The International Critics' Week , founded in 1962 and organized by the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics

French Syndicate of Cinema Critics

The French Syndicate of Cinema Critics has awarded 4 prizes - the Prix Méliès annually since 1946 to the best French film of the year. The Prix Léon Moussinac, awarded to the Best Foreign Film category was added in 1967...

, is the oldest parallel competitive section of the Cannes Film Festival

Cannes Film Festival

The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...

. It showcases first and second feature film

Feature film

In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...

s by directors from all over the world, and has remained true to its tradition of discovering new talents. Bernardo Bertolucci

Bernardo Bertolucci

Bernardo Bertolucci is an Italian film director and screenwriter, whose films include The Conformist, Last Tango in Paris, 1900, The Last Emperor and The Dreamers...

, Ken Loach

Ken Loach

Kenneth "Ken" Loach is a Palme D'Or winning English film and television director.He is known for his naturalistic, social realist directing style and for his socialist beliefs, which are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as homelessness , labour rights and child abuse at the...

, Wong Kar-wai

Wong Kar-wai

Wong Kar-wai BBS is a Hong Kong Second Wave filmmaker, internationally renowned as an auteur for his visually unique, highly stylized, emotionally resonant work, including Days of Being Wild , Ashes of Time , Chungking Express , Fallen Angels , Happy Together and 2046...

, Jacques Audiard

Jacques Audiard

Jacques Audiard is a French film director, the son of Michel Audiard, also a notable screenwriter and film director.He won twice both the César Award for Best Film and the BAFTA Award for Best Film not in the English Language, in 2005 for The Beat That My Heart Skipped and in 2010 for A Prophet...

, Arnaud Desplechin

Arnaud Desplechin

Arnaud Desplechin is a French film director.-Biography:Arnaud Desplechin is the son of Robert and Mado Desplechin, and grew up in the Nord department...

, Gaspar Noé

Gaspar Noé

Gaspar Noé is an Argentine filmmaker and the son of Argentine painter and intellectual Luis Felipe Noé. He graduated from Louis Lumière College and is the visiting professor of film at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland...

 and François Ozon

François Ozon

François Ozon is a French film director and screenwriter and whose films are usually characterized by sharp satirical wit and a freewheeling view on human sexuality....

 all started out at Critics’ Week.

The International Critics’ Week presents a very selective programming of only seven feature films and seven short films in Cannes so that the films can get a greater visibility. The Critics’ Week Grand Prix is awarded by the press (journalists and films critics are invited to vote after each screening of the Selection). Feature films also run for the SACD Prize for best screenplay and the ACID Prize that helps the film to be distributed. Short films can receive the Canal+ Award for best short film and the Kodak Discovery Award. The first feature films also run for the Caméra d'Or

Caméra d'Or

The Caméra d'Or is an award of the Cannes Film Festival for the best first feature film presented in one of the Cannes' selections ....

.

External links

• International Critics' Week Official Website