Isabelle Huppert, committed cinema and independent American cinema are on the program for the 56th selection of the Quinzaine des filmmakers

A parallel and independent selection of the Cannes Festival, the Directors’ Fortnight has aimed since 1969 to “discover the most unique cinematographic writings of contemporary cinema”.

A feminist duo performed by French actresses Isabelle Huppert and Hafsia Herzi, the return of American independent cinema or Argentinian and Palestinian films: the Quinzaine des filmmakers announced its 56th selection on Tuesday April 16. Non-competitive, this section is dedicated to the discovery of new filmmakers, but has included a few recognized authors in its selection. “It is the singularity of writing through staging which has remained our main compass, and poetry, emotion, imagination and authenticity, our cardinal points”assure the organizers.

On the French side, coach Julien Rejl announced at the opening My life, my face, the posthumous film by Sophie Fillières, a figure of auteur cinema who died last year at the age of 58, with Agnès Jaoui. The Corsican Thierry de Peretti continues to explore the political history of his island (As his look).

Plastic guns by Jean-Christophe Meurice promises to revisit a news item in a trashy humor style with Jonathan Cohen, Nora Hamzawi, Vincent Dedienne, Thomas VDB or Aymeric Lompret. Hafsia Herzi and Isabelle Huppert play a feminist duo in Patricia Mazuy (The Prisoner of Bordeaux).

American cinema and committed cinema

American independent cinema is back, with a film bringing together Michael Cera and descendants of Hollywood legends, Francesca Scorsese and Sawyer Spielberg (Christmas Eve In Miller’s Point by Tyler Taormina).

This parallel section, led by the Society of Film Directors (SRF), chose several films from countries where making cinema is a struggle.

Among them, the Argentinian Hernan Rosselli, “worthy representative of a cinematography in danger” due to the policies of the ultraliberal Javier Milei, according to Julien Rejl, as well as a first Palestinian fiction by Mahdi Fleifel (To a Land Unknown), about two Palestinian cousins ​​stuck in Athens who are looking for a scheme to reach Germany.

Also note an Egyptian film, East of Noon, signed Hala Elkoussy. Julien Rejl greeted “the courage of this filmmaker, because Egyptian censorship has never been so fierce against authors.”

Feature films in selection:

• My life my face by Sophie Fillières (France) – opening film
• As his look by Thierry de Peretti (France)
• Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point by Tyler Taormina (United States)
• Desert of Namibia (“Namibia no sabaku”) by Yôko Yamanaka (Japan)
• East of Noon (Sharq 12) by Hala Elkoussy (Egypt)
• Eat the Night by Caroline Poggi & Jonathan Vinel (France)
• Eephus by Carson Lund (United States) – first feature film
• Gas by Ryan J. Sloan (United States) – first feature film
• Ghost Cat Anzu (Bakeneko Anzu-chan/Anzu, ghost cat) by Yôko Kuno & Nobuhiro Yamashita (Japan)
• Good One by India Donaldson (United States) – first feature film
• Mongrel by Chiang Wei Liang & You Qiao Yin (Taiwan) – first feature film
• The Prisoner of Bordeaux by Patricia Mazuy (France)
• Savanna and the Mountain (“A savana ea montanha”) by Paulo Carneiro (Portugal)
• Sister Midnight by Karan Kandhari (India)
• Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed (“Algo viejo, algo nuevo, algo prestado”) by Hernán Rosselli (Argentina)
• The Falling Sky (“A queda do céu”) by Eryk Rocha and Gabriela Carneiro da Cunha (Brazil)
• The Hyperboreans (“Los hiperbóreos”) by Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña (Chile)
• The Other Way Around (“Volveréis”) by Jonás Trueba (Spain)
• To a Land Unknown by Mahdi Fleifel (Palestine, Denmark)
• A universal language (“Universal Language”) by Matthew Rankin (Canada)
• Plastic guns by Jean-Christophe Meurisse (France) – closing film
• Stories of America: Food, Family and Philosophy by Chantal Akerman (Belgium) – special session

Short films in selection:

• After the sun by Rayane Mcirdi (France, Algeria)
• Extremely short (“Totemo mijikai”) by Kōji Yamamura (Japan)
• Immaculate by Kim Lêa Sakkal (Lebanon)
• Weather by Antoine de Jules Follet (France)
• Mulberry Fields (“Một lần dang dở”) by Nguyễn Trung Nghĩa (Vietnam)
• Our Own Shadow (“Nuestra sombra”) by Agustina Sánchez Gavier (Argentina)
• The Moving Garden (“O garden em movimento”) by Inês Lima (Portugal)
• Very Gentle Work by Nate Lavey (United States)
• When the Land Runs Away (“Quando a terra foge”) by Frederico Lobo (Portugal)