Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia will be president of the jury for the 65th edition of Critics’ Week, the independent sidebar of Cannes Film Festival.
Kapadia will be joined on the jury by Ama Ampadu, senior production and development executive at the BFI Filmmaking Fund; Quebecois actor Theodore Pellerin, who recently starred in Lurker; French musician Oklou (real name: Marylou Vanina Mayniel); and Thai journalist Donsaron Kovitvanitcha.
The jury will award prizes including a grand prize, jury prize and rising star award; Pellerin won last year’s rising star award for his performance in Pauline Loques’ Nino.
Last week 11 features were selected for this year’s Critics’ Week, consisting of seven competition titles and four special screenings.
The films in competition include Sara Ishaq’s The Station about a women-only petrol station in Yemen; and Dua, the second feature from Kosovan director Blerta Basholli.
Special screenings include Phuong Mai Nguyen’s In Waves, the first animated film to open Critics’ Week.
Kapadia won the Cannes Competition Grand Prix with her second feature All We Imagine As Light.
“At a time where independent cinema is being eroded in every country, supporting the first works of filmmakers is almost a resistance to the market forces,” said Kapadia. “Film criticism is one of the key components of the independent and arthouse film ecosystem. The first films are often freer, more daring and fearless, having an individual voice and to champion those is absolutely essential. First films are also fragile and to be nurtured in a section like Critics Week, helps them blossom amongst already established filmmaker’s work.”
Critics Week 2026 will run from May 13-21, with the main festival taking place from May 12-23.
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