16/04/2024 - Independent film is set to take flight at the Cannes Film Festival by way of nine movies, including six fiction films and three documentaries, and Guillaume Brac and Josh Mond in leading roles

Keen to offer visibility to high-quality independent works which often only enjoy limited broadcasting, and true to its editorial line marked by audacious and diverse outlooks, the ACID (Association du Cinéma Indépendant pour sa Diffusion – Association for Independent Film and its Distribution) section has unveiled its 32nd line-up. Set to be showcased on the Croisette between 15 and 24 May as part of the 77th Cannes Film Festival, the selection consists of 9 feature films screening in world premieres (including four first films and two second films), composed of six fiction films and three documentaries.

Primed to steal focus in the showcase is French director Guillaume Brac’s documentary Ce n’est qu’un au revoir. Acclaimed for Tonnerre [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Guillaume Brac
film profile] (a first fiction feature discovered in competition in Locarno in 2013), July Tales [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (screened out of competition in Locarno 2017), the documentary Treasure Island [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Guillaume Brac
film profile] (in competition in Karlovy Vary 2018) and the fiction film All Hands on Deck [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Guillaume Brac
film profile] (screened in the 2020 Berlinale’s Panorama section), the filmmaker is now following a group of high school friends - Aurore, Nours, Jeanne, Diane and various others – who’ll be saying goodbye to their boarding rooms, swimming in the Drôme region and parties in the mountains. Louison cuts his dreads and their little family breaks apart. For some of them, it’s not the first time and it’s even more painful this time round… The movie is produced by bathysphère.

In terms of fiction, It Doesn’t Matter by American director Josh Mond (his second feature after James White, which won the Best of Next Audience Award at Sundance and which competed in Locarno in 2015) stands tall, alongside Fotogenico by French filmmakers Marcia Romano (nominated for 2022’s Best Adapted Screenplay César thanks to Happening [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Anamaria Vartolomei
film profile] and for 2016’s Best Original Screenplay via Standing Tall [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Emmanuelle Bercot
film profile]) and Benoît Sabatier, and Most People Die On Sundays by Argentina’s Iair Said (his second feature after the documentary Flora's Life is No Picnic).

Three first fiction features are also set for the showcase: Kyuka – Before Summer’s End by Greek director Kostis Charamountanis, Mi bestia by Colombia’s Camila Beltrán (read our article) and In Retreat by India’s Maisam Ali.

The line-up will be rounded off by another two French documentaries: Château rouge by Hélène Milano, and Mona Convert’s debut feature film A Fireland.

The Selection:

Ce n’est qu’un au revoir - Guillaume Brac (France)
Château rouge - Hélène Milano (France)
Fotogenico - Marcia Romano and Benoît Sabatier (France)
In Retreat - Maisam Ali (India/France)
It Doesn’t Matter - Josh Mond (USA/France)
Kyuka – Before Summer’s End - Kostis Charamountanis (Greece/Macedonia)
Mi bestia - Camila Beltrán (Colombia/France)
Most People Die On Sundays - Iair Said (Argentina/Italy/Spain)
A Fireland - Mona Convert (France)

(Translated from French)