Today, the selection of Quinzaine des Cinéastes 2025 was presented by artistic director Julien Rejl. The strand has been around since 1969 and was formerly known as Quinzaine des Réalisateurs. The section runs parallel to the main festival and has typically been the place to find the best and most original works by directors who would later become famous. This year, 18 new features were chosen from 1605 submissions, including seven first features. The opening film is Enzo, a “collaboration” between Robin Campillo and Laurent Cantet. Other films are as follows.
LA DANSE DES RENARDS (The Foxes Round) – Valéry Carnoy
LA MORT N’EXISTE PAS (Death Does Not Exist) – Félix Dufour-Laperriè
L’ENGLOUTIE (The Girl in the Snow) – Louise Hémon – premier long métrage / first feature film
KOKUHO – Lee Sang-il
LUCKY LU – Lloyd Lee Choi – premier long métrage / first feature film
MILITANTROPOS -Yelizaveta Smith, Alina Gorlova & Simon Mozgovyi
GIRL ON EDGE (Hua yang shao nv sha ren shi jian) – Jinghao Zhou – premier long métrage / first feature film
CLASSE MOYENNE (Middle Class) – Anthony Cordier
MIROIRS No. 3 (Mirrors No.3) – Christian Petzold
LES FILLES DÉSIR (The Girls We Want) – Prïncia Car – premier long métrage / first feature film
DANGEROUS ANIMALS – Sean Byrne
AMOUR APOCALYPSE (Peak Everything) – Anne Émond
THE PRESIDENT’S CAKE (Mamlaket al-Qasab) – Hasan Hadi – premier long métrage / first feature film
INDOMPTABLES – Thomas Ngijol
BRAND NEW LANDSCAPE (見はらし世代) – Yuiga Danzuka – premier long métrage / first feature film
QUE MA VOLONTÉ SOIT FAITE – Julia Kowalski
SORRY, BABY – Eva Victor – premier long métrage / first feature film – film de clôture / closing film
Quinzaine des Cinéastes 2025 Comments
There are some well-known names in the lineup. The opening film was a Laurent Cantet project, which Robin Campillo took over after his death. The most famous, but also the most surprising inclusion, is Christian Petzold. His films are typically screened at the Berlinale. Possibly, the film was not ready in time for that festival, but then, most outsiders would have guessed that it would get a competition or Un Certain Regard slot. Instead, it now found a home in Quinzaine. This is a significant demotion for the director unless the film is overly experimental, which would make it a better fit for this strand.
Anthony Cordier caused a splash in Quinzaine with Cold Showers in 2005 and now returns with Classe Moyenne. The film is described as a “satirical comedy about class conflict”. Canadian director Anne Émond, known for Nuit #1 (2011), presents Peak Everything, which is described as a rom-com. Julia Kowalski returns to the Quinzaine two years after her short I Saw the Face of the Devil competed there—both films star Polish actress Maria Wróbel. Militrantopos is a Ukrainian documentary. The closing film, Sorry Baby by Eva Viktor, who also stars in the film, had its premiere at Sundance. Naomie Ackie joins the director in the cast.
Quinzaine des Cinéastes introduced an audience award last year, the Chantal Akerman prize. The first recipient was Matthew Rankin’s Universal Language. For some reason, Todd Haynes will receive the French Film Directors’ Guild’s lifetime achievement honour, the Carrosse d’Or award, at the section’s opening ceremony on May 14. Since 2013, the strand has housed a mentoring project called Directors’ Factory. This year, it will be devoted to young filmmakers from Ceará, in Northeastern Brazil.
The 2025 Directors’ Fortnight runs May 14-24. The selection committee is the same as the last two years. One can only hope they managed to select more intriguing films this time. The selection will be screened in numerous French cities after Cannes and in a few international locations as well. This year’s poster is designed by Harmony Korine.
