Critics’ Week 2026: Marine Atlan’s ‘La Gradiva,’ Aina Clotet’s ‘Viva’ Take Top Awards
Marine Atlan’s “La Gradiva” claimed the top honor at the 65th edition of Critics Week, winning the Ami Paris Grand Prize, while Aina Clotet’s “Alive” won the Louis Roederer Foundation Rising Star Award.
The section, which is curated by Ava Cahen and runs parallel to the Official Selection, is dedicated to first and second films.
“La Gravida” marks the feature debut of Atlan, an accomplished cinematographer. The sun-soaked melodrama charts a French class trip to Pompeii, where teenagers explore its ruins and the bodies petrified by the Vesuvio’s eruption in 79 AD. “La Gravida” was co-written by Atlan and Anne Brouillet whose script previously won the Grand Prize at the 2024 Fondation GAN. The pair had collaborated before on “Green Romances” and “Daniel.”
“Viva,” Spanish actor and director Aina Clotet’s debut film, stars as Nora, a 40-year-old woman who is consumed with a need to feel alive and dives into passionate relationships with two very different men whose opposing natures reflect her own inner conflict. The film shot in Catalan, Spanish, English and French languages.
“A Girl Unknown,” Zou Jing’s searing portrait of abandoned young girls in China, won the Gan Foundation Award for Distribution; while “Dua,” the sidebar’s first even entry from Kosovo, won Blerta Basholli and Nicole Borgeat the SACD Award.
Presided over this year by Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia, whose film “All We Imagine as Light” won the Grand Prize at Cannes in 2025, the 65th edition of Critics’ Week opened for the first time with an animated feature, Phuong Mai Nguyen’s “In Waves” which was just bought by Netflix for global rights.
The section closed with Félix de Givry’s “Goodbye Cruel World,” featuring Milo Machado-Graner, the breakout star of “Anatomy of a Fall.”
The competition spanned Europe, Mexico, Asia and the Middle East, as well as Kosovo and Yemen (with Sara Ishaq’s “Al Mahatta”). Here’s the full list of Critics Week Awards: Ami Paris Grand Prize
“La Gradiva,” Marine Atlan
Louis Roederer Foundation Rising Star Award
“Viva” (“Alive”), Aina Clotet — award presented to Clotet for her performance in the film
Sony Discovery Prize for Short Film
“Skinny Bottines” (“Skinny Boots”), Romain F. Dubois
Gan Foundation Award for Distribution
Wu Ming Nü Hai (A Girl Unknown), Zou Jing — award presented to Pyramide Distribution
SACD Award
“Dua,” written by Blerta Basholli and Nicole Borgeat
Canal+ Award for Short Film
“Vaterland” or a Bule Named Yanto, directed by Berthold Wahju
The section, which is curated by Ava Cahen and runs parallel to the Official Selection, is dedicated to first and second films.
“La Gravida” marks the feature debut of Atlan, an accomplished cinematographer. The sun-soaked melodrama charts a French class trip to Pompeii, where teenagers explore its ruins and the bodies petrified by the Vesuvio’s eruption in 79 AD. “La Gravida” was co-written by Atlan and Anne Brouillet whose script previously won the Grand Prize at the 2024 Fondation GAN. The pair had collaborated before on “Green Romances” and “Daniel.”
“Viva,” Spanish actor and director Aina Clotet’s debut film, stars as Nora, a 40-year-old woman who is consumed with a need to feel alive and dives into passionate relationships with two very different men whose opposing natures reflect her own inner conflict. The film shot in Catalan, Spanish, English and French languages.
“A Girl Unknown,” Zou Jing’s searing portrait of abandoned young girls in China, won the Gan Foundation Award for Distribution; while “Dua,” the sidebar’s first even entry from Kosovo, won Blerta Basholli and Nicole Borgeat the SACD Award.
Presided over this year by Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia, whose film “All We Imagine as Light” won the Grand Prize at Cannes in 2025, the 65th edition of Critics’ Week opened for the first time with an animated feature, Phuong Mai Nguyen’s “In Waves” which was just bought by Netflix for global rights.
The section closed with Félix de Givry’s “Goodbye Cruel World,” featuring Milo Machado-Graner, the breakout star of “Anatomy of a Fall.”
The competition spanned Europe, Mexico, Asia and the Middle East, as well as Kosovo and Yemen (with Sara Ishaq’s “Al Mahatta”). Here’s the full list of Critics Week Awards: Ami Paris Grand Prize
“La Gradiva,” Marine Atlan
Louis Roederer Foundation Rising Star Award
“Viva” (“Alive”), Aina Clotet — award presented to Clotet for her performance in the film
Sony Discovery Prize for Short Film
“Skinny Bottines” (“Skinny Boots”), Romain F. Dubois
Gan Foundation Award for Distribution
Wu Ming Nü Hai (A Girl Unknown), Zou Jing — award presented to Pyramide Distribution
SACD Award
“Dua,” written by Blerta Basholli and Nicole Borgeat
Canal+ Award for Short Film
“Vaterland” or a Bule Named Yanto, directed by Berthold Wahju