Since 2014, the Critics' Week at the Cannes Film Festival has been supporting its talents as they move from short to feature format through its Next Step programme. In addition to the workshop offered each year to the laureates (see the the report on the latest cohort), since 2019, there has been a competition designed to single out just one of them. This year, it was the project Happy Hardcore by Irish-English director Róisín Burns (based in Paris), with production spearheaded by French company Barberousse Films, that took home the prize from a jury composed of Carole Scotta (Haut et Court), Rebecca De Pas (IFFR and Fondazione Prada Film Fund), Fiorella Moretti (Luxbox) and Alexandre Hautecoeur (Sooner).

Set in Liverpool in 2004, the story follows 17-year-old Sean, who deserts his post in the midst of the Iraq war and returns to England. On the run, he finds his sister – the person dearest to him. Hunted by the army, he is forced to hide in a tunnel. Days go by. Soon, the violence and loneliness he tried to escape catch up with him.

As a reminder, 106 filmmakers from 41 countries have already benefited from Next Step’s support, among them Titanic Ocean by Greece's Konstantina Kotzamani (selected this year in Un Certain Regard) and A Girl Unknown by China's Zou Jing (in competition in the Critics' Week).