‘Blindness’ Cannes Film Festival Opener?
Fernando Meirelles’ drama-thriller about a city succumbing to a blindness epidemic.
‘Blindness‘ stars Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo is being eyed to open the Cannes Film Festival, while ‘Hunger,’ from Brit director Steve McQueen, is the leading candidate to kick off Un Certain Regard.
The source of many press reports identify ‘Blindness’ as the May 14 Cannes opener.
According to Variety, Cannes declined to comment on the rumors regarding ‘Blindness.’
More than one option Meirelles’ pic was one of the most glaring absences from the Official Selection lineup unveiled by delegate general Thierry Fremaux last Wednesday.
Fremaux’s announcement left both opening and closing film slots open.
Steve McQueen’s ‘Hunger’ appears clearer.
McQueen’s feature debut is strongly expected to open Un Certain Regard.
Reportedly powerful, but very out-there, ‘Hunger’ is an impressionistic interpretation of the last six weeks in the life of Bobby Sands, the IRA hunger striker who died in the Maze prison in 1981.
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Cannes Film Festival - 40th Directors’ Fortnight
The Cannes Film Festival’s 40th Directors’ Fortnight, announced Friday in Paris.
Twelve of the 22 films are either French pics or co-productions.
There is also a good showing from Spain and Latin America, with five films. Just one U.S. pic will be presented at the Directors’ Fortnight, “The Pleasure of Being Robbed,” which closes the section.
Like the Official Selection and Critics’ Week, the section focuses on rising talent, with a particular emphasis on European filmmaking.
Directors’ Fortnight opens with “Four Nights With Anna,” the return to filmmaking of celebrated Polish auteur Jerzy Skolimowski.
International rights on the film, Skolimowski’s first since 1991’s “30 Door Key,” have been taken by Paris-based sales company Elle Driver.
“Four Nights With Anna” chronicles one man’s voyeuristic relationship with a woman.
Shot in Poland, “Anna” stars Polish thesps Kinga Preis and Artur Steranko. Pic is produced by Paolo Branco and Skolimowski.
Since 1991, Skolimowski has dedicated his time to painting and acting, appearing as Uncle Stepan in David Cronenberg’s “Eastern Promises.”
The section bows May 15, one day after the main festival, and runs through May 25.
DIRECTORS’ FORTNIGHT
“Four Nights With Anna,” France-Poland, Jerzy Skolimowski (opener)
“The Pleasure of Being Robbed,” U.S., Josh Safdie (closer)
“Acne,” Uruguay-Spain-Argentina-Mexico, Federico Veiroj
“Aquele querido mes de agosto,” Portugal-France, Miguel Gomes
“Boogie,” Romania, Radu Muntean
“Les Bureaux de Dieu,” France, Claire Simon
“El Cant dels ocells,” Spain, Albert Serra
“De la guerre,” France, Bertrand Bonello
“Le Dernier Maquis,” France-Algeria, Rabah Ameur-Zaimeche
“Eldorado,” Belgium-France, Bouli Lanners
“Eleve libre,” Belgium-France, Joachim Lafosse
“Liverpool,” Argentina-France-Netherlands-Spain-Germany, Lisandro Alonso
“Monsieur Morimoto,” France, Nicola Sornaga
“Knitting,” China, Yin Lichuan
“Now Showing,” Philippines-France, Raya Martin
“Il Resto della notte,” Italy, Francesco Munzi
“Salamandra,” Argentina-France-Germany, Pablo Aguero
“Shultes,” Russia, Bakur Bakuradze
“Blind Loves,” Slovakia, Juraj Lehotsky
“Lonely Tune of Tehran,” Iran, Saman Salour
“Tony Manero,” Chile-Brazil, Pablo Larrain
“Le Voyage aux Pyrenees,” France, Jean-Marie Larrieu, Arnaud Larrieu
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Atom Egoyan’s ‘Adoration’ In Competition - Cannes Film Festival
Atom Egoyan’s Adoration, accepted for this year’s Cannes Film Festival, is a return to the more intimate, lower-budget kind of films he made in the past.
It marks a scaling back from his 2005 effort, ‘Where the Truth Lies‘, because it’s a very different kind of story, Egoyan told CBC Radio’s Q cultural affairs show.
“Where the Truth Lies is a lavish production that needed a much bigger budget to tell that particular story and it’s about an American celebrity. This is about a Canadian high school in Toronto and it’s very much set in locations people in this city will recognize,” Egoyan said in an interview from Toronto.
The Canadian director, whose Cannes track record includes films such as ‘The Sweet Hereafter‘, ‘Exotica‘ and ‘Ararat‘, was thrilled Wednesday after hearing ‘Adoration’ had been accepted.
“Its always an honour. It’s a really tough list to make,” he said.
“It’s an important step for me because it’s an important film for me. It’s a film that can only be made in this country right now. Unlike other movies which are funded in a byzantine, strange way, it’s very much part of this particular system. It’s a film that is really taking a number of risks and I’m really proud of it.”
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Hollywood and Cannes Film Festival
Clint Eastwood’s film “The Changeling“, starring Angelina Jolie as a woman searching for her missing son in 1920s Los Angeles and “Synechdoche, New York,” screenwriter Charlie Kaufman’s directorial debut.joins a competition list.
Steven Soderbergh, who took the top Cannes award in 1989 for “Sex, Lies and Videotape“, won a race against time to complete his four-hour epic “Che“, on the life of the revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara in time for the festival.
Steven Soderbergh’s inclusion looks like a last-minute decision. He competes with two pic ”Che” bio - “The Argentine” and “Guerrilla”
As predicted, Steven Spielberg’s “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” world preems down on the Croisette, possibly on Sunday May 18. It promises this fest’s must-attend, highest-glam event.
Thierry Fremaux, the festival’s head said the presence of Steven Spielberg and the stars of “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”, which will premiere outside the main competition, would ensure “a magnificent red carpet”.
Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett and George Lucas are expected to join Spielberg on the steps outside the Palais des Festivals, guaranteeing the kinds of flashing cameras that add essential glamour to the festival’s arthouse fare.
Out-of-competition, DreamWorks Animation’s “Kung Fu Panda,” an adventure, comedic chop-soc tooner, promises another Hollywood red-carpet cavalcade.
Also non-competing, as is Woody Allen’s custom, is the Spain-shot “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.”
After its debut at the Sundance Film Festival, the Hollywood satire “What Just Happened?” will get a second chance at Cannes - closing night, but we are not sure yet because organizers said they would announce the movies that open and close the festival in a few days.
Robert De Niro stars an embattled Hollywood producer whose life falls apart during one turbulent week. In a life-imitating-art turn, the film’s climactic scene takes place at the Cannes Film Festival, with the producer’s fictional movie-within-a-movie opening the event.
“What Just Happened?” also stars Catherine Keener as a tough-as-nails studio chief and features a number of stars, including Sean Penn and Bruce Willis, playing themselves in self-parodying roles. Barry Levinson directs from an adaptation of “Into the Wild” producer Art Linson’s memoir.
The film generated strong buzz going into January’s Sundance Film Festival, and was expected to sell for a significant seven-figure sum. But the movie received a mixed critical.
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Cannes Film Festival - Unveiled Line-Up
Unveiling the line-up for the 61st edition of the world’s biggest film festival, which runs from May 14-25, organizers said there was a feeling that “a new cycle was beginning” after the widely hailed success of last year’s event.
“It won’t have escaped you that the selection process was long, complicated and quite difficult,” Thierry Fremaux, the festival’s head, told a news conference that was delayed from an originally scheduled date last week.
IN COMPETITION:
“24 City,” China, Jia Zhangke
“Adoration,” Canada, Atom Egoyan
“Changeling,” U.S., Clint Eastwood
“Che” (”The Argentine,” “Guerrilla,”) Spain, Steven Soderbergh
“Un Conte de noel,” France, Arnaud Desplechin
“Üc Maymun (Three Monkeys),” Turkey, Nuri Bilge Ceylan
“Delta,” Germany-Hungary, Kornel Mundruczo
“Il Divo,” Paolo Sorrentino, Italy
“Gomorra,” Italy, Matteo Garrone
“La Frontiere de l’aube,” France, Philippe Garrel
“Leonera,” Argentina-South Korea, Pablo Trapero
“Linha de Passe,” Brazil, Walter Salles, Daniela Thomas
“La Mujer sin cabeza,” Argentina, Lucrecia Martel
“My Magic,” Singapore, Eric Khoo
“The Palermo Shooting,” Germany, Wim Wenders
“Serbis,” Philippines, Brillante Mendoza
“The Silence of Lorna,” U.K.-France, Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
“Synecdoche, New York,” U.S., Charlie Kaufman
“Waltz With Bashir,” Israel, Ari Folman
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Scarlett Johansson and Penelope Cruz at 61th Cannes Film Festival
It’s been confirmed that Scarlett Johansson and Penelope Cruz will attend the Cannes Film Festival to support director Woody Allen’s new film “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” which will not be in competition.
Vicky and Cristina, two young American girls, go to spend the summer in Barcelona. Vicky (Rebecca Hall) is straight-laced and about to be married.
Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) is a free-spirit and very sexually adventurous. They meet a flamboyant, Spanish artist (Javier Bardem) and his beautiful but insane ex-wife (Penelope Cruz).
They all become involved in romantic adventures that are either hilarious or harrowing, depending on your point of view.
Scarlett also glammed up the Cannes carpets with Allen in 2005 for “Match Point,” the suspense thriller that started their ongoing film collaboration.
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Cannes Film Festival - L’Atelier 2008
The Atelier is one of three Cinefondation initiatives aimed at spotlighting and accelerating the careers of up-and-coming cineastes. Since 1998, the Cinefondation has organized a selection of film school works that are presented to a jury of five filmmakers and actors, who award a prize to the best three. Launched in 2000, the Cinefondation Residence du Festival welcomes 12 filmmakers per year and arranges mentoring for the writing and production of their features.
The Festival launched L’Atelier in 2005 in order to assist directors with financing and completion of their projects.For its fourth edition, the Atelier of the Cinefondation selected 15 projects from 14 countries. The selection 2008 brings together directors who have already directed one or several features and present the project of their future films such as Ilmar Raag, Benedek Fliegauf, Lee Isaac Chung, Oleg Novkovic, or Lou Ye; as well as young directors whose short films have been noted in many festivals, such as Ruben Mendoza, Nadav Lapid, Arvin Chen, Phan Dang Di, or Abdi Ismael Jama.
Alongside the producer(s) of their films, each director will meet in Cannes from May 16th to May 23rd film industry professionals during the course of meetings that are presently being organized.
THE PROJECTS
Australia - Cure For Serpents by Ben Hackworth (2nd feature film)
China - Bitch by Lou Ye (6th feature film)
Colombia - The Stoplight Society by Ruben Mendoza (1st feature film)
Estonia - One More Croissant by Ilmar Raag (2nd feature film)
USA - Here by Braden King (1st feature film)
USA - Lucky Life by Lee Isaac Chung (2nd feature film)
France - Qu’un seul tienne, et les autres suivront by Léa Fehner (1st feature film)
Hungary - Womb by Benedek Fliegauf (3rd feature film)
Israel - The Policeman by Nadav Lapid (1st feature film)
Romania - First of all, Felicia bby Razvan Radulescu & Melissa De Raaf (1st feature film)
Serbia - White, White World by Oleg Novkovic (4th feature film)
Somalia - Queleh by Abdi Ismael Jama (1st feature film)
Taiwan / USA - First page Taipei by Arvin Chen (1st feature film)
Uruguay - Punta del Este by Juan Pittaluga (2nd feature film)
Vietnam - Bi, don’t be afraid by Phan Dang Di (1st feature film)
Lou Ye’s “Bitch,” Oleg Novkovic’s “White, White World” and Benedek Fliegauf’s “Womb” are among 15 projects from 14 countries selected for the Cannes Film Festival’s fourth Atelier pic focus.
The directors and producers of the pics will be invited to the May fest to meet producers and buyers who can further financing or distribution of the projects.
Lou broke through to fame with “Suzhou River.” “Bitch,” his sixth feature, is an adaptation of a Chinese novel about a love affair between a Chinese university student studying in Paris and a Frenchman. It will shoot in Paris.”White, White World,” the fourth feature from Serbia’s Novkovic, chronicles a love story in a no-future mining town.
“Womb,” from Fliegauf, one of Hungary’s top young directors, is his follow-up to “Milky Way,” which won the Golden Leopard last year at Locarno.
Other projects centering on social issues include “The Stoplight Society,” from Colombia’s Ruben Mendoza; Israeli Nadav Lapid’s “The Policeman”; love-cum-persecution drama “Queleh,” from Somalia’s Abdi Ismael Jama; and “Punta del Este,” about the rich-poor divide, from Uruguay’s Juan Pittaluga. Ilmar Raag comes to Cannes with “One More Croissant,” which centers on the relationship between an old woman and her young Estonian immigrant caregiver. Raag won a special mention with his debut, “The Class,” for the East of West award at the Karlovy Vary fest.
The Atelier selection also includes Australian Ben Hackworth’s “Cure for Serpents”; two U.S. projects, “Here,” from Braden King, and Lee Isaac Chung’s second feature, “Lucky Life”; “First of All, Felicia,” a directorial two-hander from Romania’s Razvan Radulescu and Melissa De Raaf; “Qu’un seul tienne, et les autres suivront,” from France’s Lea Fehner; Arvin Chen’s Taiwan/U.S. project “First Page Tapei”; and “Bi, Don’t Be Afraid,” from Vietnam’s Phan Dang Di.
Atelier projects have a high rate of success in pulling down completion financing.
According to Cinefondation director Georges Goldenstern, 60% of projects presented last year are completed and the rest are in pre-production.
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