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What if you had to track down and have sex with everyone you’ve ever slept with, for the good of your current relationship? That’s the quirky premise of Ann Sirot and Raphaël Balboni’s new comedy, ‘The (Ex)perience of Love,’ the follow-up to their 2020 debut “Une vie démente.”

When we meet them, the couple in question, Sandra (Lucie Debay) and Rémy (Lazare Gousseau), are hoping to have a child, and after having no luck conceiving naturally, they decide to see a doctor. Curveball: the doctor tells them that they are suffering from a recently identified condition, Past Love Syndrome. The cure is to go forth and finish all their unfinished business, by sleeping with everyone they’ve ever slept with, like a sort of sexy exorcism.

Of course, this exotic premise is really just a jumping off point for a comedy-drama about romantic relationships — the...

In their sophomore feature as a directing duo, Ann Sirot and Raphaël Balboni return to the themes of troubled relationships and infertility.

The (Ex)perience of Love – which premiered in Cannes' special screening section – follows Sandra (Lucie Debay) and Rémy (Lazare Gousseau), a charming couple on the brink of middle age, settled into their desk jobs with a desperate desire to commit themselves to the next step in their relationship. The only problem is — no matter how hard they try, they can’t seem to get the good news of a baby being on the way.

That all changes once they receive an urgent message from their doctor who brings good news from the Seattle Obstetrics Congress, where he discussed their infertility with his colleagues. He says that they could be suffering from the newly discovered “Past Love Syndrome.” A condition of both mental and physical blockage that...

Sure to add some spice and throw some intellectual stimuli to what is the norm for the heteronormative — Belgium filmmaker tandem Ann Sirot and Raphaël Balboni bring some laughs to the Critics’ Week (05.20) with The (Ex)perience of Love aka Le Syndrome des Amours Passées. The Special Screening selection tells the tale of Rémy (Lazare Gousseau) and Sandra (Lucie Debay) cannot procreate as they are suffering from “The Past Love Syndrome”. There’s only one cure: have sex one more time with all of their exes. In this clip the couple need to make that weird phone call to their exes.…...

The 2023 Cannes Critics Week lineup has officially been unveiled.

Hot off of the world premiere of first-time filmmaker Charlotte Wells’ Oscar-nominated “Aftersun,” this year’s Critics Week marks seven highly-anticipated feature debuts from directors like Amanda Nell (“Tiger Stripes”) and Jason Yu (“Jam”).

The lineup kicks off with opening night film “Ama Gloria,” directed by French filmmaker Marie Amachoukeli, who previously won Cannes’ Camera d’Or for 2014’s “Party Girl” which Amachoukeli co-directed with Claire Burger and Samuel Theis. (Critics Week allows for both first and second films in its lineup.) “Ama Gloria” centers on six-year-old girl Cléo who copes with her nanny Gloria leaving to return to Cape Verde.

The closing night film is Erwan le Duc’s “La fille de son père,” billed as a “bittersweet comedy about paternity and filiation with a poetic and off-beat angle.” Le Duc previously helmed “Perdrix”; Nahuel Perez Biscayart and Céleste Brunnquell star as father and daughter.

Rolling off a successful edition that premiered Charlotte Wells’ celebrated film “Aftersun” with Paul Mescal, Cannes Critics’ Week is back with an international lineup spanning South Korea and Malaysia to France and Jordan, among others.

The Critics’ Week sidebar runs parallel to the Cannes Film Festival, and focuses on first and second films. Under the leadership of artistic director Ava Cahen since last year, the lineup will boast 11 feature films chosen from 1,000 submitted movies.

Out of these 11 movies, seven are feature debuts and six are directed by women. Among them is the opening night film, “Ama Gloria,” directed by French helmer Marie Amachoukeli, who previously won Cannes’ Golden Camera for “Party Girl” which she co-directed with Claire Burger and Samuel Theis.

“Ama Gloria” tells the story of Cléo, a six-year old girl who sees her beloved nanny, Gloria, leave town to return to Cape Verde.

This 62nd edition will wrap...