Cahiers du Cinéma have awarded their first annual Bazin Prize for Best First Film to Panah Panahi’s “Hit the Road.” In case you’re wondering, Panah is Jafar’s son.
“Hit the Road” premiered in the 2021 edition of the Quinzaine does Realisateurs. It’s an endearing film that follows a chaotic family on a road trip across a rugged Iranian landscape as they get on each others' nerves.
The jury chosen to select the Bazin award was composed of filmmaker Arnaud Desplechin, actress Lyna Khoudri, dancer/choreographer Benjamin Millepied, cinematographer Céline Bozon, Cahiers assistant editor Charlotte Garson, Cahiers editor-in-chief Marcos Uzal, and student Zoé Lhuillier.
Still no word yet on Cahiers’ top ten of 2022 which is supposed to be published this week. I was tipped off that Albert Serra’s “Pacifiction” is their #1 but let’s wait and see something official, potentially on Wednesday.
On the US side of things, I presume that this year Charlotte Wells’ “Aftersun” will win most of the Best First Film awards from critics groups. Other noteworthy contenders: Chloe Okuno’s “Watcher,” Owen Kline’s “Funny Pages,” Mimi Cave’s “Fresh,” BJ Novak’s “Vengeance,” and Elegance Bratton’s “The Inspection.”