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Since 2014, La Semaine de la Critique has supported its talents from short to feature filmmaking through its Next Step programme, aimed at filmmakers whose short films have been selected for La Semaine de la Critique.
The Next Step workshop now comprises three strands: Next Step, focused on the development of their first feature film; Next Step II, which supports them in screenplay rewriting and musical composition; and Next Step Studio Indonesia, dedicated to discovering new international filmmakers, resulting in four co-directed short films screened in Cannes.
After presenting their short film in Cannes, the filmmakers are invited in December to Le Moulin d’Andé and then to Paris. Over the course of a week, they are supported in the development of their feature film by international consultants, who advise them on screenplay writing, bringing their project to market, and film music composition. They also have the opportunity to initiate potential collaborations with French co-producers, sales agents, and distributors through professional meetings in Paris. Since 2022, the Morelia Festival’s invitation to Cannes has been extended through the inclusion of a Mexican filmmaker in the Next Step workshop. Starting in 2025, one Brazilian project will be invited each year as part of the partnership with Projeto Paradiso.
The workshop continues its support through the Next Step Sooner Prize, endowed with €2,500 and an invitation to Cannes for the winning filmmaker, awarded by a jury of four industry professionals to the most promising feature film project. This year, the jury is composed of Carole Scotta, founder of Haut et Court; Rebecca De Pas, programmer at the Rotterdam International Film Festival and curator of the Fondazione Prada Film Fund; Fiorella Moretti, founder and president of Luxbox; and Alexandre Hautecoeur, Marketing Director at Sooner.
The Next Step Sooner Prize 2026 is awarded to the project:
HAPPY HARDCORE
by Irish-British Róisín Burns
Liverpool, 2004. Sean, 17, deserts his post in the midst of the Iraq war and returns to England. On the run, he finds his sister – the person dearest to him. Hunted by the army, he is forced to hide in a tunnel. Days go by. Soon, the violence and loneliness he tried to escape catch up with him.
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Róisín Burns is an Irish-British filmmaker based in Paris. She grew up in Liverpool, to the sound of Merseybeat, football chants, and the waves of the Irish Sea. In 2018, she directed her first first student film, Passing Tides, followed by a social documentary in 2021, Disparition, which aired on Arte. In 2022, she joined the Screenwriting department at La Fémis, where she wrote her first feature film. In 2025, her first fiction short film, Wonderwall, produced by Barberousse Films, was selected for La Semaine de la Critique and nominated for the César Award for Best Live-Action Short Film.
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Róisín Burns is an Irish-British filmmaker based in Paris. She grew up in Liverpool, to the sound of Merseybeat, football chants, and the waves of the Irish Sea. In 2018, she directed her first first student film, Passing Tides, followed by a social documentary in 2021, Disparition, which aired on Arte. In 2022, she joined the Screenwriting department at La Fémis, where she wrote her first feature film. In 2025, her first fiction short film, Wonderwall, produced by Barberousse Films, was selected for La Semaine de la Critique and nominated for the César Award for Best Live-Action Short Film.
Róisín Burns © Capucine Henry
Over the course of 12 editions, 106 filmmakers from 41 nationalities have benefited from the support of Next Step. We are delighted by the journey of the 45 feature films already completed, the most recent of which include TITANIC OCEANby Konstantina Kotzamani, selected for Un Certain Regard at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival (Next Step II Project 2023); A GIRL UNKNOWN by ZOU Jing, selected in competition at La Semaine de la Critique 2026 (Next Step Project 2023); and CHICAS TRISTES by Fernanda Tovar, presented at the 2026 Berlinale (Next Step Project 2023).