Cannes 2024 Twelve European Films in Directors' Fortnight
Text: Fabien Lemercier, Cineuropa
With the emphasis on discovering new talents, the 42nd Directors’ Fortnight, which will run from May 13-23 at the 63rd Cannes Film Festival, unveiled its selection at midday today in Paris. It offers a rich line-up of 21 world premieres (a record) and 11 debut films among the 22 features in the main programme. European cinema takes pride of place with 12 titles (by directors from France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, the UK, Denmark, Switzerland and Germany) and two co-productions selected by the new delegate general, Frédéric Boyer.
Belgium is represented by two titles: Olivier Masset-Depasse’s Illegal (co-produced by Luxembourg and France); and Gust Vanderberghe’s Little Baby Jesus of Flanders. Meanwhile, Italy will be hoping for success with Michelangelo Frammartino’s The Four Times (co-produced by Germany and Switzerland); Spain with Oliver Laxe’s Todos Vos Sodés Capitans; Germany with Philip Koch’s Picco; and Denmark with Christoffer Boe’s Everything Will Be Fine (co-produced by Sweden and France). The line-up also includes UK director Alicia Duffy’s Irish/Belgian/French co-production All Good Children and Swiss filmmaker Jean-Stéphane Bron’s documentary Cleveland Vs. Wall Street (produced by France).
Four French feature-length films will put in an appearance: Katell Quillevéré’s Love Like Poison; Jean-Paul Civeyrac’s Des Filles En Noir (“Girls in Black”); Renaud Barret and Florent de la Tullaye’s documentary Benda Bilili! (which will open the Directors’ Fortnight with a musical and African flavour); and closing film Fabienne Berthaud’s Lily Sometimes, starring Ludivine Sagnier and Diane Kruger.
This year, there will also be a broad selection of films from Latin America, with five titles including The Invisible Eye by Argentina’s Diego Lerman (co-produced by France and Spain); two US features; an Israeli title; and two Asian films from Malaysia and Kyrgyzstan (the latter is co-produced by France).
Boyer, delegate general of the Directors’ Fortnight, emphasised the diversity of films submitted to selectors (980 features this year, compared to 1,043 last year). He also divided his selection into three categories: films related to poetry and the imagination (including those of Frammartino, Vanderberghe and Duffy); politically-engaged works (by Bron and Lerman, among others); and genre films (including Boe’s spy film and, more or less, Koch’s prison drama). Boyer has also chosen to show two documentaries in the special screenings section, including Stefen Kijak’s Stones In Exile, produced by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.
This year, there will also be a broad selection of films from Latin America, with five titles including The Invisible Eye by Argentina’s Diego Lerman (co-produced by France and Spain); two US features; an Israeli title; and two Asian films from Malaysia and Kyrgyzstan (the latter is co-produced by France).
Boyer, delegate general of the Directors’ Fortnight, emphasised the diversity of films submitted to selectors (980 features this year, compared to 1,043 last year). He also divided his selection into three categories: films related to poetry and the imagination (including those of Frammartino, Vanderberghe and Duffy); politically-engaged works (by Bron and Lerman, among others); and genre films (including Boe’s spy film and, more or less, Koch’s prison drama). Boyer has also chosen to show two documentaries in the special screenings section, including Stefen Kijak’s Stones In Exile, produced by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.
Features:
Opening film: Benda Bilili! - Renaud Barret & Florent de la Tullaye (France) documentary *
All Good Children - Alicia Duffy (UK) *
Everything Will Be Fine - Christoffer Boe (Denmark/Sweden/France)
The Four Times - Michelangelo Frammartino (Italy/Germany/Switzerland)
Cleveland Vs. Wall Street - Jean Stéphane Bron (Switzerland) documentary
Illegal - Olivier Masset-Depasse (Belgium/France/Luxembourg)
Little Baby Jesus of Flanders - Gust Vanderberghe (Belgium) *
Picco - Philip Koch (Germany) *
Todos Vos Sodés Capitans - Oliver Laxe (Spain) *
Des Filles En Noir - Jean-Paul Civeyrac (France)
Love Like Poison - Katell Quillevéré (France) *
La Mirada Invisible (The Invisible Eye) - Diego Lerman (Argentina/France/Spain)
Año Bisiesto - Michael Rowe (Mexico) *
The Silent House - Gustavo Hernandez (Uruguay) *
Allegria (Joy) - Marina Méliande & Felipe Braganca (Brazil)
Ha’Meshotet (The Wanderer) - Avishai Sivan (Israel) *
The Light Thief - Aktan Arym Kubat (Kyrgyzstan) *
Shit Year - Cam Archer (US)
Somos Lo Que Hay (We Are What We Are) - Jorge Michel Grau (Mexico) *
Tiger Factory - Woo Ming Jin (Malaysia)
Two Gates Of Sleep - Alistair Griffin (US) *
Closing film: Lily Sometimes - Fabienne Berthaud (France)
* vying for the Camera d’Or
Special Screenings
Stones In Exile - Stefen Kijak (UK) documentary
Boxing Gym - Frederick Wiseman (US) documentary
Courts métrages
Cautare (Quest) – Ionut Piturescu (RO)
Ett tyst barn (A Silent Child) – Jesper Klevenas (SE)
Licht - Andre Schreuders (NL)
Mary Last Seen - Sean Durkin (US)
Petit tailleur - Louis Garrel (FR)
Shadows of Silence - Pradeepan Raveendran (FR)
Shikasha - Hirabayashi Isamu (JP)
Tre ore - Annarita Zambrano (IT)
ZedCrew - Noah Pink (ZM)
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