You might not know it from the blinding , white-hot happenings du jour , but the Cannes Film Festival has begun winding down its 2012 iteration with awards for its Critics Week sidebar. Few if any will likely come to a theater near you in the near future, but if Cannes completism is your thing, I am nothing if not obliging. Read on for the winners, and congrats to all. Nespresso Grand Prize for La Semaine de la Critique AQUÍ Y ALLÁ, Antonio Méndez Esparza (Spain/USA/Mexico) France 4 Visionary Award SOFIA’S LAST AMBULANCE, Ilian Metev (Germany/Bulgaria/Croatia) Prix SACD LES VOISINS DE DIEU, Meni Yaesh (Israel/France) ACID/CCAS Distribution Support LOS SALVAJES, Alejandro Fadel (Argentina) * * * Short films * * * Canal+ Award CIRCLE LINE, Shin Suwon Nikon Discovery Award UN DIMANCHE MATIN (A SUNDAY MORNING), Damien Manivel Mention spéciale O DUPLO (DOPPELGÄNGER), Juliana Rojas
Following last week’s unveiling of the Cannes Film Festival competition lineup , sidebar Critics Week today revealed its own 2012 slate. Opening the event is the world premiere of Broken , British director Rufus Norris’s story of a young girl in North London whose life changes after witnessing a violent attack, co-starring Tim Roth and Cillian Murphy. This year’s lineup includes a particular focus on French and Latin American work as well as a tribute to Asian action films. Spanish/U.S./Mexico co-production Aquí y allá joins the feature competition; set in Mexico, the film portrays an immigrant family torn apart while attempting to reach the United States. Of this year’s lineup, nine are first-time features. Founded in 1962 by the French Union of Film Critics, Cannes Critics Week (la Semaine de la Critique) showcases first and second time filmmakers worldwide. Global filmmaking heavyweights including Bernardo Bertolucci, Jean Eustache, Otar Iosseliani, Ken Loach, Wong Kar Wai, Jacques Audiard and Arnaud Desplechin all started at la Semaine. Special Screenings : Broken by Rufus Norris (Opening Film) Augustine by Alice Winocour (France) J’enrage de son absence by Sandrine Bonnaire (France/Luxembourg/Belgium) Features Competition : Aquí y allá by Antonio Méndez Esparza (Spain/USA/Mexico) Au galop by Louis-Do de Lencquesaing (France) Les Voisins de Dieu by Meni Yaesh (Israel/France) Hors les murs ( Beyond the Walls ) by David Lambert (Belgium/Canada/France) Peddlers by Vasan Bala (India) Los Salvajes by Alejandro Fadel (Argentina) Sofia’s Last Ambulance by Ilian Metev (Germany/Croatia/Bulgaria) Medium and short films in Competition : La Bifle ( The Dickslap ) by Jean-Baptiste Saurel (France) Ce n’est pas un film de cow-boys ( It’s not a Cowboys Movie ) by Benjamin Parent (France) Circle Line by Shin Suwon (South Korea) O Duplo ( Doppelgänger ) by Juliana Rojas (Brazil) Family Dinner by Stefan Constantinescu (Sweden) Fleuve rouge, Song Hong ( Red River, Song Hong ) by Stéphanie Lansaque & François Leroy (France) Hazara by Shay Levi (Israel) Horizon by Paul Negoescu (Romania) Un dimanche matin ( A Sunday Morning ) by Damien Manivel (France) Yeguas y cotorras by Natalia Garagiola (Argentina)
