The Worst Ones
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The Worst Ones

Winner of the top prize at Cannes Un Certain Regard, this thought-provoking and darkly funny film-within-a-film follows a production crew filming in a working-class French neighborhood and explores the ethical thorniness of casting non-actors for the sake of "gritty" authenticity.

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.