'Vivarium' Starring Jesse Eisenberg & Imogen Poots Leads 2019 Cannes Critics' Week Line-Up

As we approach the mid-May launch of the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, more and more information is beginning to be announced about what offerings the French event will have this year. No, that doesn’t mean we have any word on the Quentin Tarantino film that everyone seems to be anxious about. Instead, this announcement is about the 2019 Cannes Critics’ Week section that runs parallel to the main competition.

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For those unsure what Critics’ Week normally consists of, the slightly smaller section of the festival focuses on features and shorts from first and second-time directors. The program was completely filled with European directors in 2018, but this year’s edition seems a bit more diverse with selections coming from South America, Asia, and North Africa. And this year even flexes a bit of star power with one film starring none other than Jesse Eisenberg and Imogen Poots.

READ MORE: Cannes Director Talks Record Number Of Female Filmmakers This Year & The Problem With Achieving Gender Parity

Eisenberg and Poots star in “Vivarium,” from director Lorcan Finnegan. The film follows a young couple that embarks on the scary world of first-time home buying and ends up with a house (and an otherworldly baby) that is a bit stranger than they were bargaining for.

Overall, 11 features were chosen out of the 1,050 submissions, with seven of those films as part of the competition and four as special screenings.

Here’s the full lineup (via ScreenDaily):

CANNES CRITICS WEEK LINE-UP 2019

OPENING FILM

Litigante, Franco Lolli

CLOSING FILM

Dwelling In The Fuchun Mountains (Chun Jiang Shui Nuan), Xiaogang Gu

FEATURE FILM COMPETITION

Abou Leila, Amin Sidi-Boumédiène
Land Of Ashes (Ceniza Negra), Sofía Quirós Ubeda
A White, White Day (Hvítur, Hvítur Dagur), Hlynur Pálmason
I Lost My Body (J’ai perdu mon corps), Jérémy Clapin
Our Mothers (Nuestras Madres), César Díaz
The Unknown Saint, Alaa Eddine Aljem
Vivarium, Lorcan Finnegan

SPECIAL SCREENINGS

Heroes Don’t Die (Les Héros Ne Meurent Jamais), Aude Léa Rapin
Tu Mérites Un Amour, Hafsia Herzi

SHORT FILMS COMPETITION

Party Day (Dia De Festa), Sofia Bost
The Trap (Fakh), Nada Riyadh
Ikki Illa Meint, Andrias Høgenni
Journey Through A Body, Camille Degeye
Community Gardens (Kolektyvinai Sodai), Vytautas Katkus
Lucía En El Limbo, Valentina Maurel
The Manila Lover, Johanna Pyykkö
Tuesday From 8 To 6 (Mardi De 8 à 18), Cecilia de Arce
She Runs, Qiu Yang
The Last Trip To The Sea (Ultimul Drum Spre Mare), 
Adi Voicu

SHORT FILMS SPECIAL SCREENING 1

Demonic, Pia Borg
Naptha, Moin Hussain
Please Speak Continuously And Describe Your Experiences As They Come To You, Brandon Cronenberg

SHORT FILMS SPECIAL SCREENING 2

Invisible Hero (Invisível Herói), Cristèle Alves Meira
Tenzo, Katsuya Tomita