Editor

At the Palais de Chaillot Cinematheque - across the river from the Eiffel Tower
- The Critics Week crew divulged the program for the upcoming 41st edition running
from May 16 - 24. As is the custom, the Syndicat Français de la Critique
de Cinéma proposes 7 features and 7 short films by young filmmakers which
will compete for the Critics Week Prize, last year awarded to the Iranian feature
Under the Moonlight.

Past committee member assuming the role of Critics Week head for the first
time, Claire Clouzot unveiled the feature films culled from some 400 films viewed,
notably at festivals such as Berlin, Rotterdam, Pusan, Montreal and Goteborg.
The American and Australian submissions were way down, while Korean, Japan and
Taiwan entries were in abundance. As for the seven shorts, the selection committee
viewed over 500 short films with a large number of submissions from Canada,
Australia and New Zealand, and a certain number from Asia although few from
Korea and Japan. The section contiues to renew ties with the Mexican production
- Amores Perros was the Critics Week winner at the year 2000 edition
- screening a short film De Mesmer, With Love or Tea for Two.

The Features

Rana's Wedding from Hany Abu-Assad (Palestine/the Netherlands) follows
the day in the life of a young Palestinian woman from East-Jerusalem. Tunisian
director Claude Duty presents Filles perdues, cheveux gras examining
the destiny of three forlorn women. From Korea comes Too Young to Die
by Jin-pyo Park - which Ms Clouzot qualified as "very surprising for the
things people of certain ages do" - and Japan is represented by the Takeshi
Kitano produced Chicken Heart from director Hiroshi Shimizu.

Canadian actress Carole Laure makes her directorial debut with Les fils
de Marie (Marie's Sons) and Italy sends Respiro by Emanuele Crialese.
Remarking the absence of African films in the selection for numerous years,
the committee was very excited to present the Mali entry Kabala by Assan
Kouyaté, about a city devestated by drought. All the films are making
their world premieres at Cannes and the majority are first films, eligible for
the Camera d'Or. The winning film receives a pot of euros worth 23,000, Scenario
Pro software from Creative Valley and a three month Villa Medici style scenario
workshop in Normany (CECI).

Barbet Schroeder will be the Critics Week mentor, meeting with the young filmmakers
as well as presenting his cult film More. Following its good reviews
at Sundance, Intacto from Spanish director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo will
open Critics Week. The film features Max Von Sydow - who is expected on the
Croisette - and assumes the hypothesis that some people are prematurally lucky.
A special screening of Bella Ciao, a film that uses RAI images to present
the incidents surrounding the riots and death in Geneva last July (censored
by Berlusconi in Italy), completes the wide range of "politically correct"
movies on the agenda. The closing film ends the event on a lighter note, a comedy
entitled From Zero to Ten.