A feature from a young French director and a short film from Sweden picked up Saturday the top prizes at Critics' Week, a side section at the Cannes film festival aimed at fostering new talent.
French film-maker Nassim Amaouche, 32, took the prize for best feature with a movie on the last residents of a dying industrial town titled "Adieu Gary," his first feature-length film.
A Swedish film titled ""Slitage," or "Seeds of the Fall" in English, and directed by Patrik Eklund, won best short film prize.
The critics' prize has in the past gone to many young directors who went on to acclaimed careers, including Bernardo Bertolucci, Ken Loach, Wong Kar Wai, and Jacques Audiard.
The main Cannes prize, the Palme d'Or, is to be handed out Sunday to one of the 20 movies in the running.
Copyright 2009 AFP Global Edition
