First-time filmmakers will be center stage at this year’s 48th annual International Critics Week, where announced competition titles will be up for the Camera d’Or. Critics Week runs May 14-22, 2009. in Cannes.
Fest opener will be Mathias Gokalp’s freshman drama “Rien de personnel” (Nothing Personal), featuring French stars Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Denis Podalydes, Zabou Breitman, Pascal Greggory, Melanie Doutey and Bouli Lanners.
Latin American films continue a strong showing, with Chilean helmer Alejandro Fernandez Almendras‘ “Huacho” and Uruguayan director Alvaro Brechner‘s “Bad Day to Go Fishing” both included in the sidebar’s seven-film competition.
Colombian feature “1989,” directed by Camilo Matiz and starring Vincent Gallo will be presented on closing night.
French filmmaker Nassim Amaouche also competing for a Camera d’Or, will screen his dark drama “Adieu Gary,” ((originally titled “Adieu Gary Cooper”) (Goodbye Gary Cooper)) which stars actor-director Jean-Pierre Bacri alongside Dominique Reymond, Yasmine Belmadi, Sabrina Ouazani and Mahmed Arezki.
This year, Belgium presents two competition features: Caroline Strubbe‘s “Lost Persons Area,” about the relationship between a Hungarian engineer and a co-worker’s young daughter in the wake of a fatal accident, and Peter Brosen and Jessica Woodworth‘s Andean-set drama “Altiplano,” starring Olivier Gourmet. “Altiplano” is the sole nondebut in the competition.
Also competing are Iraqi helmer Shahram Alidi‘s “Whisper With the Wind” and Serbian director Vladimir Perisic‘s “The Ordinary People.” Vladimir Perisic will present his directorial debut, a Franco-Serbian co-production about how ordinary men can turn into monsters.
“It’s been an extraordinary year for French cinema. We couldn’t have done it any other way. This is the first time there have been so many great French titles to choose from for as long as I’ve been doing this. It’s just great! What’s shocking is that there are very few first films in the official selection or the Director’s Fortnight, and Critics Week is pretty much just that. It’s great that we can be the ones to really showcase the next generation of filmmakers. We didn’t do it on purpose. The most interesting films we were sent this year were first films”
Critics Week artistic director Jean-Christophe Berjon said.
An additional feature for the Special Screenings session will be announced in the coming days.
Here’s the critic’s week line-up:
COMPETITION
“Lost Persons Area,” Belgium, Caroline Strubbe
“Altiplano,” Belgium-Germany-Netherlands, Peter Brosen, Jessica Woodworth
“Huacho,” Chile, Alejandro Fernandez Almendras
“Adieu Gary,” France, Nassim Amaouche
“Whisper With the Wind,” Iraq, Shahram Alidi
“The Ordinary People,” Serbia-France-Switzerland, Vladimir Perisic
“Bad Day to Go Fishing,” Uruguay-Spain, Alvaro Brechner
COMPETITION SHORTS
“Runaway,” Canada, Cordell Barker
“Tulum,” Croatia, Dalibor Matanic
“Logorama,” France, H5
“C’est gratuit pour les filles,” France, Claire Burger, Marie Amachoukeli
“Together,” Germany-U.K., Eicke Bettinga
“Noche adentro,” Paraguay, Pablo Lamar
“Seeds of the Fall,” Sweden, Patrick Eklund
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
“Nothing Personal,” France, Mathias Gokalp (Opening film)
“Hierro,” Spain, Gabe Ibanez
“La baie du renard,” France, Gregoire Colin (Closing night short)
“1989,” Columbia, Camilo Matiz (Closing night)
SPECIAL SCREENINGS – SHORTS & MEDIUM-LENGTH
“Elo,” Brazil, Vera Egito
“Espalhadas pelo ar,” Brazil, Vera Egito
“Les Miettes,” France, Pierre Pinaud
“Faiblesses,” France, Nicolas Giraud
“6 Hours,” South Korea, Moon Seong-hyeok
