Worst Ones

Winner
Un Certain Regard
Cannes Film Festival
Nominee
Golden Camera
Cannes Film Festival
Nominee
Best First Work
Cesar Awards
Deeply insightful, 'The Worst Ones' is both cerebral and emotional…a remarkable achievement of filmmaking and human compassion.

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The Worst Ones

Set in the suburbs of Boulogne-Sur-Mer in northern France, The Worst Ones captures a film within a film as it follows the production of a feature whose director turns to the local Cité Picasso housing project for casting. Eager to capture performances of gritty authenticity, the director selects four working class teenagers to act in the film to the surprise and consternation of the local community, who question the director’s choice of “the worst ones.” As the director and crew audition, rehearse, film, and interact with their hand-picked cast, jealousies are stoked, lines are crossed, and ethical questions arise, with thought-provoking and at times darkly funny results. Winner of the top prize in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, The Worst Ones announces directors Lise Akoka and Romane Gueret as exciting new voices in French cinema.

“Thought-provoking and sometimes darkly funny… a fascinating look at the filming experience.” – Anna Smith, Deadline

“Part of what makes The Worst Ones tick with a pace close to that of a thriller is its self-reflexive relationship to genre and knack for referentiality.” – Clayton Dillard, Slant Magazine
Not Rated
Genre
Drama, French Cinema, Comedy
Runtime
99
Language
French
Director
Lise Akoka, Romane Gueret
Writer(s)
Elénore Gurrey, Lise Akoka, Romane Gueret
Cast
Mallory Wanecque, Timéo Mahaut, Johan Heldenbergh
Awards:
Winner, Un Certain Regard, Cannes Film Festival
Nominee, Golden Camera, Cannes Film Festival
Nominee, Best First Work, Cesar Awards
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FEATURED REVIEW
Lisa Kennedy, New York Times

A freckled girl, Maylis (Mélina Vanderplancke), sits in a classroom that has been turned into a casting venue. Her gaze could be described as apathetic were it not for the way she challenges Gabriel (Johan Heldenbergh), a fictional filmmaker, at the start of the keen drama “The Worst Ones,” from ...

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