Since 2014, La Semaine de la Critique has been supporting talented short film directors who have presented a short film at La Semaine de la Critique towards making their first feature through the Next Step programme. After presenting their short film in Cannes, filmmakers are invited to come in December to Moulin d'Andé and then to Paris for our workshop. For a whole week, international consultants will advise them on their script, their score, and on how to launch their film on the market. It also entails professional meetings in Paris, which are opportunities to forge new collaborations with potential French coproducers, sellers and distributors. Since 2022, we have taken Morelia Film Festival’s invitation to Cannes a step further by inviting a Mexican filmmaker to participate in the Next Step programme. For the 2025 edition, a new partnership will be inaugurated with Projeto Paradiso, featuring the invitation of a Brazilian project.
In 2024, the Next Step Award, with its 2,500€ endowment and an invitation to the Cannes Film Festival for the director with the most promising feature film project by a jury composed of 4 industry experts. In 2025, the jury is composed by Priscilla Bertin, producer at Silex Films ; Stefano Centini, producer at Volos Films ; Gabor Greiner, head of acquisitions at Films Boutique.
The Next Step Prize 2025 goes to
THE LAST TEARS OF THE DECEASED
by ethiopian filmmaker Beza Hailu Lemma
Beza Hailu Lemma © Capucine Henry
Beza Hailu Lemma is a writer/director based in Addis Ababa. Passionate about both documentary and fiction, Beza has made several short films since he began his journey, which include Ballad of the Spirits (2016), Katanga Nation (2022) and Alazar (2024). Katanga Nation has screened in over 20 film festivals worldwide, including Visions Du Reel, IDFA and FESPACO, where it won the Silver Foal for best documentary short film. Beza has also attended Berlinale Talents, L’Atelier by the Cannes Film Festival and TIFF Filmmakers Lab.
We are delighted to see that, to this day, 39 features have been released, the most recent ones being Aisha can't fly away by Morad Mostafa selected at Un Certain Regard 2025, Universal Language by Matthew Rankin, Public Choice Award at Directors' Fortnight 2024, Some Rain must Fall by Qiu Yang and Arcadia by Yorgos Zois screened at the 2024 Berlinale, section Encounters, My Wonderful Stranger by Johanna Pyykkö at the 2024 Göteborg IFF.
For the 10th edition, La Semaine de la Critique launched Next Step II, a purposefully hybrid workshop dedicated to the rework of script and score creation. This workshop will be held in Corsica, at the Casell'arte residence, in October 2025, and will gave international directors and composers the opportunity to meet around score composition, allowing them to think about it as an integral part of their creation as well as a rich artistic counterpoint.