Cannes 2025: A historic harvest for Wallimage on the Croisette!

An exceptional 2025 vintage for Wallimage at the Cannes Film Festival! With no fewer than six co-financed films present on the Croisette, this year’s edition promises to be historic. Even if we delve into our most lavish archives, such a presence seems unprecedented since the Walloon fund was created at the beginning of 2001 – an initiative, it should be remembered, instigated by Minister Kubla following the Palme d’Or award for Rosetta by the Dardenne brothers in 1999.

Official Selection: Masters and New Tales

And who’s in the Official Competition? Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, of course! For their 13th feature film, Young Mothersproduced by Les Films du Fleuve, the filmmakers continue their keen observation of our times. The film explores the daily lives and struggles of five very young women living in a maternity home, struggling to build a future for themselves and their children. It’s a familiar return for the Dardenne brothers to the Croisette, where ten of their previous works have been selected in Competition, earning them an unrivalled eight major awards, including two Palmes d’Or, making them the most decorated directors in Cannes history. With a third supreme award, they would become the masters of the world’s ^7th art.

Still in Official Selection, but Out of Competition, The Richest Woman in the World by Thierry Klifa (Versus Production co-production) plunges us into the sultry daily life of a billionaire businesswoman whose world is turned upside down when she falls for an eccentric photographer, challenging her lifestyle and her certainties. Any resemblance to existing characters would, of course, be purely coincidental… as Thierry Frémaux pointed out with a knowing smile at the announcement. Duly noted.

Les Nuits Cannoises will vibrate with the Midnight Screening of Dallowaythe eagerly-awaited new thriller from Yann Gozlan(Boîte Noire). Co-produced in Belgium by Panache Productions and La Compagnie Cinématographique, the film promises an intense, stylized plunge into an atmosphere of high tension, the director’s trademark. A nocturnal experience revolving around a highly intrusive AI – a topical theme if ever there was one – already promises to be captivating, and should delight fans of demanding suspense on the Croisette.

Semaine de la Critique: Wallonia Opens and Closes!

This year’s Semaine de la Critique will be particularly colorful for Wallimage, which will open and close this prestigious parallel section. Never before seen!

What an honor for Adam’s Interest toopen this 64th edition! Laura Wandel’s second feature, co-produced by Dragon Films and Les Films du Fleuve, marks the return of a filmmaker who shook up the Croisette with Un Monde (Un Certain Regard, 2021 – Prix FIPRESCI). We eagerly await this new exploration of intense human relationships, in this case between a devoted nurse and a distressed mother. We’re sure the director will once again capture the complexity of emotions at their most sensitive.

And to round off the Week in style, there’s plenty of entertainment with Planets by Momoko Seto. Co-produced in Belgium by Umedia, this feature benefited from the know-how of Walloon talent, with part of the production coming to life in Liège. Momoko Seto’s unique visual universe, often at the crossroads of visual art and cinema, promises a singular dreamlike and sensory journey. A poetic and daring closing to this edition of La Semaine.

Quinzaine des Cinéastes : A Promising First Film

Finally, we’re off to the Quinzaine des Cinéastes to discover La danse des renardsValery Carnoy’s promising first feature, produced by Hélicotronc. The film follows the journey of a young boxing prodigy whose trajectory is disrupted by tragedy. Through this initiatory tale, the director sensitively explores the themes of friendship put to the test, the quest for identity and the turbulence of youth. An eagerly-awaited work that could well reveal a new talent in Belgian cinema.

Looking forward to a lovely May

This remarkable presence in the various Cannes selections is tremendous recognition for the talent and producers supported by Wallimage. We are delighted with this exceptional showcase and look forward to seeing these six works on the big screen at the 78th Cannes Film Festival, to be held from May 13 to 24, 2025.