In Waves
The mission of the Centre d'art et essai de la Cinémathèque québécoise (CAECQ) is to primary program Quebec-made documentaries and independent fiction, as well as international documentaries, animated and foreign films, while encouraging opportunities for meetings between the public and the artists. Its programming is presented in conjunction with the Cinémathèque québécoise’s under the label New releases.
Opening film, Critics' Week of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival
Amid the sun-filled surf culture of SoCal, two lovestruck teens face a tragic twist of fate, but find strength in friends and the ocean.
Phuong Mai Nguyen
Phuong Mai Nguyen is a French-Vietnamese filmmaker. She lived in Vietnam until the age of 15, then entered a high school in Paris before studying animated films at Gobelins, where she co-directed, Un tour de manège, her student film. She then joined La Poudrière in Valence, where she directed several other short films. She lives and works in Paris on commercials, television series and short films as a graphic artist, director, and/or animator. In 2015, her first professional film, Chez moi, was selected at the Côté court festival in Pantin, then shortlisted for the Césars and the Academy Awards. She is the graphic artist for Fabrice Luang-Vija’s short film Celui qui a deux âmes, winner of the César Award for Best Animated Film in 2017. In 2026, she directed her first feature-length film,In Waves, based on AJ Dungo’s autobiographical graphic novel. The film was screened as the opening film of the Cannes Film Festival Critics’ Week, and at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
