2 months ago
UK head Harry Lighton, who made waves past Cannes pinch debut characteristic Pillion, has been unveiled arsenic 1 of six emerging board selected for nan 51st convention of nan Cannes Film Festival’s La Résidence program.
He is joined by Emma Branderhorst, Joecar Hanna, Saulé Bliuvaité, Mansi Maheshwari and Oliver McGoldrick successful nan convention moving from March 16 to July 31, 2026.
“Getting a spot successful La Résidence is beyond exciting. Other filmmakers I cognize who’ve done it rave astir it. It intends I tin artifact retired 5 months to knuckle down to penning my adjacent book and getting to do that successful Paris… are you kidding me?! Magnifique. I dream to travel distant pinch a script, immoderate caller filmmaker pals, and a Parisian husband,” Lighton said successful a merchandise revealing his cohort of participants.
Starring Harry Melling and Alexander Skarsgård, Pillion made a beardown belief erstwhile it premiered successful Cannes Un Certain Regard past twelvemonth and won nan grant for Best Screenplay.
The movie went connected to execute some captious and commercialized success, winning Best British Independent Film astatine nan BIFAs, and receiving 3 BAFTA nominations. His short movie Wren Boys had antecedently been nominated for Best British Short Film astatine nan 2018 BAFTAs.
Amsterdam-based filmmaker Branderhorst is known for intimate, character-driven stories that research societal dynamics from a distinctly female perspective. Her short films Under nan Skin, Spotless, Ma Mère et Moi were selected for nan Berlinale, pinch Spotless winning a Crystal Bear successful 2022.
Alongside her fabrication work, she besides directed nan Cannes Lions Grand Prix winning short Piece of Me, and regularly makes narrative-driven commercials crossed Europe. She useful successful a naturalistic, performance-led style, revealing emotion betwixt nan lines. She is presently processing her debut characteristic This Will Not End Well.
Hanna is simply a Spanish filmmaker of Chinese and Lebanese descent who earlier moving to New York, worked arsenic a master editor connected characteristic films and a TV series. During his clip successful nan NYU Grad Film programme he received nan Black Family Prize and nan Ang Lee Scholarship, and was selected for nan Marcie Bloom Fellowship (Sony Pictures Classics).
His short Deliver Me premiered astatine SXSW 2023 and was acquired by Canal+. His 2nd short Talk Me, was executive-produced by Spike Lee, premiered astatine Cannes 2025, won Best Short astatine TIFF, and premiered successful nan U.S astatine SXSW 2026.
As an actor, he made his characteristic debut successful Lump by Alex Rockwell, a movie that received an grant astatine nan Warsaw Film Festival. Joecar will make his debut characteristic successful nan U.S. later this twelvemonth and will create his 2nd characteristic astatine nan Cannes Residence 2026.
Bliuvaitė is simply a Lithuanian movie director, screenwriter, and editor. She graduated from nan Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre successful 2018 and began her filmmaking profession pinch respective short films, while besides co-writing Isaac, Lithuania’s submission for nan 2021 Academy Award for Best International Feature.
Her debut feature Toxic premiered successful nan International Competition astatine nan 2024 Locarno Film Festival, wherever it won nan Golden Leopard. Since its debut, Toxic has been screened astatine astir 100 movie festivals worldwide, garnered galore world accolades, and was nominated for nan European Discovery – Prix FIPRESCI astatine nan European Film Awards.
Maheshwari is an Indian animation head whose activity blends humour pinch emotionally grounded storytelling. She began successful fashion, utilizing clothing to show stories, earlier pursuing communicative much straight done an MA successful Animation Direction astatine nan National Film and Television School, UK.
Her graduation short movie Bunnyhood premiered astatine Cannes, winning 3rd prize successful La Cinef Selection competition, and later screened astatine Sundance and Clermont-Ferrand. Drawing from individual memory, her films research family, reunions, and nan quiet chaos of quality relationship done warmth, absurdity, and character-driven storytelling.
McGoldrick is an Irish filmmaker and expert based betwixt New York City and County Down, Northern Ireland. He studied Medicine astatine nan University of Edinburgh, graduating successful 2017, earlier earning his MFA successful Film astatine New York University’s Tisch School of nan Arts. He is simply a BAFTA North America Scholar and an alum of nan Film astatine Lincoln Center Artists Academy.
His erstwhile short Three Keenings premiered astatine nan Venice Film Festival successful 2024, screened astatine complete 50 festivals worldwide and won champion short movie astatine nan Galway Film Fleadh. His adjacent short, Melter, executive produced by Spike Lee, is presently successful post-production. He is successful improvement for his debut characteristic Barnyard, done nan Munich Film Up Program and La Résidence.
Under nan La Résidence program, nan participants unrecorded together successful nan festival’s residence successful Paris wherever they use from a personalized screenwriting programme and a corporate programme of meetings pinch movie professionals.
La Résidence welcomes 12 emerging filmmakers each year, divided betwixt 2 sessions lasting 4 and a half months, pinch nan purpose of helping them create and constitute nan screenplay for their first aliases 2nd characteristic film.
Since its creation, La Résidence has supported much than 250 filmmakers from astir 60 countries, including Lucrecia Martel (Argentina), Corneliu Porumboiu (Romania), Amat Escalante and Michel Franco (Mexico), László Nemes (Hungary), Lukas Dhont (Belgium), Nadine Labaki (Lebanon), Nadav Lapid (Israel), Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović (Croatia), Carla Simón (Spain), Karim Aïnouz (Brazil), Rungano Nyoni (Zambia), Payal Kapadia (India), and Chiang Wei (Singapore).
