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 The French Syndicate of Cinema Critics () has, each year since 1946, awarded a prize (":fr:Prix de la critique, Prix de la critique", English: "Critics Prize"), the Prix Méliès, to the best French film of the preceding year. More awards have bee ...

History

Critics' week was created in 1962, after the

' successful campaign for Shirley Clarke's '' The Connection'' to be screened at the

1961 Cannes Film Festival The 14th Cannes Film Festival took place from 3 to 18 May 1961. French writer Jean Giono served as jury president for the main competition. The ''Palme d'Or'' was jointly awarded to '' The Long Absence'' by Henri Colpi and '' Viridiana'' by Lu ...

. 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 Bernardo Bertolucci ( ; ; 16 March 1941 – 26 November 2018) was an Italian film director and screenwriter with a career that spanned 50 years. Considered one of the greatest directors in the history of cinema, Bertolucci's work achieved inte ...

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 Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936) is a retiredhttps://variety.com/2024/film/global/ken-loach-retirement-the-old-oak-jonathan-glazer-oscars-speech-1235956589/ English filmmaker. His socially critical directing style and socialist views ar ...

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 Agnieszka Holland (; born 28 November 1948) is a Polish film and television director and screenwriter, best known for her cultural and political contributions to Polish cinema. She began her career as an assistant to directors Krzysztof Zanuss ...

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 Wong Kar-wai (born 17 July 1958) is a Hong Kong film director, screenwriter, and producer. His films are characterised by nonlinear narratives, atmospheric music, and vivid cinematography involving bold, saturated colours. A pivotal figure o ...

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 Gaspar Noé (; ; born 27 December 1963) is an Argentine filmmaker, who lives and worked primarily in France. He is one of the primary exponents of New French Extremity, with his most notable works including the feature films '' I Stand Alone'' ...

François Ozon François Ozon (; born 15 November 1967) is a French film director and screenwriter. Ozon is considered one of the most important modern French filmmakers. His films are characterized by aesthetic beauty, sharp satirical humor and a free-wheeli ...

Andrea Arnold Andrea Patricia Arnold OBE (born 5 April 1961) is an English filmmaker and former actress. She won an Academy Award for her short film ''Wasp'' in 2005. Her feature films include '' Red Road'' (2006), '' Fish Tank'' (2009) and '' American Hon ...

Alejandro González Iñárritu Alejandro González Iñárritu (born 15 August 1963) is a Mexican filmmaker primarily known for making modern psychological drama (film genre), psychological drama films about the human condition. His most notable films include ''Amores perros ...

Julia Ducournau Julia Ducournau (; born 18 November 1983) is a French film director and screenwriter. She made her feature film debut in 2016 with '' Raw''. At the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, she won the Palme d'Or for her film '' Titane'', which made her the sec ...

Justine Triet Justine Triet (; born 17 July 1978) is a French film director, screenwriter, and editor. She has received several awards including an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, a Palme d'Or, three César Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. Triet started her ...

, 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,

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 Kleber Mendonça Filho (; born 22 November 1968) is a Brazilian film director, screenwriter, producer, and critic. Early life With a degree in journalism from the Federal University of Pernambuco, Kleber Mendonça Filho began his career as a fil ...

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 Ciro Guerra (born 6 February 1981) is a Colombian film director and screenwriter. He is best known for his 2015 film ''Embrace of the Serpent'', which was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards, and for '' The Wind ...

and

Cristian Mungiu Cristian Mungiu (; born 27 April 1968) is a Romanian filmmaker. He won the Palme d'Or at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival for his film '' 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days'', which he wrote and directed. He has also won the awards for Best Screenplay and ...

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 Nestlé Nespresso S.A., trading as Nespresso, is an operating unit of the Nestlé Group, based in Vevey, Switzerland. Nespresso machines brew espresso and coffee from coffee capsules (or ''pods'' in machines for home or professional use), a ...

References

External links