15/04/2025 - Sophie Letourneur, Pedro Cabeleira, Aurélien Vernhes-Lermusiaux and Sepideh Farsi are part of the programme which includes nine films, including six fiction features and three documentaries

Committed to offering visibility to high-quality independent works that are often screened too little, and true to its editorial line centred on boldness and a diversity of perspectives, the ACID (Association for the Circulation of Independent Film) section has unveiled the exciting programme of its 33rd edition, which will be shared on the Croisette from 14 to 23 May as part of the 78th Cannes Film Festival. The nine films selected consist of six fiction features and three documentaries.

At the top of the list shines L’Aventura by French filmmaker Sophie Letourneur (read the article), a film shot in Sardinia and starring, amongst others, the director herself and Philippe Katerine. This is Letourneur’s sixth feature after Chicks - Life at the Ranch [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (in competition in Rotterdam in 2010), Les Coquillettes [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (out of competition in Locarno in 2012), Gaby Baby Doll [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (2014) and two films that screened in the Big Screen competition in Rotterdam: Enormous [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] and Voyages en Italie [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile].

Also in the programme are two second features: Entroncamento by Portuguese filmmaker Pedro Cabeleira (revealed in Locarno’s Cineasti del Presente competition in 2017 with Damned Summer [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Pedro Cabeleira
film profile]) and The Black Snake (La couleuvre noire) by French director Aurélien Vernhes-Lermusiaux (news), 2021 Louis Delluc Best Debut Film winner for Towards the Battle [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile].

In the fiction department, three other films also stand out, including Drifting Laurent (Laurent dans le vent) by French trio Anton Balekdjian, Léo Couture and Mattéo Eustachon (article), noticed for Dying in Ibiza (A Film in Three Summers) [+see also:
trailer
film profile], a compilation of short films that won multiple awards at the 2022 FIDMarseille. Also taking part are A Light That Never Goes Out, the debut feature by Finnish filmmaker Lauri-Matti Parppei (read the interview) and Drunken Noodles by New York-based Argentinian filmmaker Lucio Castro (the third feature of the filmmaker noticed in 2019 for End of the Century and selected this year in the Special section at the Berlinale with After This Death).

The programme is completed by three documentaries: Put Your Soul On Your Hand and Walk by versatile Iranian filmmaker Sepideh Farsi (appreciated in Toronto in 2014 with Red Rose [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and in the 2023 Berlin Panorama section with the animated film The Siren [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]), Life After Siham (La vie après Siham) by French-Egyptian filmmaker Namir Abdel Messeeh (who in 2012 went through the Panorama section, the TRIBECA competition and the ACID competition in Cannes with The Virgin, the Copts and me [+see also:
trailer
film profile]) and Obscure Night - “Ain’t I a Child?” [+see also:
film review
film profile] by French filmmaker Sylvain George (which just had its world premiere in International Competition at Visions du Réel).

The 2025 selection:

ACID

L’Aventura - Sophie Letourneur (France)
The Black Snake - Aurélien Vernhes-Lermusiaux (France/Brazil/Colombia)
Drunken Noodles - Lucio Castro (USA/Argentina)
Entroncamento - Pedro Cabeleira (Portugal/France)
Drifting Laurent- Anton Balekdjian, Léo Couture and Mattéo Eustachon (France)
A Light That Never Goes Out - Lauri-Matti Parppei (Finland/Norway)
Obscure Night – "Ain’t I a Child?" [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Sylvain George (France/Switzerland/Portugal)
Put Your Soul On Your Hand And Walk - Sepideh Farsi (France/Palestine/Iran)
Life After Siham - Namir Abdel Messeeh (France/Egypt)

(Translated from French)