Well, so far, 2 of the films on my predictions list (read that post HERE) have been announced as selections to screen at the upcoming 2014 edition of the Cannes Film Festival: Côte d’Ivoire native Philippe Lacôte’s feature film debut, Run, which was selected to screen in the Un Certain Regard sidebar of the festival – a program created to recognize young, promising talent and to encourage innovative and daring storytelling on film. 

Today the festival announced its roster for its International Critics’ Week sidebar, and the second film that was on my predictions list, Faire L’Amour, Haitian director Djinn Carrénard’s sophomore effort, made the cut.

In fact, it’s been selected as the opening film for the sidebar, which is certainly an honor worth mentioning.

Faire l’amour (or Making Love), stars the director, alongside Emma Nicolai and Laurette Lalande, from a screenplay he wrote. Djinn’s first film, Donoma, was reportedly made for a few hundred dollars; we saw it, and we were enthralled by it! It screened at Cannes 2 years ago, also as part of a sidebar program. He impressed critics and audiences with it, around the world, wherever it screened, including here in the USA, and I expect his second feature to do the same, starting with a Cannes 2013 premiere. 

The film, budgeted at €2.7 million, or about $3.5 million, is a considerable jump (from a few hundred dollars for his first film, to a few million for his second). Let’s see how that affects the end product. 

Carrénard actually wrote Faire L’Amour before he made Donoma, and says that it’ll explore similar themes as that first film, which revolved around the dynamics of several, interconnected Paris couples. And also like Donoma, Faire L’Amour’s cast comprises of mostly amateur, first-time actors, which Carrénard selected from acting workshops he conducted earlier 3 years ago.

I should note that Abderrahmane Sissako’s latest feature, Timbuktu, which didn’t make my predictions list, was selected to screen In Competition at this year’s event (that announcement was made last week).

There are announcements to come in at least one more program category – Directors’ Fortnight – so there might be other titles by filmmakers of African descent to be revealed, including those that remain on my predictions list. When those revelations are made in coming days, I will have them for you here on S&A.

British filmmaker Andrea Arnold is presiding over the jury for the 53rd edition of International Critics’ Week. The section runs this year from May 15-23. 

Here’s the full list of titles:

Opening Film: Faire L’Amour, dir: Djinn Carrénard (France)
Closing Film: Hippocrate, dir: Thomas Lilti (France)

Special Screenings
Respire, dir: Mélanie Laurent (France)
L’Institutrice, dir: Nadav Lapid (Israel)

Critics’ Week Features
Più Buio Di Mezzanote, dir: Sebastiano Riso (Italy)
The Tribe*, dir: Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy (Ukraine)
It Follows, dir: David Robert Mitchell (U.S.)
Gente De Bien*, dir: Franco Lolli (Colombia)
When Animals Dream*, dir: Jonas Alexander Arnby (Denmark)
Hope*, dir: Boris Lojkine (France)
Self Made, dir: Shira Geffen (Israel)

Critics’ Week Shorts
Safari, dir: Gerardo Herrero (Spain)
The Chicken, dir: Una Gunjak (Croatia)
Crocodile, dir: Gaëlle Denis (UK)
Une Chambre Bleue, dir: Tomasz Siwiński (Poland)
TrueLoveStory, dir: Gitanjali Rao (India)
Petit Frère, dir: Rémi St-Michel (Canada)
A Ciambra, dir: Jonas Carpignano (Italy)
La Contre-Allée, dir: Cécile Ducrocq (France)
Les Fleuves M’Ont Laissée Descendre Où Je Voulais, dir: Laurie Lassalle (France)
Boa Noite Cinderela, dir: Carlos Conceiçao (Portugal)