The six new faces of La Résidence du Festival de Cannes

Sofia Alaoui, Rudolf Fitzgerald-Leonard, Theo Montoya, Eglé Razumaité, Diwa Shah and Anastasia Veber are the six new filmmakers welcomed to the 48th session of La Résidence du Festival de Cannes. From October 1, 2024 to February 15, 2025, they will live in Paris and benefit from a tailor-made program designed to help them write their first or second feature film.

IN RESIDENCY AT THE FESTIVAL

SOFIA ALAOUI
MOROCCO

“Beyond the prestige of this residency, what moves me most is the near-mythical experience of stepping away from my daily life to fully immerse myself in my project. It also offers a unique opportunity to connect with artists from diverse backgrounds and cinematic traditions, allowing us to share our experiences and enrich our creations together – a fundamental part of the creative process.”
Casablanca-born Sofia Alaoui grew up between Morocco and China. After studying in Paris, in 2015 she returned to Casablanca, where she founded Jiango Film, her production company. Her short film So What If the Goats Die won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance 2020, followed by the César for Best Short Film in 2021. After working on a short film for 20th Century Fox Digital, she directed her first feature film, Animalia, which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Named “Arab Star of Tomorrow” by Screen Daily, she was listed among Unifrance’s “10 to Watch” talents in 2024. She is currently preparing her next film, Tarfaya, a sci-fi drama about a strange disease.

FITZGERALD-LEONARD
AUSTRALIA

“Being selected to participate in La Résidence is a unique privilege, and I am humbled to have been given the opportunity to develop my first feature film within such a prestigious program. I am looking forward to exchanging perspectives with my fellow residents in a supportive and collaborative environment, and excited to embrace the mentorship and guidance made available to me and my project throughout my stay in Paris.”

Rudolf Fitzgerald-Leonard is an Australian director, writer, and producer based in Berlin. He is a graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts School of Film & Television in Melbourne, where he studied film directing. In 2022, Fitzgerald Leonard’s short film Tremor premiered in Cannes at the Directors’ Fortnight. His award-winning films have also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, Berlin International Film Festival and Locarno Film Festival. He is also an alum of several talent development programs, including the Locarno Filmmakers Academy and the TIFF Filmmaker Lab. Rudolf Fitzgerald-Leonard is currently developing his debut feature film, Replica, at La Résidence du Festival de Cannes.

THEO MONTOYA
COLOMBIA

“I’ve dreamed of being part of this residency. It’s a privilege to be included in this program, and receiving the support of Cannes at such an early stage of my project gives me the confidence to believe in and fight for what I’m creating. I’m incredibly excited to experience this opportunity, dive deeper into the film I’m writing, and work on completing the first draft of my project. I also look forward to enjoying the city, meeting my new housemates, cooking together, and finally learning French!”

Theo Montoya is a filmmaker, cinematographer and occasional actor in his own films. His short film, Son of Sodom, was part of the Official Selection of the Festival de Cannes 2020 and many other festivals around the world. His debut feature, Anhell69, a co-production between Colombia, Romania, France and Germany, premiered at the Venice Critics’ Week during the 79th Venice International Film Festival, where it received the Grand Jury’s Special Award. The film has garnered multiple awards at prestigious festivals including Dok Leipzig, Gijón, Zinebi, Sheffield, and TIFF, and has been released in Spain, Colombia, Germany, France and the United States.

EGLÉ RAZUMAITÉ
LITUANIA

“I am very grateful to be part of La Résidence, it is a real honor to have the support of Cannes on this journey of writing my first feature. I feel that I will finally be able to fully concentrate and devote myself to it, which will be enriched by the opportunity to share ideas with the other authors and receive professional guidance. Paris is the city where I made my first short film, and now I am returning with my first feature; it is a symbolic, precious place, a place that is able to empower me to create.”
Writer-director Eglé Razumaité was born in Vilnius, Lithuania, in 1993. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Vilnius University and a master’s degree in Film Directing from the LMTA Faculty of Theatre and Film. In 2017 she participated in the alternative art education program at Rupert Art Center, and was actively involved in the Lithuanian contemporary art scene until she fully turned to filmmaking. Eglé has been working for the Lithuanian Culture Research Institute since 2017. With a collective, she founded an analog moving image lab, SPONGÉ. Her short film The Fall won the Lithuanian Association of Cinematographers’ best young cinematographer award in 2022, and her short film Ootid was selected at the Festival de Cannes in 2024.

DIWA SHAH
INDIA

“I am very excited to be a part of La Résidence, so many of my favorite emerging filmmakers in the past have been part of this program! Payal Kapadia was the first Indian director to participate and she won the Grand Prix last year at the Festival de Cannes. It makes me even more grateful to have my project selected this year. Being surrounded by fellow filmmakers from all around the globe and working on my project abroad gives me new perspectives, which will help me grow a lot as a filmmaker. It is a great opportunity to meet industry professionals and I think it will be very significant for all my future collaborations.”

Writer-director Diwa Shah pursues filmmaking from her home town of Nainital, at the foothills of the Himalayas in India. She studied Creative Writing at the esteemed Durham University in the UK. Her first feature film, Bahadur: The Brave, had its world premiere at the 71st San Sebastián International Film Festival in 2023 and won the Kutxabank New Directors Award. It is the first Indian debut director’s film to win this award. It also won the Silver Gateway Award at the Jio Mami Mumbai Film Festival. She is working on her second project, Kyab – Refuge, about third-generation Tibetan refugees in India.

ANASTASIA VEBER
GERMANY

“The past two years of my life have been spent far from home. Writing the Kindergarten Optimisten story of Iggy, who also becomes an immigrant, was my way of searching for a new home – both for myself as an author and for my characters. Being part of La Résidence brings me closer to realizing my dream. I look forward to the professional and personal exchanges the program offers, and I hope it pushes me to be braver and more honest in confronting the reality around me. I believe this residency will be a great opportunity to explore what true optimism in artistic experience can be.”

Anastasia Veber is a Berlin-based director and writer. Her graduation short film, Trap, won the Golden Bear for Best Short Film at the Berlinale in 2022 and has been featured in numerous international film festivals. She holds a film directing degree from the Saint Petersburg School of New Cinema and a screenwriting degree from the Saint Petersburg University of Film and Television. Anastasia’s work delves into themes of youth discrimination and religious discourse, and she blends cinematic storytelling with performance art. In addition to her directing career, she teaches at a film school and leads workshops on the cinematic exploration of reality.