Dedicated to first and second feature films, the Saint-Jean-de-Luz International Film Festival has carved out an appealing niche in the panorama of film festivals unfolding in France, shining a light on highly promising talent who are in serious need of visibility at a time of abundant audiovisual offerings in cinemas and elsewhere. And the 10th edition of the Basque event, unfolding 2 to 8 October, won’t be deviating from this brief, primarily offering up a competition of 10 feature films screening in French premieres, to be assessed by a jury led by Agnès Jaoui (and further composed of William Lebghil, Guillaume de Tonquedec, Sarah Suco and Alysson Paradis).

Battling it out for the Grand Prize 2023, we’ll see Matria [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Álvaro Gago
scheda film] by Spain’s Álvaro Gago (unveiled in the Berlinale’s Panorama line-up), Through the Night [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Delphine Girard
scheda film] by Belgium’s Delphine Girard (the winner of the Audience Award in Venice’s Giornate degli Autori event), Rossosperanza [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Italy’s Annarita Zambrano (discovered in competition in Locarno), Dormitory [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Nehir Tuna
scheda film] by Turkey’s Nehir Tuna (well-received in Venice’s Orizzonti line-up), Back to Alexandria by Swiss-Egyptian director Tamer Ruggli, French movies The Dreamer [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Anaïs Tellenne
scheda film] by Anaïs Tellenne (presented in Venice’s Orizzonti Extra section), La nouvelle femme [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Léa Todorov and The Fantastic Three by Michaël Dichter, Canadian title Dissidente by Pier-Philippe Chevigny, and The Burdened by Yemeni director Amr Gamal (the runner up for the 2023 Audience Award in the Berlinale’s Panorama line-up).

Jostling alongside a variety of short film programmes are another ten feature films, screening out of competition, notably French films in the form of Rachel's Game by Thierry Klifa, which is opening the festival today, La vie de ma mère [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Julien Carpentier, selected for the closing slot, Soudain seuls [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Thomas Bidegain
scheda film] by Thomas Bidegain (who’ll also be delivering a Film Masterclass), Under the Rainbow by Bryan Marciano, Je ne suis pas un héros by Rudy Milstein, Nouveau monde by Vincent Cappello and Paternel by Ronan Tronchot. Likewise worth a mention are The (Ex)perience of Love [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Ann Sirot e Raphael Balboni
scheda film] by Belgian duo Ann Sirot and Raphaël Balboni and Bizkarsoro by Spain’s Josu Martinez (a Basque-language film co-produced by France).