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Jessica Chastain in a scene from Take Shelter - the poster image for the 55th Cannes Critics’ Week (Image La Semaine de la Critique).
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As it celebrates its 55th anniversary this year, Cannes Critics’ Week organisers have chosen an image of actress Jessica Chastain in a scene from Jeff Nichols’s second feature Take Shelter, as the “face” of the new edition devoted to first or second features by directors from all over the world.
The film received the Grand Prix Nespresso during the 50th edition of the selection chosen by the French film critics. The organisers said that the image symbolised the emergence of new talents on the international arena. Such film-makers as Chris Marker, Denys Arcand, Bernardo Bertolucci, Jean Eustache, Philippe Garel, Barbet Schroeder, Ken Loach, Merzak Allouache, Romain Goupil, Leos Carax, Amos Gitai, Wong Kar-wai, Arnaud Desplechin, Benoît Poelvoorde, Guillermo del Toro, Jacques Audiard, Kevin Smith, François Ozon, Andrea Arnold and Gaspar Noé all started at La Semaine de la Critique.
Nichols was quoted as saying: “When Take Shelter was chosen for the selection I knew my career had reached an important stage. It brought me professional credibility and also gave me confidence as a film-maker. It would have taken much longer to achieve such status without that support and recognition.”
The Critics’ Week runs from 12 to 20 May and the jury will be presided over by director and actress Valérie Donizelli surrounded by Alice Winocour, Nadav Lapid, David Robert Mitchell and Santiago Mitre. The section’s full line-up will be announced on 18 April.
