Or for Party Girl that she co-directed with Claire Burger and Samuel Theis. She delivers a delicate, intimate film about the deep connection between 6- year-old Cléo and Gloria, her nanny. Gloria must suddenly leave Cléo and return to Cape Verde. Marie Amachoukeli conveys with incredible grace cruel, heartbreaking farewells, awash in the summer sunlight.
International Critics’ Week will close with No Love Lost, Erwan Le Duc’s second feature. A French tragicomedy with a quirky, poetic take on relationships between parents and children. Father and daughter – Nahuel Perez Biscayart and Céleste Brunnquell – are inseparable.
The president of the jury will be French director and screenwriter Audrey Diwan. Her second feature, Happening, won the Golden Lion at the 2021 Venice International Film Festival. With her on this year’s jury will be German actor and choreographer Franz Rogowski, Kim Yutani – director of programming of the Sundance Film Festival, Portuguese cinematographer Rui Poças and Indian journalist Meenakshi Shedde.
Special screenings include Stéphan Castang’s Vincent must die and Ann Sirot and Raphaël Balboni’s The (Exp)erience Of Love (Le Syndrome Des Amour Passés).
Vincent must die, Stéphan Castang’s first feature film starring Karim Leklou and Vimala Pons; a taught, harrowing genre film. Vincent leads a quiet life as a graphic designer. For no reason whatsoever, he is suddenly assaulted by anyone who crosses his path, whether they know him of not. Hounded, Vincent wants to understand… and most importantly, survive! Stephan Castang’s fierce allegory of humanity consumed by mistrust.
After Madly in Life, Ann Sirot and Raphaël Balboni take us on a new fantastical journey with The (Ex)perience of Love, starring Lucie Debay and Lazare Gousseau. Sandra and Rémy cannot procreate. To overcome that obstacle, their doctor prescribes a peculiar, innovative method: each of them should rekindle with their exes, and sleep with them. A funny, sexy romantic comedy that strips down the heterosexual norms, demystifies sex, and casts a new spell on love.
The 62nd International Critics’ Week (Semaine de la critique) will take place in Cannes between the 17th and 25th of May.
7 feature films in the competition
Tiger Stripes, Malay director Amanda Nell Eu’s first feature film, offers a new, witty, and extravagant take on teenage metamorphosis and rebellion. A surprising and delightful fantasy film that celebrates young women’s desire to let loose in a society that aims to firmly discipline them.
Sofia is an athlete who dreams of reaching the top, but her dream turns into a nightmare when she learns she’s pregnant. An unwanted pregnancy that she cannot legally terminate since abortion is still illegal in Brazil. The countdown has started, and Sofia’s mind is made up. With Levante, her first feature, Brazilian director Lillah Halla stands up to conservatism that is eating away at her country with a unifying, queer outlook. One for all, and all for Sofia.
There’s no dozing off when watching Sleep, Korean director Jason Yu’s first feature film. Bong Joon-Ho’s former assistant director signs a sensational film as he tells the story of a struggling young couple before and after their first child is born. A closed setting: three chapters, two protagonists, one crying baby, a barking dog, and a roaming ghost: the perfect ingredients for a horrific, devilishly effective comedy.
In her film Le ravissement, French director Iris Kaltenbäck skillfully tackles the issues of a very close, intimate friendship between two women, and delivers a riveting psychological thriller. A breathtaking first film with very fine, delicately crafted writing, and a stunning cast: Hafsia Herzi, Nina Meurisse, Alexis Manenti and Younes Boucif.
Lost Country, Serbian director Vladimir Perisič’s second feature film, is an intimate and political saga set in 1996 Belgrade during the students’ demonstrations against Milosevic’s regime. A teenager is torn between his own convictions and his love for his mother, a corrupt politician. A powerful film that overhauls the canons of classical drama.
Inshallah a boy is the very first film from Jordan to be presented at La Semaine de la Critique. Amjad Al Rasheed’s first film is the deeply moving portrait of Nawal – a care worker, a widow and mother of a young girl – who is fighting like hell for her independence, played by Palestinian actress Mouna Hawa. She imbues this radiant, determined warrior with the gravitas of the greatest female heroes in the history of cinema.
A bittersweet summer tale, Il pleut dans la maison is Belgian director Paloma Sermon-Daï’s first fiction feature. Staying clear of pathos, she tells us the unadorned story of the relationship between siblings who try to stay together with their dignity intact as their home is flooded and their bank account emptied. Two wonderful characters, beautifully written and interpreted by the young Purdey and Makenzy Lombet.
In competition
Il pleut dans la maison
directed by Paloma Sermon-Daï
Belgium – France
Inshallah Walad (Inshallah a boy / Inchallah un fils)
directed by Amjad Al Rasheed
Jordan – Saudi Arabia – Qatar – France
Jam (Sleep)
directed by Jason Yu
South Korea
Levante (Power Alley)
directed by Lillah Halla
Brazil – France – Uruguay
Lost Country
directed by Vladimir Perisič
France – Serbia – Luxembourg – Croatia
Le Ravissement
directed by Iris Kaltenbäck
France
Tiger Stripes
directed by Amanda Nell Eu
Malaysia – Taiwan – Singapore – France -Germany – Netherlands – Indonesia – Qatar
Special screenings
Opening Film
Ama Gloria
directed by Marie Amachoukeli
France
Special screenings
Vincent Must Die (Vincent doit mourir)
directed by Stéphan Castang
France
The (Ex)perience of Love (Le syndrome des amours passées)
directed by Ann Sirot & Raphaël Balboni
Belgium – France
Closing Film
No Love Lost (La fille de son père)
directed by Erwan Le Duc
France / 1H39