The 2025 Cannes Film Festival highlighted several authors and mentors from Meditalents, with a strong presence across multiple sections of the festival. A meaningful recognition, and a true pleasure to see their projects come to life and reach such visibility.
Aisha Can’t Fly Away by Morad Mostafa, a project from the 11th edition of LabMed (2022), was selected for the Un Certain Regard section of the Official Selection. A major milestone for this film, which powerfully affirms the singular voice of its director on the international stage.
In addition, Le Temps de l’Errance by Rim Nakhli, developed through LabMed 2024, was selected for La Fabrique Cinéma, a program by the Institut français that supports filmmakers from developing and emerging countries.
Aude Py, mentor at LabMed 2025, co-wrote Amélie et la métaphysique des tubes by Maïlys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han, presented as a special screening in the Official Selection. She also contributed to Les Filles Désir by Prïncia Car, selected for the Directors’ Fortnight (Quinzaine des Cinéastes).
At La Semaine de la Critique, Alain Layrac, mentor for LabSud 2024 and 2025, served as co-writer of Planète, the section’s closing film, which was awarded the FIPRESCI Prize by the International Federation of Film Critics. He also worked as script consultant on Baise-en-Ville by Martin Jauvat, also featured in the selection.
We are proud to have crossed paths with these authors, whose work is now shining at Cannes. A huge congratulations to all!
After studying cinema at the University of Paris I, Alain Layrac enjoyed success with the creation of the series "Une famille formidable" in collaboration with Danièle Thompson. In 1997, he wrote the screenplay for the film "Héroïnes", directed by Gérard Krawczyk, which was a TV hit despite failing in theaters. His original screenplay "Mauvaises Fréquentations" was directed by Jean-Pierre Améris in 1999, marking the debut of Lou Doillon and earning a César nomination for Robinson Stévenin. In 2001, his original screenplay "Barnie et ses petites contrariétés" was adapted by Bruno Chiche, starring Nathalie Baye and Fabrice Luchini. In 2005, he again wrote the original screenplay for the film "Avant qu'il ne soit trop tard", directed by Laurent Dussaux. In 2017, he published "Atelier d'écriture" and adapted his essay for the cinema with "Le Cours de la vie" in 2023, directed by Frédéric Sojcher and starring Agnès Jaoui and Jonathan Zaccaï.
Aude Py is a screenwriter. Born in Geneva, she lives and works in Paris. After studying philosophy at the Sorbonne, she turned to screenwriting. Since then, she has collaborated with directors of diverse styles, including Bertrand Bonello (Tiresia, Official Selection – Cannes 2003), Christian Carion (Joyeux Noël, Official Selection – Cannes 2005, French submission to the Oscars), Erick Zonca (Julia, Official Selection – Berlin 2008), Damien Odoul (The Fear, Jean Vigo Prize 2015), Jacob Berger (A Jew Must Die, Official Selection – Locarno 2016; nominated for Best Screenplay and Best Film – Swiss Film Awards 2017), and Yohan Manca (La Traviata, My Brothers and I, Official Selection – Cannes 2021). She also teaches screenwriting at La Fémis and Paris Nanterre University. Since 2023, she has served as curator of the Art Book for the Pop-Up Edgelands Institute, a project active in several cities around the world, including Medellín, Cúcuta, Nairobi, Geneva, and Houston.
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Morad, an Egyptian filmmaker, was born in Cairo. He has worked as an assistant director in several independent films; he collaborated as an executive director on the feature film "Souad" - official selection at the Cannes Film Festival 2020 and at the Berlinale. He wrote and directed two short films "Henet Ward" and "What we don't know about Mariam"; both had their world premiere in Clermont-Ferrand and were selected in other major festivals (BFI London - Palm Springs - Busan - Thessaloniki - Stockholm - Karlovy Vary - FIFF Namur - Cinemed Montpellier - Shanghai - Durban - EL Gouna - Cairo) and won more than 30 international awards.
Rim Nakhli studied cinema at the ISAMM, 'Institut Supérieur des Arts Multimédia de la Manouba' in Tunis. She continued her studies in Italy, where she received her Master's degree in Cinema, Television and Multimedia Production from the University of Bologna, DAMS. Her thesis focused on the relationship between comics and cinema. Since then, in 2017, she directed her first professional short film "Ranim", which was selected in several festivals, including Pingyao International Film Festival at ""Pingyao Corner"", Asia South-East Short Film Festival, Mashariki African Film Festival....
In 2020, she directed her second short film "Nour", which was selected for the Locarno Film Festival in the "Pardi di domani" section, the AFI Fest in Los Angeles, the Cairo International Film Festival, and several other festivals. She previously worked at the Journées cinématographiques de Carthage and the Cinémathèque tunisienne.
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