by Nathaniel R
Déborah Lukumuena, who made her film debut in "Divines" co-stars in Opening Night film "Robuste"
In case you missed our previous Cannes rounds up we discussed the Official Competition as well as Un Certain Regard and Special Screenings. Why are we always late with these roundups? Because we like to give you more than just a list of titles that you can get at press releases (and every site) but more info on the films. The following titles are playing in Critics Week. Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu who won the Palme d'Or for the great 4 Months 3 Weeks and 2 Days is presiding over this particular jury. Fun fact: ALL of the competition films at Critics Week this time are debuts and are thus eligible for the Camera d'Or (which has a separate jury)
Details on the films are after the jump...
Critics Week Competition Films
AMPARO (Simón Mesa Soto, Colombia)
A drama set in the late 1990s about a single mother and her son who has been drafted and assigned to a war zone. Mesa Soto won the Palme D'or for Short Film back in 2014 for a film called Leidi.
FEATHERS (Omar El Zohairy, France/Egypt)
This one has what sounds like a comic plot about a family in chaos after a birthday party goes wrong (though it's listed as a drama on IMDb). The passive quiet mother must step up and take charge of the family instead of the strict father. El Zohairy won the Cinefondation for a comedy short back in 2014 but this is his first feature.
THE GRAVEDIGGER'S WIFE (Khadar Ahmed, Finland)
This Somali language drama is about a gravedigger trying to raise $5000 for a medical procedure to save his dying wife
LIBERTAD (Clara Roquet, Spain/Belgium)
A drama about an intense friendship between two 15 year old girls on summer holiday.
OLGA (Elie Grappe, Switzerland/Ukraine)
A 2013 set drama about a Ukrainian gymnast training in Switzerland whose mother is reporting on civil unrest and demonstrations back home. The cast is filled with real gymnasts rather than actors. We don't yet know who the youngest director in competition in Cannes is but it sure might be Grappe who is only 26 or so.
SMALL BODY (Laura Samani, Italy/France/Slovenia)
Set in 1900 Italy, it's a drama about a young grieving mother travelling to the mountains where she hears there's a place where infants can be brought back to life long enough to baptize them. Fun fact: Samani's thesis project in college was on Twin Peaks.
ZERO FUCKS GIVEN (Julie Lecoustre & Emmanuel Marre, Belgium/France)
This one revolves around an aimless flight attendant who is fired and forced to return home.
Critics Week Opening & Closing Films
ROBUST (Constance Meyer, France)
The opening night film, also a debut, is a comedy starring French cinematic legend Gerard Depardieu in which he plays an aging movie star dealing with a female security guard (played by César winner Déborah Lukumuena)
A TALE OF LOVE & DESIRE (Leyla Bouzid, Tunisia)
Some of you will remember Bouzid from her affecting debut As I Open My Eyes (2015), which was about a teenage singer struggling with societal and familial expectations and played several festivals. Sami Outalbali, who played Rahim on season 2 of Sex Education, is in the cast and it's about the romance between a French-Algerian college student, who has just discovered a collection of sensual and erotic Arabic literature, and a Tunisian girl who has just arrived in Paris.
Critics Week Special Screenings
ANAÏS IN LOVE (Charline Boureois-Tacquet, France)
A directorial debut about a love triangle. The cast includes busy actors Valerie Bruni Tedeschi and Denis Podalydes who both have multiple films in the festival this year.
BRUNO REIDAL, CONFESSIONS OF A MURDERE (Vincent Le Port)
César nominated Le Port, is best known for his short films. This new feature is set at the turn of the 20th century, and it's a true story about a seminarian who murdered and child. His doctors asked him to write his memoirs to understand his actions. Dimitri Doré plays the murderer.
A RADIANT GIRL (Sandrine Kiberlain, France)
Kiberlain has been in front of the cameras since the mid 80s but this time she's behind the camera for her directorial debut. It's a World War II era drama about a young Jewish French girl living in Paris in the summer of 1942.
SOFTIE / PETITE NATURE (Samuel Theis, France)
A drama about a 10 year old sensitive boy in a rough neighborhood dealing with the chaos of his single mother and a new teacher at school he's intrigued by. This is Theis' second feature. He also co-directed Party Girl (2014) which won the Camera D'Or in its year.