On Monday, the 2025 selection for the side event at the Cannes Critics’ Week, which highlights films from debuting and early-career directors, was revealed.
One of the standout features in this competition is “Left-Handed Girl,” a solo directorial endeavor by Shih-Ching Tsou, who has previously worked extensively with Sean Baker, most notably co-directing “Take Out” and producing “Tangerine,” “The Florida Project,” and “Red Rocket.” In this film, Tsou collaborates with Baker on the script and editing, creating an urban melodrama set in Taipei. The story revolves around a single mother and her two daughters as they navigate their lives on the outskirts of Taiwanese capital city.
Additionally, during Critics’ Week, Thai director Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke presents “A Useful Ghost.” This film offers a unique, surreal perspective on motherhood, where a woman transforms into a vacuum cleaner following her reincarnation. Leading the cast is Thai actress Mai Davika Hoorne.
Competitions in Europe showcase films like “Nino” directed by Pauline Loquès, featuring the rising Quebecois actor Théodore Pellerin (“Lurker”) as a young man struggling in the city following the loss of his apartment keys; “Sleepless City,” directed by Guillermo Galoe from Spain, which tells the story of two friends who must part ways when one is forced to relocate; and “Kika” directed by Alexe Poukine from Belgium, starring Manon Clavel as a social worker grappling with an unexpected pregnancy shortly after her partner’s demise.
Filmmaker Deni Oumar Pitsaev from Chechnya will showcase his autobiographical documentary titled “Imago“. This film narrates his endeavor to build a contemporary home on ancestral land in a Georgian valley close to the border of Chechnya. Meanwhile, from the Netherlands, Sven Bresser is debuting his feature film “Reedland“. The story follows a reed harvester whose discovery of a teenage girl’s body sets off an intense and haunting fixation.
The Belgian filmmaker Laura Wandel is set to kick off the 64th Critics’ Week with a special screening, outside of competition, for her drama concerning child custody titled “Adam’s Interest“. Concluding the section, also out of competition, is the first animated film from Japanese director Momoko Seto, “Dandelion’s Odyssey“, which narrates the journey of four dandelions that manage to survive a nuclear disaster and search for a place to take root. The French films “Baise en Ville” by Martin Jauvat and Alice Douard’s debut feature “Love Letters“, a mix of drama and comedy about two married women expecting their first child, will also be screened out of competition.
In the 64th edition of Critics’ Week, Spanish filmmaker Rodrigo Sorogoyen (‘The Beasts’) is leading the jury. Accompanying him are a number of esteemed figures: Academy Award-winning British actor Daniel Kaluuya (‘Get Out’, ‘Judas and the Black Messiah’), Moroccan journalist Jihane Bougrine, French-Canadian cinematographer Josée Deshaies (known for ‘Passages’ and ‘The Beast’), and Indonesian producer Yulia Evina Bhara (‘Tiger Stripes’, ‘Autobiography’).
During May 14th to 22nd, Critics’ Week (La Semaine de la Critique) takes place simultaneously with the primary Cannes Film Festival. This section, managed by the French film critics association, is renowned for showcasing emerging talent. Numerous prominent figures in international art-house cinema first gained recognition here within this sidebar.
In 1970, two-time Palme d’Or winner Ken Loach introduced his debut feature film, Kes, at Critics’ Week. Similarly, Justine Triet, who won the Palme d’Or for Anatomy of a Fall in 2023, made her festival debut with her second feature, Victoria, during Critics’ Week in 2013. Julia Ducournau also premiered her first film, Raw, at Critics’ Week in 2016. Notably, Ducournau’s subsequent works include Titane, which won the Palme d’Or in 2021, and her latest film, Alpha, which will be showcased in the festival’s main competition this year.
Check out the Critics’ Week lineup below.
COMPETITION
Imago, Dir. Déni Oumar Pitsaev
Kika, Dir. Alexe Poukine
Left-Handed Girl, Dir. Shih-Ching Tsou
Nino, Dir. Pauline Loquès
Reedland, Dir. Sven Bresser
Sleepless City, Dir. Guillermo Galoe
A Useful Ghost, Dir. Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
Adam’s Interest, Dir. Laura Wandel OPENING FILM
Baise en ville, Dir. Martin Jauvat
Love Letters, Dir. Alice Douard
Dandelion’s Odyssey, Dir. Momoko Seto CLOSING FILM
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2025-04-14 12:54