The young actors from the cast of Close by Lukas Dhont © Jean-Louis Hupé / FDC
Cannes 2022: up-and-coming film talent to watch out for
At the Festival de Cannes, just one screening is enough to change a life. The lights shine down once more, and artists who enter the theater as unknowns leave with the recognition of their peers and the public. Forest Whitaker attested to this wonderfully during the opening of this 75th edition when he received the Honorary Palme d'or. For a whole new generation of cinema, the time has come to aspire to equally glorious horizons.
Compétition, consecration
The Competition represents the most prestigious selection and are a consecration of the film crews. Alongside experienced directors who have already won awards, promising young directors compete this year for the Palme d'or with their second feature film.
Léonor Serraille and Lukas Dhont, from the Caméra d’or to In Compétition
Discovered in Un Certain Regard, Jeune Femme (Montparnasse Bienvenue) took home the Caméra d’or in 2017. The director returns this year In Competition with Un petit frère (Mother and Son) and once more confers a decisive role to the actors, who she considers cowriters of the film..
In 2018, it was Girl by Lukas Dhont, that received this recognition granted to a first film. It was a bet that certainly paid off in the future since the Belgian director is now in the running for the Palme d'or this year with Close.
After winning the Un Certain Regard Award in 2018, , Ali Abbasi returns In Competition
Winner of the Un Certain Regard Award for Border (Gräns) four years ago, the Iranian director was In Competition this year with Holy Spider, one of the most publicly acclaimed screenings in the Grand Théâtre Lumière.
Said Roustaee: making a grand entrance with a cinematic marvel
With Leila’s Brothers, the director of the already-mentioned Metri Shesh Va Nim (Just 6.5) amazes us with family scenes whose incredible originality comes from the positioning of the characters and the camera's movements.
Exceptional actors also abound In Competition. Margaret Qualley, seductive in Stars at Noon by Claire Denis, Nadia Tereszkiewicz, revelation of the film Les Amandiers (Forever Young) by Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi, and Eden Dambrine rightfully impressive at the age of fifteen in Lukas Dhont's film.
New blood in Un Certain Regard
Created in 1978, this selection is the ultimate showcase for tomorrow's talent. And promising talent has indeed appeared these last few years with a batch of fresh and inspiring films, along with a new trend this year to willingly mix amateur actors together with professionals.
Saim Sadiq is the first Pakistani director selected in Cannes. His film, Joyland, examines the patriarchy through the story of a young man torn between his conservative family and his nascent love for a transgender dancer.
Maksim Nakonechnyi's film resonates with current events in Ukraine. A native of this country, he presented Bachennya Metelyka (Butterfly Vision), the story of a pilot dealing with the trauma caused by his long captivity in Russian prisons.
Lola Quivoron is also presenting her energy-filled first film Rodeo. The director enters into the world of Bike Life, which she understands to perfection.
As for Lise Akoka and Romane Gueret, they place the cinematographic process at the heart of their film. Les Pires (The Worst Ones) chronicles the casting process of a film being shot in a city in Northern France. An endearing yet blunt social narrative .
Riley Keough and Gina Gammell focused their cameras on the Pine Ridge Reservation to chronicle the disillusionment of South Dakota's Native Americans. War Pony is the fruit of exacting and visionary preparatory work, with a cast of nonprofessional actors.
Lotfy Nathan takes us to Tunisia in Harka. Through the injustices suffered by Ali, the film's main character, the director takes the country's pulse ten years after the Arab Spring.
Alexandru Belc made a name for himself in cinema as a scriptwriter with 4 Months, 3 weeks and 2 days (4 luni, 3 saptamâni si 2 zile) by Cristian Mungiu. With Metronom, his first fiction film, he reveals his passion for history and recollection by putting us in the shoes of an adolescent girl in Ceaușescu's Romania.
Chie Hayakawa hits hard with Plan 75 by addressing the issue of growing old and euthanasia in Japan. Although this is her first feature film, Chie Hayakawa is not a newcomer to the Festival de Cannes. Her student film Niagara was part of the Cinéfondation Selection in 2014.
Jeune Cinéma
This is the new name for the "Cinéfondation", which was founded in 1998 to discover new talent. The "La Cinef" student films selection is comprised this year of sixteen short and medium-length films. The Jury, presided over by Yousry Nasrallah chose to award First Prize to Valerio Ferrara, a graduate of the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia and writer-director of Il Barbiere Complottista (A Conspiracy Man).
The Jeune Cinéma section in Cannes provides other means of artistic and financial support, such as the Atelier and the Residence. Universally recognized directors have made their debuts here, such as Jessica Hausner, Nadav Lapid, Joachim Lafosse and Nadine Labaki. Many reasons for tomorrow's aspiring filmmakers to dream…
