The Black List partnered with Canal+, Vivendi, the Festival de Cannes, the Universite Cote d’Azur and the City of Cannes to bring back the prestigious personalized program to Cannes 2023. This year, the Résidence will host six inspiring filmmakers who have received tailored individual support to write their first screenplay for either their first or second feature film. The Festival de Cannes has made it its mission to give these young enthusiastic talents their artistic support to aid younger generations who have a tremendous desire to create and develop original unique ideas and expand their interest in movies.

The Résidence was founded in 2000 and has since sponsored over 250 filmmakers from all over the world with their scenarios. A concept that is evidently rewarding, as many of those lucky directors went on to claim international success.

In October 2022, 30 writers were invited based on the uniqueness of their film scripts, and 18 writers were selected to present their films in front of a jury of industry experts. From those presentations, six lucky writers were chosen to continue the online residency and join the three-week-long residency in Cannes in May, where they will outline their films and attend the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.

Italian director Laura Samani, born in 1989, graduated in film directing at Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia di Roma. Her short film La Santa che dorme, premiered at Cannes Cinéfondation in 2016. Her first feature film, Piccolo Corpo, opened to acclaim at La Semaine de la Critique in Cannes in 2021 and won numerous awards worldwide.

Egyptian filmmaker Morad Mostafa has already made a name for himself in the entertainment world. His resume concludes already three short films and he is presently developing his debut feature film Aisha Can’t Fly Away Anymore at the Résidence.

Chinese director Tang Yi, born in Fuzhou, China, won the Palme d’Or at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival for her second short film All the Crows in the World. Yi is currently developing her first feature film at La Résidence du Festival in Paris, along with the Torino ScriptLab. The director’s motivations are to tell stories about women, underrepresented groups, and social matters and to capture these themes through a rebellious, dark comedic lens.

Iranian director Mohammadreza Mayghani was born in 1995 in Iran. His short film Orthodontics, which he wrote, directed and produced, was in the Official Selection of the Short Film Competition of the Festival de Cannes in 2021. The Orthondontics storyline was based on Mayghani’s personal experiences as a young adolescent, and he shares with the audience the effects of such treatment he had during that stage of his life.

Diana Mashanova, born in Ulan-Ude, Buryatia, completed several filmmaking courses in Paris (Eicar) and New York (NYFA), then graduated with a diploma from London Film Academy. In 2021, she completed her first short film Toli and she developed her debut feature film at Feature Film Lab (MSNC), which was shot in 2022 and is in post-production. She is currently working on her new feature film project The First Cigarette is For God at the Résidence.

Independent filmmaker Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan was born in 1996 in the Philippines. His film subjects often involve topics on trauma, spirituality, and nature. His films include Umbilical Cord to Heaven (2019), Remedy (2021), and The Headhunter’s Daughter (2022), which was awarded the Short Film Grand Jury Prize at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and the Gold Hugo at the 58th Chicago International Film Festival.

All six directors will be in Cannes from May 16th to May 22nd.