Cannes brings young talents from all over the world to Un Certain Regard
- Sandra Wollner, Valentina Maurel, Manuella Martelli, Rudi Rosenberg, Louis Clichy, Laïla Marrakchi and Viesturs Kairišs notably stand out in the line-up
Germany, Austria, Latvia, France, the United States, Chile, Costa Rica, Morocco, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Nepal, Japan and Lebanon: these are the countries of origin of the 15 films (for the time being) in Un Certain Regard, unveiled today alongside the full Official Selection (read the article) for the 79th Cannes Film Festival (12–23 May). A showcase focused both on young talent and on a broad presentation of world cinema.
European countries feature prominently in this Un Certain Regard selection, notably with Everytime, the second feature film by Austrian director Sandra Wollner (winner of the Encounters Special Jury Prize at the 2020 Berlinale for The Trouble With Being Born) and Forever Your Maternal Animal by Costa Rican director Valentina Maurel (multi-award winner at Locarno in 2022 for I Have Electric Dreams), a co-production between Belgium and France.
Second feature-length fiction films are also featured, notably Words Of Love by French director Rudi Rosenberg (winner of the New Directors competition at San Sebastián International Film Festival with The New Kid) and The Meltdown by Chilean filmmaker Manuella Martelli (revealed on the Croisette in 2022, in the Directors’ Fortnight, with 1976), a production bringing together Chile, the United States, Spain and Mexico (read the interview with producer Alejandra Garcia).
Among the debut feature films, one that stands out is I’ll Be Gone in June by the German director Katharina Rivilis.
Among the more established filmmakers is the Latvian director Viesturs Kairišs (who won the Best Film award at Tribeca in 2022 for January), who will be unveiling his new film Uļa (read the news) and Japan's Yukiko Sode (selected in IFFR's Big Screen Competition in 2021) with her fourth feature, All the Lovers in the Night.
Animated film will also be in the spotlight, with French filmmaker Louis Clichy making his solo directorial debut with Iron Boy, having previously co-directed Asterix: The Land of the Gods and Asterix: The Secret of the Magic Potion.
American cinema will be represented by Jane Schoenbrun’s Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (a highlight of the 2024 Berlinale Panorama alongside I Saw the TV Glow), which will open Un Certain Regard, and by Club Kid, the debut feature film by her compatriot Jordan Firstman.
Africa will be in the spotlight with three films: Strawberries by Moroccan director Laïla Marrakchi (the director’s third feature film and a co-production mainly between France, Spain, Morocco and Belgium), the debut feature Ben’imana by Rwandan director Marie-Clementine Dusabejambo, and Congo Boy by Congolese-Central African director Rafiki Fariala (spotted at the 2022 Berlinale Panorama with the documentary We, Students!).
Two other debut feature films will also be screened: Elephants in the Fog by Nepalese director Abinash Bikram Shah and Yesterday the Eye Didn’t Sleep by Palestinian director Rakan Mayasi (produced by Belgium and Lebanon).
The selected films:
Un Certain Regard
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma - Jane Schoenbrun (USA/Canada/UK, opening film)
Elephants in the Fog - Abinash Bikram Shah (Nepal/France/Germany/Brazil/Norway)
Iron Boy - Louis Clichy (France/Belgium)
Ben'Imana - Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo (Rwanda/Gabon/France/Norway/Côte d'Ivoire)
Congo Boy - Rafiki Fariala (Central African Republic/France/Democratic Republic of the Congo/Italy)
Club Kid - Jordan Firstman (USA)
Ulya - Viesturs Kairišs (Latvia/Estonia/Poland)
Strawberries - Laïla Marrakchi (France/Spain/Morocco/Belgium)
El deshielo - Manuela Martelli (Chile/USA/Spain/Mexico)
Forever Your Maternal Animal - Valentina Maurel (Belgium/France/Mexico)
Yesterday the Eye Didn’t Sleep - Rakan Mayasi (Belgium/Lebanon/Palestine/Qatar/Saudi Arabia)
I’ll Be Gone in June - Katharina Rivilis (Germany/Switzerland/USA)
Words of Love - Rudi Rosenberg (France)
Everytime - Sandra Wollner (Germany/Austria)
All the Lovers in the Night - Sode Yukiko (Japan)
(Translated from French)
Did you enjoy reading this article? Please subscribe to our newsletter to receive more stories like this directly in your inbox.
