Cannes Film Fest 2015–The prestigious sidebar announced the seven feature films in competition
Sleeping Giant: Canada’s Andrew Cividino
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Medierranea
The American-Italian filmmaker Jonas Carpignano, last year’s winner of the Sony CineAlta Discovery Prize for his short A Ciambra, comes back with his first feature film, Mediterranea. The film tells the story of two African immigrants who reach the Italian coast. Together, they will attempt to adapt to this new life in which they will have to go different paths in order to achieve their personal goals. The journey of these two friends tackles the exile issue, the hopes and disappointments that come along with it.
Krisha
An American indie gem signed by Trey Edward Shults. This first film from a young wonder director plunges us in the middle of a bitter family conflict, mainly embodied by non professionals actors. Krisha is the caustic portrait of a woman under influence, certainly a new exciting and audacious cinema experience.
Clément Cogitore’s first film is very unique compared to what French cinema usually offers. The Wakhan Front is the daily account of French soldiers sent in Afghanistan, isolated in the middle of the desert and experiencing mysterious disappearances. In this strange circumstances, they will acknowledge what the power of faith is. Carried by Jérémie Renier, this bewitching film gathers the raising talents of French cinema Kévin Azaïs, Swann Arlaud and Finnegan Oldfield.
César Augusto Acevedo’s first film Land and Shade takes place in a sugarcane plantation in Colombia. It is a slice of life, torn between the age-old ties to this land and the urge to leave it behind. The sharp sense of the location and the space, driven by the masterful direction, leads us to a time in which the bodies take root.
Dégradé, a black comedy by the two Palestinian brothers Arab and Tarzan Nasser, is shot in the Gaza Strip, where the directors live. The film’s cheery nerve draws an extremely vivid portrait of women trapped in a beauty salon. Outside, the madness of men is raging. This is an offbeat and raw look on people living in an asphyxiated territory. The film is a great opportunity to admire once again the performance of the magnificent Hiam Abbass.
Closing film: Learn by Heart
For the closing ceremony, we fell under the spell of a comedy, enchanted also by the soundness of its vision. Learn by Heart is the first feature film by the French director Mathieu Vadepied, who was previously discovered by La Semaine de la Critique for his short. This mischievous tale set in the suburbs of Paris is the coming-of-age of two children, split between what they are taught in school and their own strange and – to say the least – startling experiences. These two children, personified by staggering actors, will bring their fresh and affectionate breath of air to close the 54th Semaine de la Critique.
The ten short films and the seven feature films in competition will be submitted to the attentive eye of the Jury President of La Semaine de la Critique. The actress and director Ronit Elkabetz will award the Nespresso Grand Prize and the France 4 Visionary Award for feature films and the Sony CineAlta Discovery Prize for short films. La Semaine de la Critique will take place in Cannes, between May 14th and May 22nd.
