Ruben Östlund, Lorcan Finnegan Projects at Cannes Investors Circle

The new projects from two-time Palme d’Or winner Ruben Östlund (The Triangle of Sadness, The Square); Irish director Lorcan Finnegan (Vivarium and upcoming Nicolas Cage drama The Surfer); and Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Smoczyńska, director of Letitia Wright/Tamara Lawrance-starrer The Silent Twins, will be pitching to potential backers at this year’s Cannes Investors Circle, an event organized by the Cannes film market that aims to bring together top art-house talent with producers and financiers.

The 2024 Cannes Investors Circle event, held on May 19 at the Plage des Palmes, will showcase 10 never-before-seen films in various stages of development to an exclusive group of investors and film financing experts. The projects range in budget from €1 million ($1.07 million) to more than €20 million ($21.4 million) and have been specifically curated by the market.

“The aim of the Marché du Film with the Cannes Investors Circle is to support artistically and financially
ambitious film projects,” Marché du Film executive director Guillaume Esmiol said. “For the
second time, we are selecting projects of the highest caliber to present to top-tier investors. In light of
the current financial landscape and Cannes’ unique positioning, we believe it’s relevant to explore new
opportunities for funding through private investment.”

Also presenting their new projects will be Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid, whose Ahed’s Knee won the Cannes jury prize in 2021; Laura Samani, whose debut Small Body was a 2021 Critics’ Week highlight; and Japanese director Chie Hayakawa, whose speculative sci-fi film Plan 75 was a Camera d’Or special mention in 2022.

Iranian filmmaker Rakhshan Banietemad, Uta Beria from Georgia, Romanian director Teodora Ana Mihai and Venezuelan filmmaker Jorge Thielen Armand will also pitch their latest features.

The Cannes Investors Circle event will kick off with an industry keynote and a set of panels on independent film financing ahead of the invitation-only pitching and networking sessions.