On the podcast, Alex unveils the inner workings of all of the lesser-known sections of the Cannes Film Festival beyond the competition. She also talks about the many great films that have screened outside the competition in the past and what she’s looking forward to this year.
The Cannes Film Festival is about to kick off, and while the Palme d’Or grabs headlines, a wealth of cinematic treasures exists outside the competition. The podcast highlights that many historically significant films which screened at Cannes did not compete for the prestigious award.
For example, Chantal Akerman’s Jeanne Dielman, which was voted the greatest film of all time in the 2022 Sight & Sound Poll, screened in the Directors’ Fortnight section. In fact, none of Akerman’s films ever screened in competition. Many of her important contemporaries, like Agnès Varda and Claire Denis, only screened in competition once or twice.
Unlocking Hidden Gems: Exploring the Sidebars
You’ll want to look beyond the competition and explore the festival’s sidebars if you want to discover the next Jeanne Dielman or the next Claire Denis or Agnès Varda. These sections offer a platform for diverse and innovative works that may not fit the mould of the main competition.
If you want to learn about the history of women directors at Cannes (including how many landmark films by women screened outside the competition), check out the Women at Cannes Podcast season.
A guide to Cannes’ key sections
The Cannes Film Festival consists of the Official Selection and the unofficial sidebars.
Official Selection
The selection of films that screen at the Palais des Festivals and are part of the official Cannes Film Festival. These include:
- Cannes Competition: Films by established international auteurs that compete for the festival’s top prize, the Palme d’Or. This year’s selection includes films by several filmmakers whose previous films we’ve written books on: Lynne Ramsay’s Die My Love, Kelly Reichardt’s The Mastermind, and Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value.
- Un Certain Regard: A competitive official sidebar for emerging filmmakers, which these days can include filmmakers who have made more than three films. Notable past films in this section include Ruben Östlund’s Force Majeure, Warwick Thornton’s The New Boy, Céline Sciamma’s Water Lilies, and Kelly Reichardt’s Wendy and Lucy.
- Cannes Premiere: A relatively new section for filmmakers who have previously screened in competition. Notable recent films include Eva Husson’s Mothering Sunday and Alain Guiraudie’s Misericordia.
- Out Of Competition: A section for blockbusters (e.g. The new Mission Impossible movie, Mad Max: Fury Road) or for films with major stars that the festival has chosen not to screen in competition. For example, this year includes Spike Lee’s new film Highest 2 Lowest starring Denzel Washington.
- Special Screenings: A much harder to define non-competitive section that sometimes screens excellent films.
- Midnight Screenings: Horror, genre, and cult films that actually screen at midnight. Past films include Gaspar Noé’s Love 3D.
- Cannes Classics: Restorations of older films and documentaries about movies, including Kleber Mendonça Filho’s recent film Pictures of Ghosts.
Unofficial parallel sidebars
These sidebars are independent from the official Cannes Film Festival. However, films that screen in the sidebars are still eligible for certain festival-wide awards, including the Caméra d’Or (Best first feature), the Queer Palm (Best LGBTQ+ film), and Palm Dog (the best dog in a film at the festival).
- Critics’ Week: Created in 1962 because the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics wanted to screen Shirley Clarke’s The Connection. This section only screens first and second feature films. Recent breakout hits include Aftersun (2022) and Julia Ducournau’s first film Raw (2016). The sidebar has played host to first features from major filmmakers like Agnieszka Holland and Joan Micklin Silver.
- Directors’ Fortnight: Founded in 1969, the section plays host to first features and films by more established auteurs, including both fiction and nonfiction films. Past noteworthy films in this section include Chantal Akerman’s Jeanne Dielman (1975), Debra Granik’s Leave No Trace (2018), Joanna Hogg’s The Souvenir Part II (2021), and Céline Sciamma’s Girlhood (2014).
- ACID (short for The Association for the Diffusion of Independent Cinema). Founded in 1992, this section focuses on films that do not have French distributors. It screens fiction and non-fiction films. Think of it as the Slamdance of Cannes. The sidebar has hosted early films from major filmmakers, including Justine Triet (Age of Panic) who went on to win the Palme d’Or for Anatomy of a Fall.
Tips for Staying Updated on the Best Films at Cannes
- Subscribe to Seventh Row Podcast: Year-round, hear about the best international films from across the festival circuit as they become more widely available for you to watch, including hidden gems you wouldn’t otherwise stumble upon
- Become a Seventh Row Insider: Sign up for the newsletter to find out about the best Cannes films from the sidebars both during the festival and as they become available for you to watch (including past selections).
- Join Reel Ruminators where we watch the very best films from around the world, including hidden festival gems you wouldn’t otherwise stumble upon. This month, we’re watching one of the best African films of the decade by a filmmaker with a film in Competition this year. In the summer, we’ll watch a highlight of Critics’ Week from a couple of years ago.
Podcast Credits for this episode on Navigating Cannes beyond the Competition
This episode was edited, produced, and recorded by Alex Heeney.
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Follow Alex Heeney on Bluesky, Twitter and Instagram.
An AI-generated transcript for the episode is available on Apple Podcasts.
