Reminiscences about the 2018 Caméra d’Or

By Jeanne Lapoirie, AFC

par Jeanne Lapoirie

[ English ] [ français ]

First of all, this is a magnificent experience that I recommend everyone who is able to take part in. It’s a huge dive into the world of cinema. I, who of late rarely go to see movies in theatres - yes, I’m a bit ashamed to admit it, but it’s the truth - truly enjoyed seeing movies on the big screen.

Also, only seeing first films, meaning they’re almost all by new directors, whom you’ve never heard of before, was also great ! You go in knowing nothing in advance, completely innocent, and you’ve got no idea about what you’re about to see !

Then the screening began, and I’ve got to say that the programming was very rich. It is a transversal programme of 19 films, all of which were first feature-length films from all of the selections, except from the ACID. The selections from the Critics’ Fortnight and Un Certain Regard were on a very high level with a lot of powerful films set in different worlds and filmed in different styles. They gave us the opportunity to have a lot of discussions about cinema, directorial style, politics, and interpersonal and social relationships. That was the third highlight : the intellectual discussions, exchanges, discovering how others see the world. All that opens up new perspectives for you.

A formidable jury : Ursula Meier (Swiss director) was the president, the Larrieu brothers (directors), Marie Amachoukeli (one of the three directors of Party Girl, the film that won the Golden Camera award in 2014), Iris Brey (critic), and Sylvain Fage of Cinéphase (sound and mixing studio). There was a very friendly atmosphere in our nearly-100%-French jury (except for the president).

Le jury de la Caméra d'or 2018 - De g. à d. : Iris Brey, Marie Amachoukeli, Arnaud Larrieu, Ursula Meier, Jean-Marie Larrieu, Jeanne Lapoirie, Sylvain Fage - Photo Patrice Lapoirie
Le jury de la Caméra d’or 2018
De g. à d. : Iris Brey, Marie Amachoukeli, Arnaud Larrieu, Ursula Meier, Jean-Marie Larrieu, Jeanne Lapoirie, Sylvain Fage - Photo Patrice Lapoirie

We were strongly advised not to award any ties, nor to give special mentions to any of the films we’d not chosen, which made our choice very difficult and our debates sometimes quite tense. Only choosing one film and collectively agreeing on the same one wasn’t an easy task. It gave us the opportunity to ask ourselves why we like a film or not, on the film’s directorial quality, the quality of its subject, etc. And then we had to debate again, ask ourselves questions...

We saw a lot of good films that I will remember for a long time, and I encourage you to see them when they are released. Lots of new directors whose next movies we’re already excited to watch.
A big thanks to the Caméra d’Or’s support team, and especially to Olivier Gautron, our guardian angel.
The Caméra d’Or was awarded to Lukas Dhont’s film Girl, cinematography by Frank van den Eeden, a Belgian film, which also won the Queer Palm award, the award for Best Actor in the Un Certain Regard section, and the Fipresci Award from the press.

Some other magnificent first films :

  • Diamentino, by Gabriel Abrantes (Semaine de la Critique Award), DoP Charles Ackley Anderson
  • Scheherazade, by Jean-Bernard Marlin, DoP Jonathan Ricquebourg, AFC
  • Teret, Serbian film by Ognjen Glavonic, DoP Tatjana Krstevski
  • One Day, Hungarian film by Zsófia Szilágyi, DoP Balázs Domokos
  • Sauvage, by Camille Vidal-Naquet (Best Actor in Semaine de la Critique), DoP Jacques Girault
  • Chris the Swiss, Swiss documentary by Anja Kofmel
  • Sofia, by Meryem Benm’Barek, DoP Son Doan.