Critics' Week (), until 2008 called International Critics' Week ('), is a parallel section to the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

organized by the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics.

History

Critics' week was created in 1962, after the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics' successful campaign for Shirley Clarke's '' The Connection'' to be screened at the 1961 Cannes Film Festival. It is the oldest non-official Cannes sidebar. Critics' Week's objective is to discover and support new talents, showcasing first and second

feature film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...

s by directors worldwide. Bernardo Bertolucci,

Philip Kaufman Philip Kaufman (born October 23, 1936) is an American film director and screenwriter who has directed fifteen films over a career spanning nearly five decades. He has received numerous accolades including a BAFTA Award along with nominations fo ...

, Ken Loach,

Tony Scott Anthony David Leighton Scott (21 June 1944 – 19 August 2012) was a British film director and producer. He made his theatrical film debut with ''The Hunger (1983 film), The Hunger'' (1983) and went on to direct highly successful action and t ...

, Agnieszka Holland,

Leos Carax Alex Christophe Dupont (born 1960), best known as Leos Carax (), is a French film director, critic and writer. Carax is noted for his poetic style and his tortured depictions of love. His first major work was ''Boy Meets Girl (1984 film), Boy Me ...

, Wong Kar-wai,

Guillermo del Toro Guillermo del Toro Gómez (; born 9 October 1964) is a Mexican filmmaker, author, and artist. His work has been characterized by a strong connection to fairy tales, Gothic fiction, gothicism and horror fiction, horror often blending the genres ...

Jacques Audiard Jacques Audiard (; born 30 April 1952) is a French film director, producer, and screenwriter. One of the most awarded French filmmakers in history, his international accolades include an Academy Award, two British Academy Film Awards, and three ...

Arnaud Desplechin Arnaud Desplechin (; born 31 October 1960) is a French film director and screenwriter. In 2016, he won the César Award for Best Director for ''My Golden Days'' (2015). He has also written and directed the films ''The Sentinel (1992 film), The Sen ...

, Gaspar Noé, François Ozon, Andrea Arnold, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Julia Ducournau, Justine Triet, all began at Critics' Week. Since its creation in 1990 and until 2010, there was no jury at Critics' Week. Journalists of all nationalities were invited to vote at the end of each screening of the films in competition, after which the Grand Prize was awarded. In 2011, on the occasion of its 50th edition, Critics' Week formed an international jury made up of four critics and chaired by Korean filmmaker

Lee Chang-dong Lee Chang-dong (; born July 4, 1954) is a South Korean film director, screenwriter, and novelist. He has directed six feature films: ''Green Fish'' (1997), ''Peppermint Candy (film), Peppermint Candy'' (1999), ''Oasis (2002 film), Oasis'' (2002) ...

. Thereafter, the jury has been presided over by a director and consists of four members with writing, filmmaking, acting or programming backgrounds. Notable jury presidents have included

Bertrand Bonello Bertrand Bonello (; born 11 September 1968) is a French film director, screenwriter, producer, composer and actor. His work has been associated with the New French Extremity. He wrote and directed ''Something Organic'' (1998), '' The Pornographe ...

, Miguel Gomes, Andrea Arnold,

Ronit Elkabetz Ronit Elkabetz (; 27 November 1964 – 19 April 2016) was an Israeli actress, screenwriter and film director. She worked in both Israeli and French cinema. She won three Ophir Awards and received a total of seven nominations. Biography Elkabe ...

Valérie Donzelli Valérie Donzelli (born 2 March 1973) is a French actress, filmmaker and screenwriter. She has directed six feature films and two short films since 2008, including the film ''Declaration of War'' (2011). Early life Valérie Donzelli was born in ...

, Kleber Mendonça Filho,

Joachim Trier Joachim Trier () (born 1 March 1974) is a Danish-born Norwegian filmmaker. His films have been described as "Melancholia, melancholy meditations concerned with existential questions of love, ambition, memory, and identity (social science), ident ...

, Ciro Guerra and Cristian Mungiu.

Description

Critics' Week presents a selective program of seven feature films and ten short films in competition. There are also special screenings which are kept few in number in order to provide them greater visibility. Feature films compete for Grand Prize, the SACD Prize, which is awarded for best screenplay, and the Gan Foundation Award, which helps films get distribution. Short films can receive the Canal+ Award and the Discovery Award. Debut feature films are eligible for the

Caméra d'Or The Caméra d'Or ("''Golden Camera''") is an award of the Cannes Film Festival for the best first feature film presented in one of the Cannes selections (Official Selection, Directors' Fortnight or Critics' Week). The prize was created in 1978 Ca ...

, which is open to all first films in Official Selection and the parallel sections at Cannes.

Main awards

*Feature films **Grand Prize () **French Touch Prize of the Jury () **Louis Roederer Foundation Rising Star Award () **Gan Foundation Award for Distribution () **SACD ( Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques) () *Short films **Discovery Award () **Canal+ Award () *Discontinued awards **France 4 Visionary Award () (2012–2017)

Grand Prize winners

The Grand Prize () is the top prize of Critics' Week. In 2001, the prize was sponsored by the French energy company Primagaz. Between 2011 and 2021, the Grand Prize was known as the Nespresso Grand Prize, named for its sponsor Nespresso.

References

External links