VIRUS – Angelos Frantzis)[/caption]
5 Greek “works in progress” films have been selected by the Thessaloniki International Film Festival to participate in the “Thessaloniki Goes to Cannes” event which will take place on Tuesday, May 23rd, during the Marché du Film of the 70th Cannes Film Festival (May 17 – 28, 2017).
The participation of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival’s Agora Industry in the “Goes to Cannes” of this year’s edition of Cannes’ Marché du Film, one of the world’s largest film markets discovering up-and-coming directors from all over the world, is collaboration between the TIFF and the Greek Film Centre with the Festival de Cannes. Greece is the only country in Southeastern Europe and the Balkans that participates in the event.
The 5 Works in Progress (both fiction and documentary) that will be presented to the sales agents, distributors and programmers who attend this year’s Cannes’ Marché du Film are the following:
1. HAPPY BIRTHDAY (Fiction, 85’, 2017 – Greece, France, Cyprus, Germany)
Director-Writer: Christos Georgiou
Production Company: View Master Films, Twenty Twenty Vision Filmproduktion GmbH, Manny Films, Lychnari Productions Limited, Pallas Film, Producer: Costas Lambropoulos, Thanassis Karathanos, Co-producers: Birgit Kemner, Christos Georgiou, Martin Hampel, Language: Greek, Key partners: Greek Film Center, Centre National du Cinéma et de l’Image Animeé, Cultural Services – Ministry of Education and Culture of Cyprus (Advisory Film Committee), Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung, FFA – German Federal Film Board, ERT and Eurimages – Council of Europe
Stage: Almost completed
Looking for: Sales agent, distributors, festivals
Synopsis: When George runs out of the police riot bus and sees his daughter among the demonstrators facing him, he and his wife decide that father and daughter should go to their country home for a few days, to keep her safe and see if they can salvage their relationship.
2. POLYXENI (Fiction, 100’, 2017 – Greece)
Director-Writer: Dora Masklavanou
Production Company: Blonde S.A., Producer: Fenia Cossovitsa, Languages: Greek, Turkish, Key partners: Greek Film Centre, ERT S.A., Nova
Stage: Post-production
Looking for: Sales agent, festivals
Synopsis: In 1955 a couple of prominent Greek Istanbulites adopt an orphan Greek girl from the town of their origin. They offer her a powerful family name and ensure her devotion. Twelve-year-old Polyxeni is separated from her younger brother. She embarks on a new life and a future that looks bright. She receives an education, comes of age and falls in love. She has a lust for life, while unsuspicious of the devious plan of annihilation that others are weaving behind her back, targeting her large inheritance.
3. VIRUS (Fiction, 120’, 2017 – Greece, France, Latvia)
Director: Angelos Frantzis, Writers: Angelos Frantzis, Spyros Krimbalis
The film won the 2|35 award for post-production services at the Agora Industry’s Crossroads
Co-production Forum of the 52nd Thessaloniki IFF.
Production Company: Heretic, Producers: Giorgos Karnavas, Konstantinos Kontovrakis, Co-producer: Mathieu Bompoint (Mezzanine Films), Languages: Greek, English, Russian, Key partners: Greek Film Centre, ERT S.A., CNC, Latvian National Film Centre, Blonde S.A., Alatas Films, 235
Stage: Post-production
Looking for: Gap financing, sales agent, distributors, festivals
Synopsis: Anna and Petros are a young Greek couple that moved recently to a remote Siberian town for Petros’ new job. Their lives are disrupted by Anna’s pregnancy that seems to have no explanation, as they haven’t had sex since they moved to Russia. The questions raised by the mysterious event are relentless; was she cheating? Is she the victim of a conspiracy? Or maybe a Saint? As Petros is desperately looking for a rational answer and Anna resorts to religion to make sense of her situation, two opposing worlds, faith and reason, come to a violent clash.
4. DOLPHIN MAN (Documentary, 87’, 2017 – Greece, France, Canada, Japan, Italy)
Director: Lefteris Charitos, Writers: Yuri Averof, Lefteris Charitos
Production Company: Anemon Productions, Les Films Du Balibari, Storyline Entertainment, Impleo, Producers: Rea Apostolides, Yuri Averof, Estelle Robin, Ed Barreveld, Seiko Kato, Languages: English, Greek, French, Japanese, Italian, Key partners: Arte, CNC, Greek Film Centre, WOWOW, ERT, Knowledge, TVO, Canal Z, SVT, Region Pays de la Loire, World Sales: Films Transit
Stage: Post-production
Looking for: Final funding, theatrical distribution partners
Synopsis: Dolphin Man tells the life story of Jacques Mayol, the greatest free-diver in recorded history, whose life became the inspiration for Luc Besson’s cult-movie Le Grand Bleu. It draws us into Mayol’s world, capturing his compelling journey from Japan to Europe, North America and India, while immersing viewers into the sensory and transformative experience of free-diving. Mayol was the first diver to reach 100 meters below the sea and revolutionized free-diving by introducing yoga and Zen techniques. He traveled across the world, promoting an urgent vision of our need to reconnect with nature. The film weaves together stunning contemporary underwater photography of the world’s leading free-divers with intimate testimonies of Mayol’s closest friends and family and rare film archive.
5. LP (ΛΠ) (Documentary, 70’, 2017 – Greece)
Director-Writer: Cristo Petrou
Production Company: Heretic, Producer: Giorgos Karnavas, Languages: Greek, English, Key partners: Greek Film Center, ERT S.A., World Sales: Heretic Outreach
Stage: Editing
Looking for: Finishing funding, festival premiere
Synopsis: ΛΠ is a documentary about Lena Platonos, one of Greece’s most idiosyncratic musicians and one of the world’s forerunners in electronic music. Born on 10.21.1951 under the sign of Libra, she was trained as a classical pianist in Vienna and Berlin but eventually got involved with electronic music when synthesizers became accessible to musicians. However, Lena didn’t receive the international recognition she deserved. 30 years later, the release of her works by the American label Dark Entries in 2015 under critical acclaim gave us the perfect excuse to ask musicians from a wide range of contemporary music to experiment with her music, while interviewing her and all the people who were involved in the making of her records in the ’80s.Cannes Film Festival
The international Festival de Cannes is one of the world’s most widely publicized events and certainly the most important film festival in terms of worldwide impact. “In order to achieve this level of longevity, the Festival de Cannes has remained faithful to its founding purpose: to draw attention to and raise the profile of films, with the aim of contributing towards the development of cinema, boosting the film industry worldwide and celebrating cinema at an international level. And to this day, this profession of faith constitutes the first article of the Festival regulations.
” -Thierry Frémaux, General Delegate
Cannes Film Festival (Festival de Cannes) started in 1946 and takes place in Cannes, France, Europe
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Thessaloniki Takes 5 Greek “Works In Progress” Films to Marché du Film of Cannes Film Festival
[caption id="attachment_21864" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] VIRUS – Angelos Frantzis)[/caption]
5 Greek “works in progress” films have been selected by the Thessaloniki International Film Festival to participate in the “Thessaloniki Goes to Cannes” event which will take place on Tuesday, May 23rd, during the Marché du Film of the 70th Cannes Film Festival (May 17 – 28, 2017).
The participation of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival’s Agora Industry in the “Goes to Cannes” of this year’s edition of Cannes’ Marché du Film, one of the world’s largest film markets discovering up-and-coming directors from all over the world, is collaboration between the TIFF and the Greek Film Centre with the Festival de Cannes. Greece is the only country in Southeastern Europe and the Balkans that participates in the event.
The 5 Works in Progress (both fiction and documentary) that will be presented to the sales agents, distributors and programmers who attend this year’s Cannes’ Marché du Film are the following:
1. HAPPY BIRTHDAY (Fiction, 85’, 2017 – Greece, France, Cyprus, Germany)
Director-Writer: Christos Georgiou
Production Company: View Master Films, Twenty Twenty Vision Filmproduktion GmbH, Manny Films, Lychnari Productions Limited, Pallas Film, Producer: Costas Lambropoulos, Thanassis Karathanos, Co-producers: Birgit Kemner, Christos Georgiou, Martin Hampel, Language: Greek, Key partners: Greek Film Center, Centre National du Cinéma et de l’Image Animeé, Cultural Services – Ministry of Education and Culture of Cyprus (Advisory Film Committee), Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung, FFA – German Federal Film Board, ERT and Eurimages – Council of Europe
Stage: Almost completed
Looking for: Sales agent, distributors, festivals
Synopsis: When George runs out of the police riot bus and sees his daughter among the demonstrators facing him, he and his wife decide that father and daughter should go to their country home for a few days, to keep her safe and see if they can salvage their relationship.
2. POLYXENI (Fiction, 100’, 2017 – Greece)
Director-Writer: Dora Masklavanou
Production Company: Blonde S.A., Producer: Fenia Cossovitsa, Languages: Greek, Turkish, Key partners: Greek Film Centre, ERT S.A., Nova
Stage: Post-production
Looking for: Sales agent, festivals
Synopsis: In 1955 a couple of prominent Greek Istanbulites adopt an orphan Greek girl from the town of their origin. They offer her a powerful family name and ensure her devotion. Twelve-year-old Polyxeni is separated from her younger brother. She embarks on a new life and a future that looks bright. She receives an education, comes of age and falls in love. She has a lust for life, while unsuspicious of the devious plan of annihilation that others are weaving behind her back, targeting her large inheritance.
3. VIRUS (Fiction, 120’, 2017 – Greece, France, Latvia)
Director: Angelos Frantzis, Writers: Angelos Frantzis, Spyros Krimbalis
The film won the 2|35 award for post-production services at the Agora Industry’s Crossroads
Co-production Forum of the 52nd Thessaloniki IFF.
Production Company: Heretic, Producers: Giorgos Karnavas, Konstantinos Kontovrakis, Co-producer: Mathieu Bompoint (Mezzanine Films), Languages: Greek, English, Russian, Key partners: Greek Film Centre, ERT S.A., CNC, Latvian National Film Centre, Blonde S.A., Alatas Films, 235
Stage: Post-production
Looking for: Gap financing, sales agent, distributors, festivals
Synopsis: Anna and Petros are a young Greek couple that moved recently to a remote Siberian town for Petros’ new job. Their lives are disrupted by Anna’s pregnancy that seems to have no explanation, as they haven’t had sex since they moved to Russia. The questions raised by the mysterious event are relentless; was she cheating? Is she the victim of a conspiracy? Or maybe a Saint? As Petros is desperately looking for a rational answer and Anna resorts to religion to make sense of her situation, two opposing worlds, faith and reason, come to a violent clash.
4. DOLPHIN MAN (Documentary, 87’, 2017 – Greece, France, Canada, Japan, Italy)
Director: Lefteris Charitos, Writers: Yuri Averof, Lefteris Charitos
Production Company: Anemon Productions, Les Films Du Balibari, Storyline Entertainment, Impleo, Producers: Rea Apostolides, Yuri Averof, Estelle Robin, Ed Barreveld, Seiko Kato, Languages: English, Greek, French, Japanese, Italian, Key partners: Arte, CNC, Greek Film Centre, WOWOW, ERT, Knowledge, TVO, Canal Z, SVT, Region Pays de la Loire, World Sales: Films Transit
Stage: Post-production
Looking for: Final funding, theatrical distribution partners
Synopsis: Dolphin Man tells the life story of Jacques Mayol, the greatest free-diver in recorded history, whose life became the inspiration for Luc Besson’s cult-movie Le Grand Bleu. It draws us into Mayol’s world, capturing his compelling journey from Japan to Europe, North America and India, while immersing viewers into the sensory and transformative experience of free-diving. Mayol was the first diver to reach 100 meters below the sea and revolutionized free-diving by introducing yoga and Zen techniques. He traveled across the world, promoting an urgent vision of our need to reconnect with nature. The film weaves together stunning contemporary underwater photography of the world’s leading free-divers with intimate testimonies of Mayol’s closest friends and family and rare film archive.
5. LP (ΛΠ) (Documentary, 70’, 2017 – Greece)
Director-Writer: Cristo Petrou
Production Company: Heretic, Producer: Giorgos Karnavas, Languages: Greek, English, Key partners: Greek Film Center, ERT S.A., World Sales: Heretic Outreach
Stage: Editing
Looking for: Finishing funding, festival premiere
Synopsis: ΛΠ is a documentary about Lena Platonos, one of Greece’s most idiosyncratic musicians and one of the world’s forerunners in electronic music. Born on 10.21.1951 under the sign of Libra, she was trained as a classical pianist in Vienna and Berlin but eventually got involved with electronic music when synthesizers became accessible to musicians. However, Lena didn’t receive the international recognition she deserved. 30 years later, the release of her works by the American label Dark Entries in 2015 under critical acclaim gave us the perfect excuse to ask musicians from a wide range of contemporary music to experiment with her music, while interviewing her and all the people who were involved in the making of her records in the ’80s.
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Cannes Film Festival Unveils Controversial Poster Featuring Italian Actress Claudia Cardinale
Here it is, the official poster of the 70th Cannes Film Festival featuring “full of joy” Italian film actress Claudia Cardinale.
The poster immediately received criticism in the French media and on social media accusing the festival of airbrushing the original image, taken in 1959, to make the actress look thinner.
Pour ceux qui veulent comparer avec la photo originale. #Cannes2017 #Cannes70 (v. @IMtheRookie) pic.twitter.com/f5MPsrD1Jq
— So Film (@So_Film) March 29, 2017
Claudia Cardinale appeared not bothered at all, reportedly calling the brouhaha “fake row“. She told the Huffington Post: “This image has been retouched to accentuate this effect of lightness and transpose me into a dream character. This concern for realism has no place here and, as a committed feminist, I see no affront to the female body. There are many more important things to discuss in our world. It’s only cinema.” ‘I am honored and proud to be flying the flag for the 70th Festival de Cannes,’ says Claudia Cardinale, and delighted with this choice of photo. It’s the image I myself have of the Festival, of an event that illuminates everything around. That dance on the rooftops of Rome was back in 1959. No one remembers the photographer’s name… I’ve also forgotten it. But this photo reminds me of my origins, and of a time when I never dreamed of climbing the steps of the world’s most famous cinema hall. Happy anniversary!’ With Monica Bellucci as Mistress of Ceremonies and Pedro Almodóvar as the President of the Jury, the Festival de Cannes will kick off on Wednesday May, 17, 2017 and runs through May 28, 2017.Why the need to alter Claudia Cardinale’s body so dramatically for #Cannes2017 official poster? pic.twitter.com/jvMEfejZUc
— Anna Rose Holmer (@BARFH) March 29, 2017
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Romanian Director Cristian Mungiu to Serve as President of the Cinéfondation and Short Films Jury at 2017 Cannes Film Festival
[caption id="attachment_21674" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
Cristian Mungiu[/caption]
Romanian director, screenwriter and producer Cristian Mungiu will preside over the Cinéfondation and Short Films Jury of the upcoming 70th Cannes Film Festival taking place May 17 to 28, 2017.
Cristian Mungiu who previously served as a member of Steven Spielberg’s jury in 2013, will follow in the footsteps of Naomi Kawase, Abderrahmane Sissako, Abbas Kiarostami and Jane Campion.
Cristian Mungiu enjoys a long history with the Festival, having won the Palme with his second feature film, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, he went on to garner the Best Screenplay and Best Actress prizes for Beyond the Hills and the Best Director prize for Graduation.
Born in 1968 in Iași, Cristian Mungiu started out as a journalist and then a teacher after studying English at university. He then attended the Film and Theatre Academy in Bucharest, where he made a number of short films. He continued his training as an assistant director with Bertrand Tavernier for Captain Conan (1996) and Radu Mihăileanu for Train of Life (1998). His first feature film, Occident, was selected for the Directors’ Fortnight in 2002 and was a triumph back in Romania.
“Cristian Mungiu is a glorious member of that Romanian school showcased by Thierry Frémaux in the 2000s”, says Gilles Jacob, President of the Cinéfondation. “Just to look at the intelligence and interactive ramifications of a screenplay like Graduation is to understand that Cristian is the dream examiner for the big Festival exam – the Cinéfondation and the short films. I wonder who will pass? Good luck to all the candidates!”
For his part, Cristian Mungiu’s first reaction was to say: “Value and originality have never achieved easy recognition in the cinema. And it’s even harder to recognize the value and originality of very young directors. But the Cinéfondation is known for having succeeded in doing just that to great effect. The Cinéfondation has always given young directors the help and recognition they needed at the very outset of their career, so that they could express themselves with courage and find their own voice. Long may that continue to achieve the same impact. It’s an endeavor in which I’m proud to be playing a part.”
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Cannes Film Festival Winners: I, DANIEL BLAKE Wins 2016 Palme d’or | TRAILERS
[caption id="attachment_14033" align="aligncenter" width="926"]
The Jury and the Winners of the 69th Festival of Cannes[/caption]
I, DANIEL BLAKE by British filmmaker Ken Loach, won the 2016 Palme d’or at the Cannes Film Festival.
Ken Loach enters the elite circle of two-time Palme d’or winners, having already won the award for The Wind That Shakes The Barley in 2006.
In I, DANIEL BLAKE, Daniel Blake, 59, has worked as a joiner most of his life in Newcastle. Now, after a heart attack and nearly falling from a scaffold, he needs help from the State for the first time in his life.
He crosses paths with a single mother Katie and her two young children, Daisy and Dylan. Katie’s only chance to escape a one-roomed homeless hostel in London has been to accept a flat in a city she doesn’t know some 300 miles away.
Daniel and Katie find themselves in no-man’s land caught on the barbed wire of welfare bureaucracy as played out against the rhetoric of ‘striver and skiver’ in modern day Britain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLEPQ9FYU0U
JUSTE LA FIN DU MONDE (It’s Only the End of the World) by Xavier DOLAN is the winner of the Grand Prix award.
After 12 years of absence, a writer goes back to his hometown, planning on announcing his upcoming death to his family. As resentment soon rewrites the course of the afternoon, fits and feuds unfold, fueled by loneliness and doubt, while all attempts of empathy are sabotaged by people’s incapacity to listen and love.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFkhQpVVulU
The complete list of winners of 2016 Cannes Film Festival
FEATURE FILMS
Palme d’or
I, DANIEL BLAKE by Ken LOACH
Grand Prix
JUSTE LA FIN DU MONDE (It’s Only the End of the World) by Xavier DOLAN
Award for Best Director Ex-Aequo
Cristian MUNGIU for BACALAUREAT (Graduation)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VimmuogOOks
Olivier ASSAYAS for PERSONAL SHOPPER
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hghXP4F3Qs
Award for Best Screenplay
Asghar FARHADI for FORUSHANDE (The Salesman)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-o5I5UWBh0
Jury Prize
AMERICAN HONEY by Andrea ARNOLD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOEFbvNP288
Award for Best Actress
Jaclyn JOSE in MA’ ROSA by Brillante MENDOZA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Y-YxXlwNw4
Award for Best Actor
Shahab HOSSEINI in FORUSHANDE (The Salesman) by Asghar FARHADI
—
SHORT FILMS
Palme d’or
TIMECODE by Juanjo GIMENEZ
Special disctinction
A MOÇA QUE DANÇOU COM O DIABO (The Girl Who Danced With the Devil) by João Paulo MIRANDA MARIA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m997lLIrAEM
—
CAMÉRA D’OR
DIVINES by Houda BENYAMINA presented during The Directors’ Fortnight
The Jury of the CST has awarded the VULCAN AWARD OF THE TECHNICAL ARTIST to:
SEONG-HIE RYU, for the artistic direction, with great inspiration, for the film MADEMOISELLE (The Handmaiden/Agassi) by PARK Chan-Wook.
Image: The Jury and the Winners of the 69th Festival of Cannes © Antonin Thuillier / AFP via Cannes Film Festival
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MIMOSAS Wins Top Prize at Cannes 2016 International Critics’ Week
[caption id="attachment_14028" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
Mimosas by Oliver Laxe[/caption]
MIMOSAS directed by Oliver Laxe, is the winner of the Nespresso
Grand Prize in the International Critics’ Week section of the Cannes Film Festival.
A caravan escorts an elderly and dying Sheikh through the Moroccan Atlas. His last wish is to be buried with his closed ones. But death does not wait. The caravaneers, fearful of the mountain, refuse to continue transporting the corpse. Saïd and Ahmed, two rogues travelling with the caravan, say they know the way and promise to take the corpse to its destiny.
In another world, Shakib is chosen to travel to the mountains with a mission: to help the improvised caravaneers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r854X85Q49s
2016 International Critics’ Week awards.
Nespresso
Grand Prize
Mimosas by Oliver Laxe
France 4
Visionary Award
Album by Mehmet Can Mertoglu
A couple in their late 30’s sets out to prepare a fake photo album of a pseudo pregnancy period in order to prove their biological tie to the baby they’re planning to adopt.
Leica Cine Discovery Prize for short films
Prenjak by Wregas Bhanuteja
PARTNER AWARDS
Gan Foundation Award for Distribution
Sophie Dulac, French distributor for One Week and a Day (Shavua Ve Yom) by Asaph Polonsky
SACD
Award
Davy Chou and Claire Maugendre, co-writers of Diamond Island
Canal+ Award for short films
L’enfance D’un Chef by Antoine de Bary
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Shahrbanoo Sadat’s WOLF AND SHEEP Wins Director’s Fortnight at Cannes Film Festival
[caption id="attachment_14024" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
WOLF AND SHEEP[/caption]
Afghan director Shahrbanoo Sadat is the winner the 2016 Director’s Fortnight’s top prize, the Art Cinema Award, at the Cannes Film Festival for her debut feature WOLF AND SHEEP.
In an interview with the Danish Film Institute, Sadat notes that the Danish-produced Wolf and Sheep, was inspired by her feeling of being an outsider during her childhood in a small isolated village in Central Afghanistan. Her goal was to tell a story that doesn’t revolve around war, the election, or other political issues dominating the media, but depicts Afghan everyday life as she knows it.
“When I watched other films about Afghanistan, I always missed something. I know it’s a cliché, but I wanted to show the real Afghanistan. I wasn’t sure how to make a good film, but I knew what I didn’t want to make a film about. Women’s rights, the election and bombings were all on my blacklist. I wanted a local to see it and say, ‘That’s my life’.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iz0aCZJha9w
“Wolf and Sheep,” takes place in a rural village like the one Sadat grew up in and follows a group of shepherd children in the mountains. The boys practice with their slings to fight wolves, while the girls smoke secretly and play wedding. They gossip about 11-year-old Sediqa, an outsider, whom they think is cursed. Finally, she makes friends with 11-year Qodrat, who becomes a gossip topic, after his mother remarries with an old man with two wives. The story is inspired by a combination of Sadat’s own childhood and the childhood of her best friend, Anwar Hashimi, who lived in the same village before Sadat and had a similar experience of becoming an outsider after his mother remarried.
Winners and Awards of 2016 Cannes Directors’ Fortnight / Quinzaine des Realisateurs
Art Cinema Award to a feature film
“Wolf & Sheep,” dir. Shahrbanoo Sadat
SACD Award to a French-language feature film
“The Together Project” (aka “L’Effet Aquatique”) dir. Solveig Anspach
SACD special mention
“Divines” dir. Houda Benyamina
The Europa Cinemas Label to a European feature film
“Mercenary” (aka “Mercenaire”) dir. Sacha Wolff
Illy Prize to a short film
“Chasse Royal” dirs. Lise Akoka, Romane Gueret
Illy special mention
“The Beast” (aka “Zvir”) dir. Miroslav Sikavica
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The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mä Wins 2016 Un Certain Regard Prize at Cannes Film Festival
[caption id="attachment_14016" align="aligncenter" width="926"]
The Jury and the Winners – Un Certain Regard Awards (Cannes Film Festival)[/caption]
HYMYILEVÄ MIES (The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki) by Juho Kuosmanen won the 2016 Un Certain Regard Prize at the Cannes Film Festival.
Summer 1962, Olli Mäki has a shot at the world championship title in featherweight boxing. From the Finnish countryside to the bright lights of Helsinki, everything has been prepared for his fame and fortune. All Olli has to do is lose weight and concentrate. But there is a problem – he has fallen in love with Raija.
[caption id="attachment_14018" align="aligncenter" width="1296"]
FUCHI NI TATSU (Harmonium) by Fukada Kôji[/caption]
FUCHI NI TATSU (Harmonium) by Fukada Kôji is the winner of Jury Prize.
Toshio hires Yasaka in his workshop. This old acquaintance, who has just been released from prison, begins to meddle in Toshio’s family life…
Un Certain Regard 2016 presented in competition 18 films hailing from 20 different countries. Seven of the works were first films. The Opening film was ESHTEBAK (Clash) by Mohamed Diab.
Under the presidency of Marthe Keller (actress – Switzerland), the Jury was comprised of Jessica Hausner (director, producer – Austria), Diego Luna (actor, director, producer – Mexico), Ruben Östlund (director – Sweden) and Céline Sallette (actress – France).
[caption id="attachment_14017" align="aligncenter" width="1280"]
HYMYILEVÄ MIES (The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki) by Juho Kuosmanen[/caption]
Prize of Un Certain Regard
HYMYILEVÄ MIES
(The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki)
by Juho Kuosmanen
Jury Prize
FUCHI NI TATSU
(Harmonium)
by Fukada Kôji
Prize for Best Director
Matt Ross
for CAPTAIN FANTASTIC
[caption id="attachment_13531" align="aligncenter" width="1280"]
Captain Fantastic[/caption]
Deep in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, isolated from society, a devoted father dedicates his life to transforming his six young children into extraordinary adults. But when a tragedy strikes the family, they are forced to leave this self-created paradise and begin a journey into the outside world that challenges his idea of what it means to be a parent and brings into question everything he’s taught them.
Prize for Best Screenplay
Delphine Coulin & Muriel Coulin
for VOIR DU PAYS (The Stopover)
At the end of their tour of duty in Afghanistan, two young military women, Aurore and Marine, are given three days of decompression leave with their unit at a five-star resort in Cyprus, among tourists. But it’s not that easy to forget the war and leave the violence behind.
Un Certain Regard Special Prize
LA TORTUE ROUGE
(The Red Turtle)
by Michael Dudok de Wit
[caption id="attachment_14000" align="aligncenter" width="1213"]
THE RED TURTLE[/caption]
Through the story of a man shipwrecked on a tropical island inhabited by turtles, crabs and birds, THE RED TURTLE recounts the milestones in the life of a human being.
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HELL OR HIGH WATER Starring Jeff Bridges, Chris Pine Sets August Release Date
[caption id="attachment_13861" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
HELL OR HIGH WATER[/caption]
The action drama HELL OR HIGH WATER starring Academy Award®-winner Jeff Bridges and Chris Pine, will open in limited release on August 12, followed by nationwide release on August 19, after World Premiering at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.
Hell Or High Water is directed by David Mackenzie (“Young Adam,” “Starred Up”) and in addition to Bridges (“Crazy Heart,” “True Grit”), and Pine (“Star Trek,” “Into The Woods”), also stars Ben Foster (“3:10 To Yuma,” “The Messenger”) and Gil Birmingham (“The Lone Ranger,” “Twilight”).
A story about the collision of the Old and New West, two brothers — Toby (Chris Pine), a straight-living, divorced father trying to make a better life for his son; and Tanner (Ben Foster), a short-tempered ex-con with a loose trigger finger — come together to rob branch after branch of the bank that is foreclosing on their family land. The hold-ups are part of a last-ditch scheme to take back a future that powerful forces beyond their control have stolen from under their feet. Vengeance seems to be theirs until they find themselves in the crosshairs of a relentless, foul-mouthed Texas Ranger (Jeff Bridges) looking for one last triumph on the eve of his retirement. As the brothers plot a final bank heist to complete their plan, a showdown looms at the crossroads where the last honest law man and a pair of brothers with nothing to live for except family collide.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQoqsKoJVDw
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French Actor Jean-Pierre Léaud to Receive Honorary Palme d’or at Cannes Film Festival
[caption id="attachment_13835" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
Jean-Pierre Léaud[/caption]
French actor/comedian Jean-Pierre Léaud will receive the honorary Palme d’or at the upcoming 69th edition of the Cannes Film Festival.
Jean-Pierre Léaud is part of the Cannes legend. He was discovered by François Truffaut who made him the young hero of his first film, Les 400 Coups (The 400 Blows), and made his first appearance on the Croisette in 1959 as an extrovert, unruly 14-year-old. His spontaneity was representative of the wind of freedom that the French New Wave brought to cinema. Antoine Doinel and François Truffaut continued to support him with Antoine et Colette (Antoine and Colette) (1962), Baisers volés (Stolen Kisses) (1968), Domicile conjugal (Bed and Board) (1970) and L’Amour en fuite (Love on the Run) (1979).
As early as 1965, he began what was to be a long partnership with Jean-Luc Godard; Masculin féminin (1966) and La Chinoise (1967) are considered to be committed and forward-thinking highlights of their collaboration. Fascinated by cinematographic language, Jean-Pierre Léaud was even assistant director for several films by Godard (Pierrot le fou (Crazy Pete), Alphaville) and Truffaut (La Peau douce) (The Soft Skin). He can also be found in films by Bernardo Bertolucci (Last Tango in Paris) or Jacques Rivette (Out 1). In La Maman et la Putain (The Mother and the Whore) (1973), his offbeat acting, between poetry and flippancy, was offered an unequalled setting and consecrated him once and for all. The film by Jean Eustache was emblematic for a whole generation and received the Jury’s Special Grand Prix at the Festival de Cannes before becoming a cult film.
Since then, the passionate and clumsy, idealistic and disenchanted or enigmatic characters he plays are part of the universes of Aki Kaurismäki (I Hired a Contract Killer), Olivier Assayas (Paris s’éveille (Paris Awakes), Irma Vep), Lucas Belvaux (Pour rire) (Just for Laughs), Philippe Garrel (La Naissance de l’amour) (The Birth of Love), Bertrand Bonello (Le Pornographe) (The Pornographer) or even Tsai Ming-liang (Et là-bas quelle heure est-il ? (What Time is it There?) or Visage (Face), presented in Competition at Cannes in 2009).
Jean-Pierre Léaud is forever daring and surprising, as when embodying the Sun King in the new film by the Spanish director Albert Serra, La Mort de Louis XIV (The Death of Louis XIV), to be shown as a Special Screenings and with both of them present, on Thursday May 19th at 5 pm.
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HANDS OF STONE Starring Robert De Niro Added to Cannes Film Festival
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Hands of Stone[/caption]
Robert De Niro will attend the upcoming 2016 Cannes Film Festival for the screening in Official Selection of his latest film Hands of Stone by Venezuelan director Jonathan Jakubowicz.
The movie is about the common history of Panamanian boxer Roberto Duràn (Edgar Ramírez) and manager and coach Ray Arcel (Robert De Niro) who is going to take him to the highest worldwide successes of the ring in the ’70s and ’80s, including legendary fights against Sugar Ray Leonard.
“I’m excited to be coming back to Cannes especially with this movie Hands of Stone that I’m so proud of, said Robert De Niro. This movie is uplifting, triumphant and a good time for audiences, so I’m looking forward to seeing my friends from across the world of cinema in joining us for this fun event.”
Hands of Stone is produced and distributed by the Weinstein Company. Harvey Weinstein declared: “Hands of Stone is vintage De Niro. Anyone who knows Bob, knows what a passion he has for boxing and his huge input into this movie made it very realistic and smart. On behalf of the company, we are thrilled that the Festival deCannes chose to honor Bob this year with a special screening. It promises to be a fun time and a fantastic night to pay tribute to one of the great men of our industry.”
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Official Poster of 2016 Cannes Film Festival
The official poster is released for the 69th Festival de Cannes, taking place from May 11 to 22, 2016, and presided over by Australian director George Miller.
The poster was designed using stills from Jean-Luc Godard’s film Contempt.
It’s all there. The steps, the sea, the horizon: a man’s ascent towards his dream, in a warm Mediterranean light that turns to gold. As an image it is reminiscent of a timeless quote used at the beginning of Contempt: “Cinema replaces our gaze with a world in harmony with our desires”.
And so it is Michel Piccoli who in 2016, from the roof of the famous villa designed by the writer Curzio Malaparte, will open the red carpet for the 69th Festival de Cannes. It’s a symbolic choice, since this film about the making of a film – regarded by many as one of the finest ever made in CinemaScope (the Piccoli/Bardot pairing along with Fritz Lang, Raoul Coutard’s cinematography, Georges Delerue’s music, and so on and so forth) – had such a considerable impact on the history of film and cinephilia.
On the eve of its 70th anniversary, by choosing to represent itself under the symbol of this simultaneously palimpsest and unambiguous film, the Festival is reiterating its founding commitment: to pay tribute to the history of film, and to welcome new ways of creating and seeing. The steps represent a kind of ascension towards the infinite horizon of a cinema screen.
This 69th Festival de Cannes poster has been designed by Hervé Chigioni and his graphic designer Gilles Frappier. The 2016 visual identity has been created by Philippe Savoir (Filifox).
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See Poster, and Watch Trailer for Amy Whinehouse Documentary AMY
The poster and trailer are released for the Amy Winehouse documentary, AMY, which world premiered at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, and is scheduled to open in New York & Los Angeles on July 3, 2015 followed by nationwide on July 10, 2015.
From BAFTA award-winning director Asif Kapadia (SENNA), AMY tells the incredible story of six-time Grammy-winner Amy Winehouse – in her own words. Featuring extensive unseen archive footage and previously unheard tracks, this strikingly modern, moving and vital film shines a light on the world we live in, in a way that very few can.
A once-in-a-generation talent, Amy Winehouse was a musician that captured the world’s attention. A pure jazz artist in the most authentic sense – she wrote and sung from the heart using her musical gifts to analyse her own problems. The combination of her raw honesty and supreme talent resulted in some of the most unique and adored songs of the modern era.
Her huge success, however, resulted in relentless and invasive media attention which coupled with Amy’s troubled relationships and precarious lifestyle saw her life tragically begin to unravel. Amy Winehouse died from alcohol poisoning in July 2011 at the age of 27.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2yCIwmNuLE