Cannes Critics’ Week unveils line-up

PARIS, France – Organizers of this year’s Critics’ Week at the Cannes Film Festival on Monday, April 21, announced its 2014 line-up for the event dedicated to discovering new talent.

With a jury of international journalists headed by director Andrea Arnold of Britain, the May 15-23 Critics’ Week runs along alongside the main Cannes Film Festival (May 15-24).

Seven feature films on themes ranging from love to the quest for identity will compete to succeed last year’s “Salvo” by Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza for the honor, delegate general Charles Tesson told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Below is the line-up. English titles are given where cited by organizers.

Opening film: “FLA”, Djinn Carrenard

In competition:

• “Darker than Midnight”, Sebastiano Riso
• “Gente de Bien”, Franco Lolli
• “Hope”, Boris Lojkine
• “It Follows”, David Robert Mitchell
• “Self Made”, Shira Geffen
• “The Tribe”, Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy
• “When Animals Dream”, Jonas Arnde

Special screenings:

• “Respire”, Melanie Laurent
• “L’Institutrice”, Nadav Lapid

Closing film: “Hippocrate”, Thomas Lilti

The prize has provided breakthrough recognition for the likes of Mexico’s Guillermo del Toro and his compatriot Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Gaspar Noe of Argentina, and Jeff Nichols of the United States.

Arnold’s “Wasp” won an Oscar for best short film in 2003. She scooped up the two jury prizes in Cannes for her first two feature-length films, “Red Road” (2006) and “Fish Tank” (2009).

Her “Wuthering Heights” was screened at the Venice Film Festival in 2011. – Rappler.com