Fondation Chantal Akerman – © Marc BO
Throughout her career, Chantal Akerman and the Directors’ Fortnight have maintained a longstanding relationship. Their association began in 1975, when she premiered Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai du commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975) at the Cannes’ selection, bringing her a critical and international recognition. Since this initial springboard, the Fortnight has remained faithful to Akerman’s work, selecting films such Golden Eighties (1986), Sud (1999), La Captive (2000) and Tombée de nuit sur Shangai (2007).
To carry on her legacy and honor their shared history, the Fondation Chantal Akerman is proud to support the Fortnight’s People’s Choice. As the first audience award in the history of the Festival de Cannes, this accolade will embody Akerman’s independent and unique artistic expression. The Fondation Chantal Akerman will grant €7,500 to the director of the film symbolically chosen by the public of the Director’s Fortnight, which has consistently prioritized the relationship between the films and their audiences.
The Directors’ Fortnight: open to the public since 1969
Since its creation in 1969, the Directors’ Fortnight has been open to the public. Born amidst a climate of rebellion and the fight for freedom, the Fortnight injected new life into the Festival de Cannes: a programme of films without barriers being one of its founding principles.
Every year, in addition to professionals and other accredited guests, the Fortnight opens its doors to thousands of cinephiles from around the world, in order to share its selection in a welcoming setting, giving filmmakers the opportunity to meet the first audience for their films, and the audiences a chance to take part in Q&As with film teams.
It is this interactive dimension that we’d like to celebrate today by inviting our audiences to vote: this will also mark the first audience award in the history of the Festival de Cannes.
A vote for individuality
The absence of competition between filmmakers is a value we hold dear. It encourages a spirit of sharing and listening, and nurtures each filmmaker and their film.
This is why we see the People’s Choice not as a prize for the “best” film in the selection, but rather as an affirmation of a unique cinematic proposition embracing individuality and freedom of cinematographic expression. The People’s Choice is a mark of achievement designed to help this filmmaker and their film find further audiences, thereby giving a boost to a surprising film that has particularly captivated festival viewers. It is in this spirit that we invite our audiences to take part.
Singularity can of course be expressed in different ways: through the film’s poetry; the daring treatment of a form or subject; an actor’s unique direction… In all cases, it is cinema as the art of mise en scène that the People’s Choice seeks to support.
In collaboration with the Fondation Chantal Akerman, the Directors’ Fortnight have chosen to place this initiative as part of the legacy of Chantal Akerman, whose pioneering, eclectic and fiercely independent vision might serve as a compass for this new People’s Choice.
