Cannes Critics’ Week has unveiled the ten participants selected for the 12th edition of its Next Step program, supporting the first feature films of directors who previously showed their shorts in the section focused on emerging filmmaking talents.

Participants this year include France-based Irish-British filmmaker Róisín Burns, whose short film Wonderwall played in the Cannes parallel section earlier this year.

Her project is set against the backdrop of her native city of Liverpool and revolves around a 17-year-old soldier who deserts his post during the Iraq war.

Further participants include Estonian director Anna Hints, whose 2023 documentary Smoke Sauna Sisterhood won a directing award at Sundance as well as Estonia’s first-ever European Film Award and represented the country

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