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Cannes Directors’ Fortnight Unveils New Selection Committee

Melanie Goodfellow
·3 min read

Cannes Directors’ Fortnight has unveiled the new team of programmers and consultants who will work with incoming delegate general Julien Rejl on his inaugural selection for May 2023.

Rejl will be supported by seven programmers.

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  • Hervé Aubron, film academic and Cahiers du Cinéma critic

  • Agathe Bonitzer, actress, whose credits include When Margaux Meets Margaux and A Bottle In The Gaza Sea

  • Elsa Charbit, experienced programmer who was formerly artistic director of France’s Entrevues, Belfort International Film Festival

  • Caroline Maleville, programming manager at the French Cinematheque

  • Jean-Marc Zekri, head of Paris arthouse cinema Le Reflet Médicis

  • Daniella Shreir, U.K. founder and co-editor of feminist film journal ‘Another Gaze’

  • Muyan Wang, Paris-based Chinese critic

They will be joined by four consultants

  • Alvaro Arroba, Buenos Aires-based Spanish film journalist and programmer for the city’s International Independent Film Festival (BAFICI). He will advise on Latin America and Spanish-speaking countries.

  • Cintia Gil, former Sheffield DocFest and Doclisboa head. She will scout for documentaries for the section, which has a long history of showcasing non-fiction works.

  • Ming-Jung Kuo, former program director at the Taipei Film Festival from 2014 to 2018. She will advise on Taiwan and Southeast Asia.

  • Jean Narboni, former Cahiers du Cinéma editor-in-chief.

Rejl, who was previously head of distribution, acquisitions and international sales at French film company Capricci from 2010 tp 2020, was announced as the new delegate general in June.

He takes up the baton at a complex time for the 62-year-old parallel section, run by directors guild La Société des Réalisateurs de Films (La SRF), which over the years has scouted and showcased the early films of George Lucas, Spike Lee, Roy Andersson, Martin Scorsese and more recently Lynne Ramsay, Christian Mungiu, Clio Bernard and Gamze Ergüven.

Created in the wake of the 1968 protests, the sidebar forged its identity as a place for new voices and independent-minded filmmaking but this has been challenged in recent years by the shifting focus of Cannes Un Certain Regard.

Against this backdrop, Rejl’s predecessor Moretti reportedly had a difficult relationship with some arthouse sales agents and distributors who traditionally work closely with the section.

Rejl, who has close links with this world through his previous roles, has vowed to repair relations with sales and distribution sector, as well as bolster gender equality and diversity within the selection.

Supporters of Moretti say that such conflicts are part of the job and credit him with returning the sidebar to its core remit of showcasing singular and independently-minded films.

They also point to Moretti’s gender equality track record which included the creation of both the first gender-balanced selection committee in 2019 and selection in 2021 in this history of Cannes, and a 2022 line-up in which 11 of the 23 titles were directed by women.

 

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