As announced Thursday, April 17, three French short films will be included in the 2014 Cannes Film Festival lineup.
Aïssa by Clément Tréhin-Lalanne, produced by Takami Productions, has been selected in the Official Competition. This film, which was shot in the Tarn region of France, tells the story of Aïssa, a young Congolese woman without legal status who meets with a doctor who must decide whether or not she will be deported.
Two French shorts also feature in the Cinéfondation 2014 lineup: Une vie radieuse (A Radiant Life) by Meryll Hardt, produced by Le Fresnoy, and Les Oiseaux Tonnerre (Thunderbirds) by Léa Mysius, produced La fémis. Une vie radieuse is set in Le Corbusier's "Cité Radieuse" apartment building in Marseilles. In the film, we observe how life changes for this iconic building's first occupants in 1952, focusing on a couple who set themselves up in their new home and learn about this innovative environment. Les Oiseaux Tonnerre was produced by Mélissa Malinbaum as part of a student graduation project at La FEMIS Film School. Both films are by 2014 graduates from La FEMIS. Les Oiseaux Tonnerre portrays scenes in the lives of Antonin and Léonor, lark hunters whose activities are stopped one day when they are attacked by a dog.
The Cinéfondation and Short Film jury, which will award the Cinéfondation Prize and the Palme d’Or for Best Short Film, is led this year by Abbas Kiarostami. He is joined by the directors Noémie Lvovsky, Daniela Thomas, Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, and Joachim Trier.
