For five years now, the AFCAE has awarded the Arthouse Cinema Prize each year in partnership with the Cannes Festival. The opportunity to highlight and support auteur cinema during an exceptional event!
After the triumph of Anatomy of a Fall in 2023, it was the feature film Anora by Sean Baker which received the prestigious Palme d’Or at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. If this award gets a lot of attention every year, this is obviously not the only one awarded to films in competition. And there is one that particularly highlights auteur cinema!
Since 2019, the AFCAE (French Association of Arthouse Cinemas), in partnership with the Cannes Festival, has awarded the Arthouse Cinema Prize to one of the feature films in the Official Selection. Through this distinction, the network of arthouse cinemas, comprising more than 1,200 establishments across France, is committed to supporting the award-winning film and ensuring its broadcast on the big screen.
This prize is awarded by a jury of exhibitors chaired by Nicolas Milesi (Cinéma Jean Eustache, Pessac).
The Arthouse Cinema Prize is awarded to…
Succeeding Parasite, Drunk, Drive My Car, Without Filter and La Chimère, it is the Iranian family and political thriller The Seeds of the Wild Fig Tree, directed by director Mohammad Rasoulof, which was awarded this year’s Prix des Cinémas Art et Test at the end of the 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival.
This film, also winner of the Special Jury Prize awarded during the closing ceremony on May 25, immerses spectators in a Tehran shaken by political and social unrest. The investigating judge Iman discovers that his weapon has disappeared, he suspects his wife and daughters, imposing draconian measures which put a strain on family ties.
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A special mention to…
In parallel with the Arthouse Cinema Prize, the AFCAE awarded a special mention to the film All We Imagine as Light, the first feature-length fiction film by Indian director Payal Kapadia, which also distinguished itself at Cannes by receiving the famous Grand Prix.
This feature film follows Prabha, a nurse in Mumbai, who sees her daily life turned upside down when she receives a gift from her husband whom she has not seen for years. For her part, Anu, her young roommate, is looking in vain for a place in the city to share a little privacy with her fiancé. During a stay in a coastal village, will they finally be able to let their desires be expressed?
The Seeds of the Wild Fig Tree does not yet have a release date announced in France. The drama All We Imagine as Light will be released in theaters on October 2.
