The Film Verdict: You took over the Cannes Critics Week as General Delegate in 2021, at a time of great turmoil for festivals and the film industry. How do you feel about this year’s edition?
Ava Cahen: I’m very happy. Our selection is a lively one, and it will hopefully speak to as large an audience as possible. I’m especially pleased because all the feature films in our program have secured theatrical distribution in France. That’s part of why we do it.
TFV: Aside from the South Korean entry Sleep, all the features in the program are French productions or co-productions. France appears to be very supportive of first-time directors, on an international level too.
AC: That is very true. The number of co-productions has increased in recent years, particularly in support of countries that may have suffered in terms of production during the pandemic. I’m thinking of titles like Tiger Stripes, which is an international co-production and hails from Malaysia. We hadn’t had any Malaysian submissions in the last few years.
TFV: That’s a genre film, and those have always had their place in the Semaine line-up, even as part of the competition. In a way, you’ve been redefining the notion of “festival films”.
AC: That’s always been part of the Semaine’s history because we don’t think of them as “B-movies”. They have a nobility of their own and deserve the same spotlight as other films.
TFV: One unique aspect of the Semaine de la Critique is that, as the name suggests, the selection committee consists entirely of film critics. What’s the difference between the critic’s mindset and the programmer’s?
AC: It’s a juggling act. We all watch the submissions together, from December to April, and the critical side emerges primarily in the discussions we have about the films. The programming mind comes into play when thinking about the big picture, how these films will exist side by side in the line-up. And it’s not just a matter of taste. You also have to go with your gut.
TFV: The festival’s Official Selection has quite a few first features this year, as does the Quinzaine. Was there more competition than usual between the different strands of the festival?
AC: I don’t look at it that way. We only have 11 slots for feature films, out of 1,000 submissions, so I think it’s great the festival in general spotlights so many directorial debuts. We all have our distinct identities, and that helps showcase the diversity of the first features’ landscape.
TFV: Assuming you have time to watch other films during the festival, what are you most looking forward to this year?
AC: I still have a press badge, as a matter of fact. I’m most looking forward to Justine Triet’s Anatomy of Fall, and I love Wes Anderson’s work, so I’m excited to see his new film. I’m curious about the new Nanni Moretti, even though I didn’t really like the previous one. And then there are few filmmakers who are part of the Semaine’s history that I’m eager to catch up with in the Official Selection, like Alex Lutz, Valérie Donzelli and Katell Quillévéré.
