The Directors’ Fortnight section of Cannes Film Fest is non-competitive, but some prizes are awarded by its partners.
Ahead of the closing ceremony, the Europa Cinemas Label choice for Best European Film went to Alice And The Mayor by Nicolas Pariser.
The SACD Prize was given to Rebecca Zlotowski’s fourth feature, An Easy Girl.
There is no CICAE Art Cinema Award being presented in the Fortnight this year.
The independent Fortnight sidebar runs parallel to the main festival and is organized by France’s Directors’ Guild. It has become increasingly attractive to higher-profile filmmakers.
This is the first year under new artistic director Paolo Moretti whose selection included The Lighthouse starring Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson, which lit up the Croisette with Oscar buzz.
Prizes awarded in the section today are limited to French-Language, European and short films.
Sophomore Film (after The Great Game)
Alice And The Mayor is the sophomore effort from French helmer Pariser whose first feature, The Great Game, won the prestigious Louis Delluc prize for a debut.
The story centers on Paul Théraneau (Fabrice Luchini), the mayor of Lyon who is in crisis. After 30 years in politics, he feels totally empty and devoid of ideas.
As a fix for this problem, his aides bring a brilliant young philosopher, Alice (Anaïs Demoustier), into his inner circle.
The Europa Cinemas award was decided by a jury of four exhibitors. With it comes the support of the Europa Cinemas Network with additional promotion and incentives for exhibitors to extend the film’s theatrical run.
The jury called it “a timely and very relevant look at the direction of European policies and politics — but never dry or didactic.”
It’s sold internationally by Bac Films and produced by Bizibi.
