20/03/2026 - Saulė Bliuvaitė, Harry Lighton, Emma Branderhorst, Joecar Hanna, Oliver McGoldrick and Mansi Maheshwari are hard at work on their upcoming projects in Paris

top row, l-r: Harry Lighton, Emma Branderhorst and Joecar Hanna; bottom row, l-r: Saulė Bliuvaitė, Oliver McGoldrick and Mansi Maheshwari

Since its creation in 2000, the Cannes Film Festival Résidence has hosted more than 250 directors from around 60 countries, providing a springboard for many filmmakers who subsequently achieved international success. Among them are Lucrecia Martel, Corneliu Porumboiu, Amat Escalante, Michel Franco, László Nemes, Lukas Dhont, Nadine Labaki, Nadav Lapid, Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović, Carla Simón, Karim Aïnouz, Rungano Nyoni, Chiang Wei and Payal Kapadia.

Since 16 March, the 51st session of the Résidence has been hosting three female directors and three male directors in Paris; they will work there (with personalised support) until 31 July on the screenplay for their first or second feature. Standing out among them are Lithuania's Saulė Bliuvaitė (Golden Leopard and Best First Film Award at Locarno in 2024 with her debut feature, Toxic [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Directors Talks @ European …
interview: Saulė Bliuvaitė
film profile]), British filmmaker Harry Lighton (Un Certain Regard Best Screenplay Award last year at Cannes with Pillion [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]) and Dutch director Emma Branderhorst (Crystal Bear in 2022 with Spotless in the Berlinale Generation programme, where two of her other shorts were also selected in 2020 and 2023, and who is now preparing her debut feature, This Will Not End Well).

Also taking part are Spanish filmmaker of Chinese and Lebanese origin Joecar Hanna (in competition last year at Cannes in the La Cinef competition with the short Talk Me), Irish director Oliver McGoldrick (whose short Three Keenings screened in Venice Orizzonti in 2024 and who is developing a debut feature titled Barnyard) and Indian filmmaker Mansi Maheshwari (Third Prize in the La Cinef competition in 2024 with Bunnyhood).

(Translated from French)