Meet the new Cannes Résidence directors

Since 1 March and until 15 July 2023, the Résidence of the Festival de Cannes has hosted six directors who, for four and a half months, will receive personalised support in the writing of their screenplay for their first or second feature film. They will be in Cannes from 16-22 May.

In 2023, the Festival de Cannes wishes to reaffirm its mission to support the creations of younger generations and transmit our passionate interest in films. The Résidence is one of the foremost projects among the initiatives included under the new “Cinéma de Demain” banner.

Since its creation in 2000, the Résidence has assisted more than 250 filmmakers with their screenplays. Many of these directors have gone on to achieve international success, such as László Nemes with Son of Saul (Grand Prix at the 2015 Festival de Cannes, Oscar and Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film in 2016), Lukas Dhont with Girl (Caméra d’or at the 2019 Festival de Cannes), and more recently Carla Simón with Alcarràs (Golden Bear at the 2022 Berlin International Film Festival).

LAURA SAMANI

Laura Samani was born in 1989 in Trieste, an Italian border town where Mediterranean, Slavic and Germanic cultures intertwine. She holds a BA in Cinema and Communication Studies at the University of Pisa. She graduated in film directing at Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia di Roma with the short film La Santa che dorme, premiered at Cannes Cinéfondation in 2016, then screened and awarded in several international Festivals. Her first feature film Piccolo Corpo premiered at La Semaine de la Critique in Cannes in 2021. The film has collected more than 40 awards all over the world; it was declared best debut film at the David di Donatello 2022 and won the Discovery Prix Fipresci 2022 at the European Film Awards. The Union of Italian Film Critics (SNCCI) declared it Film of the year 2022.

DON JOSEPHUS RAPHAEL EBLAHAN

Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan was born in 1996, in Philippines. He is a filmmaker and musician born of Ifugao and Visayan descent. Eblahan’s works explore themes of trauma, spirituality, and nature told through the cosmic lens of post-colonial spaces and Indigenous identities. His works have been selected in festivals such as the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival where he won the International Student Jury Prize as well as the Special Mention of the International Jury for his 2020 short film Hilum. In 2022, his film The Headhunter’s Daughter was awarded the Short Film Grand Jury Prize at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and the Gold Hugo at the 58th Chicago International Film Festival.

DIANA MASHANOVA

Diana Mashanova was born in Ulan-Ude, Buryatia. She graduated from City, University of London, majoring in Cultural and Creative Industries. She completed several filmmaking courses in Paris (Eicar) and New York (NYFA), then graduated with a diploma from London Film Academy. After five years of living and working in London, she returned to Russia to study directing at Moscow School of New Cinema. In 2021, she completed her first short film Toli, which was screened at festivals worldwide. Diana developed her debut feature film at Feature Film Lab (MSNC), which has been shot in 2022 and is now in post-production stage. Both films were shot in Buryatia with her independent production company «Local Cinema». She is currently working on her new feature film project The First Cigarette is For God at the Résidence of the Festival de Cannes.

MOHAMMADREZA MAYGHANI

Born in 1995 Mohammadreza Mayghani is an Iranian Director, writer and producer. He holds a bachelor’s degree in dramatic literature from Sooreh University of Arts. In 2017, he founded Menisn Film Studios with Baran Sarmad. In 2017, he wrote and directed the short film, Cleaner. The film portraits a different form of femininity that a woman feels while waiting for a pregnancy test. This film has been accepted at several international festivals and received awards. In 2020, he wrote and produced the short film Spotted Yellow, directed by Baran Sarmad, which was premiered in Locarno Film Festival. Then, he wrote, directed and produced the short film, Orthodontics. The film was in the Official Selection of Short Film Competition of the Festival de Cannes in 2021. The story of this film is taken from Mohammadreza’s personal experiences as a teenager when he had orthodontic and the effects of this treatment on that period of his life.

TANG YI

Tang Yi was born and raised in Fuzhou, China. She moved to Hong Kong for college to study accounting. During her studies, she discovered her passion for art and initially pursued a career in music. Later, she applied to NYU Tisch School of the Arts with a music video and was awarded a scholarship. In 2021, her second short film, All the Crows in the World, won the Short Film Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Tang Yi considers herself a cinema nomad. She is currently developing her first feature film at the Residence du Festival in Paris, along with the Torino ScriptLab. Yi’s works focus on telling stories about women, underrepresented groups, and social issues. She captures these themes through a subversive, darkly comedic film lens, which is a signature style of hers.

MORAD MOSTAFA

Morad Mostafa is an Egyptian Filmmaker, born in Cairo in 1988. He worked for several independent films and collaborated as an Executive Director in Souad feature film which was in the Official Selection in the Festival de Cannes 2020 and the Berlinale 2021. Morad is an alumnus of the Berlinale Talents Campus. He also wrote and directed three short films, all of them selected in Clermont-Ferrand in three consecutive years, screened at over 300 festivals in the worldwide such as BFI London but also at Palm Springs – Shanghai – Thessaloniki – Karlovy Vary – Cinemed – FIFF Namur – Buenos Aires – Durban – Cairo – FESPACO – Carthage and won several awards around the world. His fourth short film, I promise you paradise, has just been selected in La Semaine de la Critique 2023. After Torino Film Lab, Red Sea Lodge and Rotterdam Lab, Morad is currently developing his debut feature film Aisha can’t fly away anymore at the Résidence.