Cannes Film Festival

Swiss filmmaker Ursula Meier will head this year’s Caméra d’or Jury of the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, and along with six fellow-professionals, will select the best first film presented in the Official Selection, the Semaine de la Critique and the Directors’ Fortnight. Ursula Meier is a filmmaker who questions the very need to film. This undoubtedly explains her compact and exciting filmography, which includes 5 short films, 2 works for television, 2 documentaries and 2 feature films for cinema. Inventive strokes of brilliance, each of them has been upsetting the apple cart with a fresh take and establishing her definitively on the European scene. Since 1994, Ursula Meier has compiled a bold cinematography that emphasises the complexity of the world. An unconditional admirer of Wanda (Barbara Loden) and Sweetie (Jane Campion), Meier decided to take up directing after discovering Money (Robert Bresson). She then became assistant director to a major figure in Swiss cinema, Alain Tanner, with Fourbi (1996). She who claims to be fascinated by the notion of no man’s land has built her imagination there, and manages to reach out to buried areas of human nature, filming with tenderness, without pathos or judgment, characters who are guided by a powerful survival instinct. In 2014, she participated in the film Bridges of Sarajevo, a collective work by 13 European filmmakers, presented at Cannes in the Official Selection. Her films for cinema – Home (2008) and Sister (2012, winner of the Silver Bear at the Berlinale) – are internationally acclaimed for their original angle and writing. Radical and poetic, the first is a fable shot with pale light and warm photography. The second is a modern tale in the form of a sober and poignant family chronicle. “A first film,” says the newly appointed President, “is the place of all possibilities, of all audacity, of all risk-taking, of all madness. It is often said that you should not put everything into a first film but the opposite is true, you should put in exactly that – everything – just as you should put everything into every film while always preserving deep within yourself that original, vital, brutal, wild desire of the first time. What immense excitement and joy to discover all these films!”

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French filmmaker Bertrand Bonello will chair the Cinéfondation and Short Films Jury of the 71st edition of the Festival de Cannes taking place May 8 to 19, 2018.  Bonello will succeed Romanian director Cristian Mungiu. From his very first film (Something Organic, 1998) to Nocturama (2016), Bertrand Bonello has occupied a unique place in the cinematographic landscape. His filmography includes seven feature films and eight short films, all of them highly distinctive. Since 2003, his films have been screened in Competition at the Festival de Cannes: Tiresia (2003), House of Tolerance (2011) and Saint Laurent (2014). Whether in his portrait of a Brazilian transsexual, the refined but frosty everyday life of a brothel at the close of the nineteenth century, or a virtuoso biopic about creation and the pain it causes, sexual identity and the relationship to the body haunt his work. In his exploration of the troubled margins of our thoughts and desires, Bertrand Bonello ceaselessly questions the boundaries of reality. Trained as a classical musician, this self-taught artisan works in music and cinema, sound and images, writes the script and composes the music for all his films. His critically acclaimed works reveal an acute mastery of audacity and aesthetics. Preferring perception over traditional narrative, long shots that emphasise the sensoriality of imagery, his worlds conjure up visual and sound experiences that break free of all limits. An admirer of Bresson, Pasolini and Jarmusch, fan of the Godfather and eXistenZ, Bonello seems to gravitate instinctively towards recurrent obsessions. Bertrand Bonello: “What do we expect from young people, unknown filmmakers and early films? Let them shake us up, let them make us look at what we’re unable to see, let them enjoy the freedom, the sharpness, the recklessness and the daring that we sometimes no longer possess. The Cinéfondation has been working for 20 years to make these voices heard and I’m extremely proud this year to be able to accompany them.” For his part, Gilles Jacob says of Bonello: “This year will be presided by one of the greatest contemporary directors, an iconoclastic and unique artist. And besides his art, his genuine humanity continues to shine to this day.”

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Actress Cate Blanchett will be the President of the Jury of the 71st edition of the Cannes Film Festival taking place May 8th to 19th, 2018. “I have been to Cannes in many guises over the years; as an actress, producer, in the marketplace, the Gala-sphere and in Competition,” she declared, “but never solely for the sheer pleasure of watching the cornucopia of films this great festival harbours.”v Cate Blanchett follows Pedro Almodóvar, Jury President of the 70th edition, whose jury awarded the Palme d’or to The Square by Swedish director Ruben Östlund. “I am humbled by the privilege and responsibility of presiding over this year’s jury,” she continued. “This festival plays a pivotal role in bringing the world together to celebrate story; that strange and vital endeavour that all peoples share, understand and crave.” Pierre Lescure, Festival de Cannes President and Thierry Frémaux, General Delegate, said: “We are delighted to welcome such a rare and unique artist whose talent and convictions enrich both screen and stage. Our conversations from this autumn tell us she will be a committed President, a passionate woman and a big-hearted spectator.” Cate Blanchett will next appear in Ocean’s 8; the highly-anticipated film adaptation of Maria Semple’s Where’d You Go Bernadette, directed by Richard Linklater; and in The House with a Clock in its Walls, directed by Eli Roth.

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The 71st Cannes Film Festival will take place from Tuesday, May 8th to Saturday, May 19th, 2018. It will start one day earlier than in previous years, but will run for exactly the same length of time. The opening will therefore take place on the evening of Tuesday, May 8th and the awards ceremony will be on Saturday, May 19th. “Following 2017’s anniversary edition, the Festival is beginning a new period in its history,” says Festival President Pierre Lescure. “We intend to renew the principles of our organization as much as possible, while continuing to question the cinema of our age and to be present through its upheavals.” In its announcement the festival notes that the new schedule will allow it to rebalance the two weeks of the event and to bring new energy to the proceedings.  Starting on a Tuesday is expected to allow the festival to hold an additional gala evening before the Festival weekend and to organize previews of the opening film throughout France. Finally, bringing forward the announcement of awards by one day, to Saturday evening, will increase its prestige, while at the same time giving the closing film better exposure.

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[caption id="attachment_22455" align="aligncenter" width="1000"] (Lerd) A Man Of Integrity[/caption] A Man Of Integrity (LERD) by Mohammad Rasoul of Iran, is the winner of the Un Certain Regard prize at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival. Un Certain Regard 2017 presented in competition 18 films hailing from 22 different countries. 6 of the works were first films. The Opening film was Barbara by Mathieu Amalric. Under the presidency of Uma Thurman (actress – United States), the Jury was comprised of Mohamed Diab (director – Egypt), Reda Kateb (actor – France), Joachim Lafosse (director – Belgium) and Karel Och (artistic director of the Karlovy Vary Film Festival – Czech Republic). The Jury commented “We feel enormous gratitude to have had the honor of serving on the Jury for this historic 70th anniversary of the Festival de Cannes. We are proud to present an esthetically diverse and beautiful awards list for Un Certain Regard.“ “UN CERTAIN REGARD” PRIZE LERD (A MAN OF INTEGRITY) by Mohammad Rasoulof Reza (35), having distanced himself from the ur- ban quagmire, leads a simple life along with his wife and sole son, somewhere in a remote village in Northern Iran. He spends his days working in his gold fish farm. Nearby, a private company with close links to the government and local authori- ties, has taken control of nearly every aspect of the regional life. Its shareholders, accumulating wealth, power and economic rents, have been pushing local farmers and small owners to dilap- idate their belongings, farms and estates, to the benefit of the Company’s influential net- work and its monopoly. It is under their pressure that many villagers have them- selves become local rings of the larger network of corruption. PRIZE FOR BEST ACTRESS JASMINE TRINCA for FORTUNATA by Sergio Castellitto Fortunata has a difficult life, a daughter of eight and a failed marriage behind her. She works as a hairdresser in people’s houses, leaving from the outskirts to cross the city, going to the homes of the well-off to do women’s hair. Fortunata fights every day with determination to achieve her dream: opening her own salon and challenging fate, in an attempt at emancipating herself and gaining her independence and the right to some happiness. She knows that to achieve her dreams she has to be firm: she has thought of everything, she is ready for anything, but she had not considered the variable of love, the one subversive force capable of sweeping aside every certainty. Also because, perhaps for the first time, someone looks at her as the woman she is and truly loves her. PRIZE FOR THE BEST POETIC NARRATIVE BARBARA de Mathieu Amalric An actress, Brigitte, is playing Barbara in a film that soon begins shooting. Brigitte works on her character, her voice, the songs and scores, the imitation of her gestures, her knitting, the lines to learn. Things move along. The character grows inside her. Invades her, even… Yves, the director, is also working – via encounters, archival footage, the music. He seems inhabited and inspired by her… But by whom? The actress or Barbara? PRIZE FOR BEST DIRECTION Taylor Sheridan for WIND RIVER WIND RIVER is a chilling thriller that follows a rookie FBI agent who teams up with a local game tracker with deep community ties and a haunted past to investigate the murder of a local girl on a remote Native American Reservation in the hopes of solving the mysterious death. Written and directed by Taylor Sheridan, WIND RIVER also stars Gil Birmingham, Jon Bernthal, Julia Jones, Kelsey Asbille, and James Jordan. JURY PRIZE LAS HIJAS DE ABRIL (APRIL’S DAUGHTER) by Michel Franco Valeria is 17 and pregnant. She lives in Puerto Vallarta with Clara, her half-sister. Valeria has not wanted her long-absent mother, April, to find out about her pregnancy, but due to the economic strain and the overwhelming responsibility of having a baby in the house, Clara decides to call their mother. April arrives, willing to help her daughters, but soon it will be clear why Valeria had kept her away.

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Paul Is Here directed by Valentina Maurel of INSAS, Belgium is the First Prize winner of the 2017 Cinéfondation at the Cannes Film Festival. The Cinéfondation and Short Films Jury headed by Cristian Mungiu and including Clotilde Hesme, Athina Rachel Tsangari, Barry Jenkins and Eric Khoo, awarded the 2017 Cinéfondation Prizes during a ceremony held in the Buñuel Theatre, followed by the screening of the winning films. The Cinéfondation Selection consisted of 16 student films, chosen out of 2,600 entries coming from 626 film schools around the world. First Prize Paul Is Here (PAUL EST LÀ) directed by Valentina Maurel INSAS, Belgium Second Prize Animal (HEYVAN) directed by Bahram & Bahman Ark Iranian National School of Cinema, Iran Third Prize Two Youths Died (DEUX ÉGARÉS SONT MORTS) directed by Tommaso Usberti La Fémis, France The Cinéfondation allocates a €15,000 grant for the First Prize, €11,250 for the Second and €7,500 for the Third. The winner of the First Prize is also guaranteed the presentation of his/her first feature film at the Festival de Cannes.

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[caption id="attachment_22167" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Le Salaire de la peur (The Wages of Fear) by Henri-Georges Clouzot[/caption] Almost fifteen years after the Cannes Film Festival created Cannes Classics program, the lineup for this year’s Cannes Classics 2017 will be dedicated for its most part to the history of the Festival. Cannes Classics showcases vintage films and masterpieces of the history of cinema in restored prints. The program of the 2017 edition of Cannes Classics consists of twenty-four screenings, one short film and five documentaries. The films are screened as wanted by the right-holders, in DCP 2K or DCP 4K, and L’Atalante by Jean Vigo that Gaumont wished to screen in 35mm. The films selected for this 2017 edition will focus mostly on the history of Cannes. They come from nations that have allowed the Cannes Film Festival to become a land of cinematographic discoveries: Hungary, Lebanon, Serbia, United Kingdom, Italy, United States, Israel, Mauritania, Niger, Poland, Switzerland, Japan, Spain, the Netherlands, Canada, Belgium and Australia.

A brief history of the Cannes Film Festival

From 1946 to 1992, from René Clément to Victor Erice, sixteen history-making films of the Festival de Cannes 1946: La Bataille du Rail (Battle of the Rails) by René Clément (1h25, France): Grand Prix International de la mise en scène and Prix du Jury International. Presented by Ina. Film digitized and restored by Ina with the support of the CNC. 2K restoration made from an acetate interpositive and an answer print. Technical means: Jean-Pierre Peltier. Coordination: Bénilde Da Ponte, Brice Amouroux. 1953: Le Salaire de la peur (The Wages of Fear) by Henri-Georges Clouzot (1952, 2h33, France, Italy): Grand Prix. Presented by TF1 Studio in collaboration with la Cinémathèque française and the support of the CNC, of the Archives audiovisuelles de Monaco, of Kodak and the CGR cinémas. 4K Restoration from nitrate image negative and a sound duplicate made by Hiventy. Please note that this presentation is the preview of a major Clouzot event scheduled in France in the fall of 2017. 1956: Körhinta (Merry-Go-Round/Un Petit carrousel de fête) by Zoltán Fábri (1955, 1h30, Hungary): in Competition. Presented by the Hungarian National Film Fund – Hungarian National Film Archive. A 4K Scan and Digital Restoration from the original 35mm image & sound negatives plus additional materials: the original dupe positive and another film positive. Restoration made by the Hungarian National Film Fund – Hungarian Filmlab. 1957: Ila Ayn? (Vers l’inconnu ?) by Georges Nasser (1h30, Lebanon): in Competition. Presented by Abbout Productions and Fondation Liban Cinema. With the generous support of Bankmed – Lebanon. The original 35mm Fine Grain Master Positive was scanned in 4k, retouched and color-corrected in a resolution of 2K. All works were carried out by Neyrac Films – France. Sound restoration by db Studios – Lebanon. In collaboration with The Talkies. World Sales: Nadi Lekol Nas. 1967: Skupljači Perja (I Even Met Happy Gypsies/J’ai même rencontré des Tziganes heureux) by Aleksandar Petrović (1h22, Serbia): in Competition, Grand Prix Spécial du Jury ex-æquo, Prix de la Critique Internationale – FIPRESCI ex-aequo Presented by Jugoslovenska Kinoteka/The Yugoslav Film Archive and Malavida. New 35mm print from the original negative in perfect shape then scanned in 2K and cleaned up. 1967: Blow-up by Michelangelo Antonioni (1966, 1h51, United Kingdom, Italy, United States of America): Grand Prix International du Festival. Presented by Criterion, Cineteca di Bologna and Istituto Luce – Cinecittà, in collaboration with Warner Bros and Park Circus. Restoration work carried out at Criterion, New York and L’Immagine Ritrovata, Bologna under the supervision of Director of Photography Luca Bigazzi. 1969: Matzor (Siege/Siège) by Gilberto Tofano (1h29, Israel): in Competition. A presentation of the Jerusalem Cinematheque – Israel Film Archive, in partnership with United King Films and the support of the Rabinovich Foundation. The original 35mm black and white negatives were scanned in 4K by Cinelab Romania. It was digitally restored and finalized in 2K by Opus Digital Lab in Tel Aviv. Restoration and color grading lead by Ido Karilla, supervised by DOP David Gurfinkel. 1970: Soleil O (Oh, Sun) by Med Hondo (1h38, Mauritania-France): Semaine de la critique. Presented by The Film Foundation. Restored by Cineteca di Bologna at L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory in collaboration with Med Hondo. Restoration funded by the George Lucas Family Foundation and The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project. 1976: Babatu, les trois conseils by Jean Rouch (1h33, Nigeria-France): in Competition. Pressented by the CNC, Inoussa Ousseini, the Comité du film ethnographique and the Fondation Jean Rouch. Digital restoration made from the 2K digitization of the 16mm negatives. Restoration carried out by L21. 1976: Ai no korîda (In the Realm of the Senses/L’Empire des sens) de Nagisa Oshima (1h43, France-Japan): Quinzaine des Réalisateurs. Presented by Argos Films and TAMASA. Digization and 4K resoration from the original negative by Eclair. Sound restoration from the original magnetic sound by L.E. Diapason. The film will be released in French theaters. 1980: All that Jazz (Que le spectacle commence) by Bob Fosse (1979, 2h03, United States of America): Palme d’or ex-æquo. Presented by Park Circus. 4K restoration by Twentieth Century Fox and the Academy Film Archive in collaboration with The Film Foundation. The restoration was produced from the original camera negative at Sony Colorworks in Culver City California. 1981: Człowiek z żelaza (Man of Iron/L’Homme de fer) by Andrzej Wajda (2h33, Poland): Palme d’or. A presentation of the ZEBRA Film Studio (Studio Filmowe ZEBRA) with the collaboration of the Polish Film Institute. 2K film restoration from original colour 35 mm negative. Restored sound from original magnetic tape. Restoration lead by Daniel Pietrzyk, colour grading lead by Aleksandra Kraus, at Yakumama Film, Warsaw. Sound restoration lead by Tomasz Dukszta. Artistic supervision by: Andrzej Wajda (director), Jerzy Łukaszewicz (DOP), Piotr Zawadzki (sound). 1982: Yol – The Full Version (The Way/La Permission) by Yilmaz Güney, directed by Serif Gören (1h53, Switzerland): Palme d’or ex-æquo, Prix de la Critique Internationale – FIPRESCI Presented by DFK FILMS LTD. Zürich. Restoration from the original 35mm negative, from the interpositive and the positive print. Restoration and new sound mix from the original digitized tapes. International Sales: The Match Factory. 1983: Narayama Bushikō (Ballad of Narayama/La Ballade de Narayama) by Shôhei Imamura (2h13, Japan): Palme d’or. Presented by Toei. 4K Scan, image restoration ARRISCAN and sound Golden Eye in 2K from the 35mm original negative, a duplicate and video tapes. 1992: El sol del membrillo (Le Songe de la lumière) by Victor Erice (2h20, Spain): Prix du Jury ex-æquo, Prix de la Critique Internationale – FIPRESCI Presented by the Filmoteca de Catalunya and Camm Cinco SL. 6K scan, restoration and color-grading from the 35mm negatives and other original video tapes. Digitazing and sound restoration from 35mm magnetic tapes. Technical support made by the Filmoteca de Catalunya, supervised by Victor Erice. Variations on the initial editing brought by the director. 1951-1999: A short history of short films presented by the Festival de Cannes. A program curated by Christian Jeune and Jacques Kermabon. Spiegel van Holland (Miroirs de Hollande) by Bert Haanstra (1951, 10mn, The Netherlands) / La Seine a rencontré Paris by Joris Ivens (1958, 32mn, France) / Pas de deux by Norman McLaren (1968, 13mn, Canada) / Harpya by Raoul Servais (1979, 9mn, Belgium) / Peel by Jane Campion (1986, 9mn, Australia) / L’Interview by Xavier Giannoli (1998, 15mn, France) / When the Day Breaks by Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby (1999, 10mn, Canada)

Other events, other restored prints, other guests

Madame de… by Max Ophüls (1953, 1h45, France) A Gaumont restoration. A show to pay a tribute to Danielle Darrieux for her birthday and presented by Dominique Besnehard, Pierre Murat and Henri-Jean Servat who will screen the latest filmed interview of Danielle Darrieux. L’Atalante by Jean Vigo (1934, 1h28, France), restored 35mm print Presented by Gaumont, la Cinémathèque française and The Film Foundation of Martin Scorsese. First digital restoration in 4k and conversion to a 35mm print. A new discovery of the closest version of the director’s work thanks to Gaumont, Luce Vigo and historian Bernard Eisenschitz. Restoration carried out at L’Image Retrouvée laboratory in Bologna and Paris. Native Son (Sang noir) by Pierre Chenal (1951, 1h47, Argentina) A presentation by Argentina Sono Film. Restoration with the collaboration of the Library of Congress. Paparazzi by Jacques Rozier (1963, 18mn, France) Presented by Jacques Rozier and la Cinémathèque française. 4K Digitization and 2K restoration works made from image and sound negatives at Hiventy laboratory, with the support of the CNC and in collaboration with Les Archives Audiovisuelles de Monaco, la Cinémathèque Suisse and Extérieur nuit. The film will be introduced by Jacques Rozier. Belle de jour (Beauty of the Day) by Luis Buñuel (1967, 1h40, France) Presented by STUDIOCANAL. Digitization from the original negative and 4K restoration carried out by Hiventy laboratory for STUDIOCANAL with the support of the CNC, of la Cinémathèque française, of the Fonds Culturel Franco-Américain and the Maison YVES SAINT LAURENT. French theater distribution: Carlotta. A River Runs Through it (Et au milieu coule une rivière) by Robert Redford (1992, 2h04, United States of America) Presented by Pathé. 4K Scan and 4K restoration from original image and sound 35mm negatives. Restoration carried out by Pathé at Technicolor France laboratory for the image in collaboration with Philippe Rousselot, cinematographer of the film, and L.E. Diapason for the sound restoration. Lucía by Humberto Solas (1968, 2h40, Cuba) A presentation of the Film Foundation. Restored by Cineteca di Bologna at L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory in association with Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográficos (ICAIC). Restoration funded by Turner Classic Movies and The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project.

Documentaries about Cinema

The history of cinema by cinema itself, a presentation of five documentaries La belge histoire du festival de Cannes (The Belgian’s Road to Cannes) by Henri de Gerlache (2017, 1h02, Belgium) Presented by Alizé Production. Produced by Alizé Production, co-produced by RTBF (Belgian television) & Proximus. A joyful road movie to discover the Belgian cinema which has been at Cannes for 70 years. The filmmakers of yesterday are talking with those of today to paint a picture of a free and heterogeneous cinema. A “Belgian story” of the biggest festival in the world. David Stratton – A Cinematic Life by Sally Aitken (2017, 1h37, Australia) Presented by Stranger Than Fiction Films. Produced by Stranger Than Fiction Films, with Screen Australia, ABC TV Arts, Screen NSW and Adelaide Film Festival. An love adventure of film critic David Stratton with his adopted country, Australia, which led him to understand himself. It is also the glorious history of Australian cinema and its creators told by this Cannes-regular film-lover interested in the world. Filmworker by Tony Zierra (2017, 1h29, United States of America) Presented and produced by True Studio Cinema. Young actor Leon Vitali abandoned his prosperous career after Barry Lyndon to become the faithful right hand of director Stanley Kubrick. For more than two decades, Leon has played a crucial role behind the scenes by helping Kubrick. A complex and interdependent relationship between Leon and Kubrick based on devotion, sacrifice and the harsh and joyful reality of creative process. Becoming Cary Grant (Cary Grant – de l’autre côté du miroir) by Mark Kidel (2017, 1h25, France) Presented by ARTE France and Showtime Documentary Films. Produced by YUZU Productions, coproduced by ARTE France, in association with ro*co films productions. Cary Grant is one of the biggest Hollywood actors. In his fifties, he started a cure of LSD to free himself from his demons. For the first time, with his words, he retraces his journey. The story of a man in search of himself and the love he did not find in his life. The words of Cary Grant are interpreted by Jonathan Pryce. Jean Douchet, l’enfant agité by Fabien Hagège, Guillaume Namur, Vincent Haasser (2017, 1h30, France) Presented and produced by Carlotta and Kidam. Three young cinephiles follow Jean Douchet, question his friends and former students. This documentary reveals the man and his critical philosophy, a part of the history of the Cahiers du Cinéma and this Art of loving to which he has devoted his existence.

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