[2][3] Critics' Week's objective is to discover and support new talents, showcasing first and second feature films by directors worldwide.

Bernardo Bertolucci,[4] Philip Kaufman, Ken Loach, Tony Scott, Agnieszka Holland,[5] Leos Carax, Wong Kar-wai,[6] Guillermo del Toro,[7] Jacques Audiard, Arnaud Desplechin, Gaspar Noé,[6] François Ozon,[8] Andrea Arnold,[9] Alejandro González Iñárritu, Julia Ducournau,[6] Justine Triet,[10] all began at Critics' Week.

Journalists of all nationalities were invited to vote at the end of each screening of the films in competition, after which the Grand Prize was awarded.

Thereafter, the jury has been presided over by a director and consists of four members with writing, filmmaking, acting or programming backgrounds.

[11] Notable jury presidents have included Bertrand Bonello, Miguel Gomes, Andrea Arnold, Ronit Elkabetz, Valérie Donzelli, Kleber Mendonça Filho, Joachim Trier, Ciro Guerra and Cristian Mungiu.