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64th Critics' Week: Léo Ortuno Presented Pauline Loquès' NINO at the 23rd FICM

Brian V. Soto

The last film screened as part of the partnership between the 23rd Morelia International Film Festival (FICM) and Critics’ Week at the Cannes Film Festival was Nino (2025, dir. Pauline Loquès). The presentation was given by Léo Ortuno, representing the Artistic Director of this section, Ava Cahen.

French film critic Léo Ortuno, who is also the coordinator and programmer of Critics' Week at the Cannes Film Festival, pointed out that, “Nino was the only French film among the seven films in competition that were part of this section.”

In three days, Nino will face a great challenge. But first, his doctors assign him two vital tasks, two missions that take him around Paris and prompt him to reconnect with the world and himself.

“Normally in cinema we see portraits of women made by men, but in this case, it's the complete opposite because it's the portrait of a man, a thirty-year-old man, made by a woman,” he said. “You can see that the crew is made up almost entirely of women, with a woman in charge of photography, casting, and music, and all of them giving their point of view on a man.”

“This film is set in Paris, but it doesn't show the city from a tourist's point of view, as if it were a postcard. We don't see the monuments, but rather the rhythm of the city, its hustle and bustle, its movement,” he added.

“The film takes place over a very short period of three days and gives us the feeling of experiencing everything in real time, as if everything were happening to us at the same time as the character. It reminds me of the film Cleo from 5 to 7 (1962, dir. Agnès Varda), where we have the same feeling,” Ortuno recalled.

“We're going to see Canadian actor Théodore Pellerin, who has appeared in several Quebec films. We've seen him in a Xavier Dolan film in a minor role, but in this film, he has his first leading role,” he added.

Léo Ortuno said the character is “a majestic man, but at the same time, he shows us all his sensitivity and vulnerability, which makes him a great character.”

Théodore Pellerin won the Rising Star Award at the Cannes Film Festival's Critics' Week for his performance. “You'll see him here for the first time, but I guarantee it won't be the last,” he concluded.