Consultants, experts and filmmakers (from left to right) : Robert-Jonathan Koeyers, Ananth Subramaniam, Carmen Leroi,Yacine Badday, Marinthia Gutiérrez, Leonardo Martinelli, Marie Larrivé, Philippe Barrière, Bruno Ribeiro, Leyla Bouzid, Thomas van Zuylen, Franco Lolli, Anna Hints, Juliette Lepoutre, Róisín Burns, Juliette Canon (coordinator), Juan Pablo Villalobos and Tushar Prakash
The Next Step workshop supports the short filmmakers selected for La Semaine de la Critique in the development of their first feature film. Following December 2025 session at the Moulin d'Andé and Paris, the most promising project will be awarded the Next Step SOONER Prize comprised of €2,500 and an invitation to Cannes 2026 for the winning filmmaker.
The prize will be presented at Cannes by a jury composed by Carole Scotta, founder of Haut et Court, Rebecca De Pas, film programmer and curator, Fiorella Moretti, founder and CEO at Luxbox and Alexandre Hautecoeur, head of marketing at SOONER.
Next Step Prize Jury
Moulin d'Andé-CECI Residency
Juan Pablo Villalobos
LADRONES DE CUADROS
LADRONES DE CUADROS
Juan Pablo Villalobos is awarded with a 2 weeks-long residency
with consultations sessions at the Moulin d'Andé-CECI
A look back on Next Step 2025
Between December 6th to 12th, ten filmmakers whose short films were recently selected at La Semaine de la Critique have presented their first feature film project at the 12th Next Step workshop.
During a week-long workshop, first at the Moulin d’Andé and then in Paris, they were guided by international consultants who provided advice on their script, helped them assess what each script implies in terms of directing and production, as well as market release. Directors also have had the opportunity to meet composers to think about the musical world of their film. On the last day, filmmakers were allowed to present their projects to a group of professionals of the French film industry in order to establish contacts and build relationships for future collaborations.