Cannes - Directors' Fortnight
Presentation of the Label Jury
During the upcoming 55th edition of the Directors’ Fortnight, a jury composed of 4 Network exhibitors will award the Europa Cinemas Label to one European film, among the Directors’ Fortnight selection: this year, 9 European films are in competition for the Label. The 4 Jury members, from Belgium, France, Lithuania and Luxembourg, will announce the award winning film on Thursday, May 25, 2023, at 2.30pm at the Director’s Fortnight Beach (45 La Croisette).
The four EC Label Jury members are:
Laurent Callonnec (Director & Programmer, Cinéma l'Ecran, Saint-Denis, France)
A graduate of La Fémis in Cinéma Management, Laurent Callonnec is the director and curator for Cinéma l'Ecran, a non-profit arthouse cinema supported by the municipality of Saint-Denis. With 30 years of experience in film exhibition, he is also, as of this year, the director of "Cinema Days " film festival, which takes place at l’Écran, but also at l'Espace 1789 (Saint-Ouen), Le Studio (Aubervilliers) and l'Étoile (La Courneuve). His cinema also hosts the "Panorama of Maghreb and Middle East Cinema", and "CinéBanlieue" festivals. He is now working on a collaborative project with universities, local cultural partners and distributors around l'Écran.
Sofie Mercier (Special screenings & outreach, Sphinx Cinema, Ghent, Belgium)
Sofie Mercier (1989) works at Sphinx cinema, a five-screen venue in the heart of Ghent (Belgium). She is responsible for special screenings and the communication and organization of the non-profit branch of the cinema. With a focus on audience development, outreach and funding, she takes care of long-term projects including co-programming, re-imaging the ‘cinema experience’ and building film literacy programmes in line with the cinema’s film programme. Sofie studied journalism and film and theatre studies, and is currently involved with Ciné Rio (a volunteer-driven neighbourhood cinema in Ghent) and the local artistic network organization Gents kunstenoverleg.
Viviane Thill (Head of Film-TV Department, Ciné Starlight, Dudelange, Luxembourg)
Born in 1962, Viviane Thill has been a regular member of staff at the National Audiovisual Centre since 1996 and is currently the head of the Film-TV Department. She is also a producer of documentary films, a film critic and the author of many articles about cinema. She is the co-author of a book about Oliver Stone (Editions Rivages, 1996), and co-editor of two books on the subject of amateur cinema and photography (in collaboration with the University of Luxembourg). As a screenwriter, she wrote the scripts for two feature films: Perl oder Pica, by Pol Cruchten (2006) and Eng nei Zäit by Christophe Wagner, 2015.
Justė Vyšniauskaitė (Head of film programming, Kauno kino centras 'Romuva', Kaunas, Lithuania)
While working as Head of Film Programming in Kaunas cinema centre “Romuva”, Justė Vyšniauskaitė has established partnerships with cultural and business organizations. She has created special film programmes screening classic films, themed seasons, and has organized lectures as well as discussions with directors, producers, actors, and other special guests. She has partnered with various film festivals working on special screenings and events and coordinates the cinema’s communication strategy and is a freelance journalist focusing on culture.
List of European films eligible for the Europa Cinemas Label:
THE BOOK OF SOLUTIONS by Michel Gondry (France), 103 min.
CREATURA by Elena Martín Gimeno (Spain), 112 min.
DESERTS by Faouzi Bensaïdi (France, Morocco), 100 min.
THE GOLDMAN CASE by Cédric Kahn (France) - opening film, 115 min.
LÉGUA by Filipa Reis & João Miller Guerra (Portugal), 119 min.
MAMBAR PIERRETTE by Rosine Mbakam (Belgium, France, Cameroun), 93 min.
THE OTHER LAURENS by Claude Schmitz (Belgium, France), 117 min.
A PRINCE by Pierre Creton (France), 82 min.
CONANN by Bertrand Mandico (France), 105 min.
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EC Label contacts:
Fatima Djoumer, COO, fdjoumer@europa-cinemas.org
Lisa Püscher, EC Label Coordinator, lpuescher@europa-cinemas.org
Charles McDonald, Press Officer, charles@charlesmcdonald.co.uk
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