Cannes reveal six new faces of La Résidence

In the historically rich neighbourhood of Paris’s 9th arrondissement, the six new residents took up residence following the last session, comprising Meltse Van Coillie, Diana Cam Van Nguyen, Hao Zhao, Gessica Généus, Andrea Slaviček, Asmae El Moudir. These two sessions will be reunited for the 77th edition of the Festival de Cannes to be held from May 14 to 25.

Since the reorganisation of La Résidence in 2022, filmmakers are now selected both by call for applications and by invitation, with Stéphanie Lamome in charge of the project. Created in 2000, La Résidence has played host to over 250 directors from around 60 countries. A number of these directors, invited to the biggest festivals around the world, have had international success: Lucrecia Martel, Kornél Mundruczó, Sebastián Lelio, Antonio Campos, Karim Aïnouz, Jonas Carpignano, etc.

After passing through La Résidence, the Romanian Corneliu Porumboiu received the Caméra d’or in 2006 for 12:08 East of Bucharest, the Mexican director Amat Escalante won the Award for Best Director at Cannes in 2013 with Heli, while his compatriot Michel Franco was awarded the Best Screenplay Award in 2015 for Chronic, screened In Competition. The Hungarian László Nemes won the Grand Prix at Cannes in 2015, as well as the Oscar and Golden Globe for best foreign language film in 2016 for Son of Saul, the Belgian Lukas Dhont got the Caméra d’or in 2018 with Girl, and the Lebanese director Nadine Labaki won the César and the Oscar for best foreign film in 2019 with Capernaum. After having received the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 2019 with Synonyms, the Israeli director Nadav Lapid won the Jury Prize in Cannes with Ahed’s Knee in 2021. In 2022, the Golden Bear went to a resident from the 2018/2019 class, the Spanish director Carla Simón with Alcarràs.

These few of the most notorious names reflect the effervescence and creativity that the Festival de Cannes has always supported. Through La Résidence, the Festival de Cannes is proud to welcome the future of worldwide creation to Paris.

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In residence at the Festival from March 15 to July 31, 2024

“I am super happy that Cannes continues to support my career. I can’t wait to get writing in Paris. It comes at the perfect time for me after a long press tour. I look forward to being surrounded by other creatives and their ideas.”

Molly Manning Walker is a writer, director and cinematographer based in London. She graduated from the NFTS in 2019 with a master in cinematography. Her first feature film as a cinematographer was the directorial debut of Charlotte Regan – Scrapper, which premiered at Sundance in 2023 and went on to win the Grand Jury Prize. Molly’s directorial debut How To Have Sex premiered at Cannes 2023 in the Un Certain Regard section. It went on to win the Un Certain Regard Prize. Since then, her film has gone on to win over twenty awards including the discovery award at the European film awards, best lead performance at the BIFAS. It was nominated for 4 BAFTAS including Best British film and Outstanding Debut. Molly is interested in social commentary films that question the way we live our lives.

“It’s a true honour to be selected to join La Résidence, where I’ll work on my first feature film surrounded by the lingering energy of many remarkable filmmakers in the past. I’m excited to grow together with the other residents, whom I believe will play an important role in my filmmaking process. Here’s a ride for a lifetime!”

Born in 1989, Aditya Ahmad is an Indonesian director and writer. He graduated from Makassar Institute of Arts in 2013 with a short film as his final project. This film, On Stopping The Rain, was awarded with a Special Mention by the Children’s Jury Generation KPlus at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival (2014). Since 2013, Aditya works for several films and TV commercials projects. He participated in Asian Film Academy 2014 and Berlinale Talents in 2015. His short film A Gift was world premiered in the Orizzonti Short Films Competition at the 75th Venice International Film Festival and won Best Short Film. He is currently writing his debut feature film.

“These days, when the world is moving so fast, it’s a fantastic privilege to have the opportunity to concentrate solely on writing for 4.5 months. I’m humbled and grateful to have been chosen to participate in La Résidence, to take advantage of this space and time, to escape, and to dive into contemplation, exploration, and writing in a calm mode without the pressure of a tight time frame. I’m curious to meet talented artists, to exchange thoughts and experiences as well. To present the project at the Festival de Cannes is an amazing start, I’m eagerly looking forward to it.”

Born in Tajikistan, Daria Kashcheeva is an independent filmmaker based in Prague and a graduate of FAMU. Her Bachelor’s animation short Daughter (2019) has got more than 100 awards at festivals worldwide including the Best Student film at the Annecy Animation Film Festival, the Sundance Animation Jury Award, the Student Academy Award and was nominated to the 92nd Oscar Academy Award. Her master degree film Electra (2023) premiered at the Festival de Cannes and got the Best Short film award at the Toronto International Film Festival. Working with actors and human-sized puppets, Daria blends live action with stop-motion animation to explore themes of gender identity, sexuality, and body perception. Through the integration of hybrid forms, she aims to challenge and expand the constraints of conventional film genres.

“I am very excited to be part of La Résidence this year and I wish to get this much needed time and space to focus on writing and experimenting new ideas for my first feature. I hope this is a great opportunity to get to know fellow filmmakers, meet industry professionals and explore the cinema scene in France during these four months and half.”

Danech San is a Cambodian director born in Battambang in 1991. After moving to Phnom Penh to study Interior Design, Danech turned into filmmaking and has worked in different production roles with Anti-Archive since 2015. Her first short film, A Million Years, won Best Southeast Asian Short at Singapore IFF 2018 and the Arte Award at Kurzfilm Hamburg 2019. Sunrise In My Mind, her second short film, held its world premiere in competition in 2020 in Busan International Film Festival and won the Grand Prize for live action shorts at PÖFF Shorts in Tallinn, Estonia. Both films have been broadcasted on Arte. She is an alumnus of the Locarno Filmmakers Academy and SEAFIC Seed Lab. Danech is also the founder of the Kampung Film Festival which promotes cinema culture in a non-urban context of Cambodia. She is currently developing her first feature film To Leave, To Stay.

“I’m incredibly grateful to be a part of La Résidence, and look forward to writing my second feature film there. I know it will be a huge gain for my writing process to exchange experiences and ideas with the other filmmakers from around the world, to gain other perspectives, and to be able to focus on my own process in one of the capitals of cinema.”

Ernst De Geer, born in 1989, is a Swedish director. He studied at The Norwegian Film School. His graduation short film The Culture won several prizes around the world and was nominated for the Norwegian National Film Award, Amanda. His feature film debut The Hypnosis premiered in Crystal Globe Competition at Karlovy Vary, where it won three awards.

“I’m excited about the prospect of developing my debut full-length film in an environment that encourages creativity and collaboration. My deepest wish is to absorb valuable insights, refine my vision, and gain fresh perspectives from experienced professionals and fellow filmmakers. In this transformative experience, I hope to challenge my creative boundaries, connect with talented individuals, and exchange energies. This opportunity is a dream come true, allowing me to navigate the vast world of full-length feature films with newfound inspiration and passion.”

Anastasiia Solonevych is a director from Kyiv, Ukraine. She graduated from the Film and Television Directing program at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv in 2021. Her debut short film, As It Was (co-directed with Damian Kocur), was Palme d’or nominated at the Festival de Cannes in 2023. Since 2017, Anastasiia has been actively involved in the film industry, as a 1st Assistant Director and contributing to various roles in commercials, feature films, and TV series. Anastasiia focuses on delving into the lives of ordinary people in unique settings, blending fiction and nonfiction with a stylistic touch. Embracing simplicity, she communicates thoughts in straightforward language, values minimalism, and emphasizes genuine moments with clarity and sincerity.