INDUSTRY / MARKET Cannes 2023 / Directors’ Fortnight
La Factory comes back to life in Cannes with Northern Portugal
- After three years of absence due to the pandemic, the programme supporting young emerging filmmakers will return at the Directors’ Fortnight
58 filmmakers from 70 different countries, with short films and feature debut projects: since 2013, la Factory — directed by Dominique Welinski as part of the Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes — shines a light on the Croisette on emerging talents from the international scene. A very worthwhile enterprise, quality-wise, since the 30 short films produced have won more than 50 awards around the world, and were followed by 28 feature debuts, including I Am Not a Witch [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Rungano Nyoni
film profile] by Rungano Nyoni, The Charmer [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ardalan Esmaili
interview: Milad Alami
film profile] by Milad Alami, La Civil [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Teodora Ana Mihai
film profile] by Teodora Ana Mihai, Road to Mandalay [+see also:
trailer
interview: Midi Z
film profile] by Midi Z, Oblivion Verses [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alireza Khatami
film profile] by Alireza Khatami, The Cakemaker [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ofir Raul Graizer
film profile] by Ofir Raul Grazier, Murder Me, Monster [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Alejandro Fadel as well as Costa Brava, Lebanon [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Mounia Akl.
Renamed la Factory des Cinéastes, the programme — which was forced into silence by the pandemic since 2019 — will return to its usual spot at the 55th Directors' Fortnight (17 to 26 May, as part of the 76th Cannes Film Festival). After Taiwan, Denmark, Finland, Chile, South African, Lebanon, Tunisia and the Balkans, it is Northern Portugal’s turn to be in the spotlight. Three short films headed by la Factory, co-written and co-directed in pairs by three Portuguese filmmakers together with three international directors (from Israel, Iran and Spain) will be screened on 17 May, on the opening day of the parallel section. The six selected filmmakers will take advance of their time on the Croisette to pitch their feature debut projects to professionals (producers, distributors and sellers). The pairs put forward this year are André Guiomar - Mya Kaplan, Maria de Mario Macedo - Dornaz Hajiha and Mariana Bartolo - Guillermo Garcia Lopez.
La Factory 2023 is organised by the Directors’ Fortnight, Bando a Parte and DW with the support of several Portuguese institutions (ICA, RTP, Filmaporto, Câmara Municipal do Porto, Câmara Municipal do Guimarães, Agência da Curta Metragem, Curtas Vila do Conde ISFF, Olho de Vidro) and of France’s Cineli Digital.
(Translated from French)
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