Directors' Fortnight


The Directors' Fortnight is an independent section held in parallel to the Cannes Film Festival. It was started in 1969 by the French Directors Guild after the events of May 1968 resulted in cancellation of the Cannes festival as an act of solidarity with striking workers.
The Directors' Fortnight showcases a programme of shorts and feature films and documentaries worldwide.

Artistic directors

Programming is overseen by an artistic director. The current artistic director is Julien Rejl who has programmed Director's Fortnight since 2023.
Past artistic directors include,, Olivier Père, Frédéric Boyer, and .

Awards

Audience Award

In partnership with The Fondation Chantal Akerman, for the first time ever, the audience will award one of the films in the main selection with the "Audience Award" or "Choix du Public". It's the first ever official award presented by the section, since its creation in 1969:
YearEnglish titleOriginal titleDirectorProduction countryRef.
2024Universal LanguageUne Langue universelleMatthew RankinCanada
2025The President's Cakeمملكة القصبHasan HadiIraq, Qatar, United States

Europa Cinemas Label Award Winners

The award was created in 2003, and highlights European productions screened at the Directors Fortnight section:

SACD Coup de Cœur Prize

Awarded to the best French-language feature of the sidebar.
YearEnglish titleOriginal titleDirectorProduction countryRef.
2025Wild FoxesLa danse des renardsValéry CarnoyFrance, Belgium

Retired awards

Other Awards

  • Illy Prize

Documentaries

  • 40x15.Les Quarante Ans de la Quinzaine des Réalisateurs, directed by Olivier Jahan, 97 min, 2008