03 · 09 · 09

Registration is open for International Critics´ Week

Clara Sánchez / Translated by Lorena Villa Parkman

The entries for feature films and documentaries that want to be selected for the 48th International Critics´ Week (ICW) of Cannes Film Festival will remain open until march 23rd.

ICW will be held from May 14th to 22nd. ICW is a parallel section of Cannes Film Festival and its mission is to promote young new talents. From this selection some director´ s careers have been boosted such as Bernardo Bertolucci, Ken Loach, Wong Kar Wai, Jacques Audiard, Arnaud Desplechin, Gaspar Noe, François Ozon, Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu, Guillermo del Toro and Julie Bertuccelli, among others. All of them have presented their first films in this section of the competition.

Since 5 years ago Cinépolis gives away the Gran Premio Internacional de la Crítica which consists of 5000 euros. The prize is given out on a ceremony that takes place the last night of the Festival. Among the winners who have won this award are:

o Snow by Aida Begic (Bosnia - Herzegovina, Germany, France and Iran, 2008)
o XXY by Lucía Puenzo (Argentina, 2007),
o Les Amitiés maléfiques by Emmanuel Bourdieu (France, 2006),
o Me and you and everybody we know by Miranda July (United States, 2005),
o Brodeuses by Éleonore Faucher (France, 2004),
o Or (Món tresor) by Keren Yedara (France-Israel, 2004)

FICM maintains an alliance with ICW to make sure that these new talents´films can travel freely across international borders. Each year FICM shows a selection of ICW films while some of the FICM past winners´ are screened in Cannes.

Some of the movies that have won in FICM and have been shown in Cannes are:

* FICM 2004: De Raiz by Carlos Carrera (Best animation short film); El Pasajero by Matias Meyer (Best fiction short film) and Trópico de Cáncer by Eugenio Polgovsky (Best documentary).
* FICM 2005 Toro negro by Pedro Gonzalez-Rubio y Carlos Armella (Best Documentary) and David by Roberto Fiesco Trejo (Best fiction short film).
* FICM 2006 En el cielo como en la tierra by Natalia Lopez (Best experimental short film) and La Palomilla Salvaje by Gustavo Gamou (Best short film documentary).
* FICM 2006 Mi Vida Dentro by Lucía Gaja (Best documentary) and Peces Plátano by Natalia Beristain Egurrola (Best short film).

Other Mexican filmmakers whose films have been presented in ICW are Fernando Eimbcke, winner of the award Premio Tequila Tradicional in the sixth edition of FICM; Rodrigo Plá whose film, La Zona, was part of the official selection of FICM 2007; Gael García Bernal who was Mexico´s Embassador in ICW in 2007 and premiered his film Deficit in FICM 2007; Gerardo Naranjo who presented Drama/Mex in FICM 2006.

Register at: http://www.semainedelacritique.com/formulaire/formulaire_fr.htm