The Square by Ruben Östlund[/caption]
The Pearls and Zabaltegi-Tabakalera sections of the 2017 San Sebastian Film Festival will feature some of the year’s most important films. The Square, winner of the Golden Palm at the last Cannes Film Festival, will open the Zabaltegi-Tabakalera section.
The Hungarian filmmaker Ilkidó Enyedi, winner of the Golden Bear with the fable Teströl és lékekröl / On Body and Soul, will compete for the City of Donostia / San Sebastian Audience Award against the Jury Prize in Cannes, Nelyubov / Loveless, by Russian moviemaker Andrey Zvyagintsev (Leviafan / Leviathan) and the Jury Grand Prix at the French festival, 120 battements par minute (120 BMP) / 120 Beats Per Minute by Robin Campillo, screenwriter of Foxfire, which competed in San Sebastian’s Official Selection in 2012.
Also competing for the award decided by the audience are Wonderstruck, the adaptation of a story by Brian Selznick which competed at Cannes, in which Todd Haynes (Carol) directs Julianne Moore, Michelle Williams and child actors Oakes Fegley and Millicent Simmonds, and two films premiered at Sundance: The Big Sick, third film by Michael Showalter, about an interracial couple forced to deal with their cultural differences, and Call Me By Your Name by Luca Guadagnino (A Bigger Splash), screened at the Berlinale following its stop at the North American Festival. Loving Pablo will close the Pearls section.
Other titles in the Zabaltegi-Tabakalera section include Philippe Garrel with L’amant d’un jour / Lover for a Day; and Tesnota / Closeness, the debut by Kantemir Balagov, presented in Un Certain Regard. Saura(s), helmed by Félix Viscarret, a film from the Cineastas contados series; the directorial debut of Gustavo Salmerón, Muchos hijos, un mono y un castillo / Lots of Kids, a Monkey and a Castle, winner of Best Documentary at Karlovy Vary; the documentary No intenso agora / In the Intense Now, by the Brazilian filmmaker João Moreira Salles, which competed at Berlin; and the world premiere of Movistar+ series Vergüenza, written and helmed by Juan Cavestany and Álvaro Fernández Armero. This is the first time a television series will have competed for the Zabaltegi-Tabakalera Award.
The remaining titles making up both sections will be announced in the coming weeks.
Loveless
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San Sebastian Film Festival Reveals First Titles in Pearls and Zabaltegi-Tabakalera Lineup
[caption id="attachment_22468" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] The Square by Ruben Östlund[/caption]
The Pearls and Zabaltegi-Tabakalera sections of the 2017 San Sebastian Film Festival will feature some of the year’s most important films. The Square, winner of the Golden Palm at the last Cannes Film Festival, will open the Zabaltegi-Tabakalera section.
The Hungarian filmmaker Ilkidó Enyedi, winner of the Golden Bear with the fable Teströl és lékekröl / On Body and Soul, will compete for the City of Donostia / San Sebastian Audience Award against the Jury Prize in Cannes, Nelyubov / Loveless, by Russian moviemaker Andrey Zvyagintsev (Leviafan / Leviathan) and the Jury Grand Prix at the French festival, 120 battements par minute (120 BMP) / 120 Beats Per Minute by Robin Campillo, screenwriter of Foxfire, which competed in San Sebastian’s Official Selection in 2012.
Also competing for the award decided by the audience are Wonderstruck, the adaptation of a story by Brian Selznick which competed at Cannes, in which Todd Haynes (Carol) directs Julianne Moore, Michelle Williams and child actors Oakes Fegley and Millicent Simmonds, and two films premiered at Sundance: The Big Sick, third film by Michael Showalter, about an interracial couple forced to deal with their cultural differences, and Call Me By Your Name by Luca Guadagnino (A Bigger Splash), screened at the Berlinale following its stop at the North American Festival. Loving Pablo will close the Pearls section.
Other titles in the Zabaltegi-Tabakalera section include Philippe Garrel with L’amant d’un jour / Lover for a Day; and Tesnota / Closeness, the debut by Kantemir Balagov, presented in Un Certain Regard. Saura(s), helmed by Félix Viscarret, a film from the Cineastas contados series; the directorial debut of Gustavo Salmerón, Muchos hijos, un mono y un castillo / Lots of Kids, a Monkey and a Castle, winner of Best Documentary at Karlovy Vary; the documentary No intenso agora / In the Intense Now, by the Brazilian filmmaker João Moreira Salles, which competed at Berlin; and the world premiere of Movistar+ series Vergüenza, written and helmed by Juan Cavestany and Álvaro Fernández Armero. This is the first time a television series will have competed for the Zabaltegi-Tabakalera Award.
The remaining titles making up both sections will be announced in the coming weeks.
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Russian Film LOVELESS Wins Best International Film at Munich Film Festival
[caption id="attachment_22301" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
Loveless[/caption]
The Russian film “Loveless” by Andrey Zvyagintsev won the ARRI / OSRAM Award for best international film, at the Munich Film Festival. “Loveless” tells the story of Boris and Zhenya, going through a cruel divorce full of hatred and mutual accusations. Both have already have found new partners and both want as quickly as possible to leave the past behind. The past includes their son Alyosha, who suddenly disappears without a trace. “Loveless” won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. A special mention was given to the Belgian film “Home” directed by Fien Troch.
The CineVision Award for the best international junior film was won by The Nothing Factory (A Fábrica de Nada) directed by Pedro Pinho. The jury commented “The film tells the story of a group factory workers who lose their jobs, but refuse to give up. The story is told in a very emphatic way, played and filmed, but to want without arousing cheap pity. The film provides no easy answers, but forces us thinking itself. It is a startling and highly entertaining form of agitprop for the 21st century.” A special mention was awarded to “Los Perros” by the Chilean director Marcela Said.
“Blind & Ugly” by Tom Lass won the FIPRESCI Prize 2017. The jury praised the balanced mix of drama, comedy and romance, as well as the successful occupation.
The audience prize went to the film “Still Young” by David Schlichter and Fabian Halbig. The film portrays the story of four boys from Dillingen who met each other at school and wanted to play German rock: the band Killerpilze.
The Children’s Film Festival Audience Award this year went to the team of directors Jakob Schuh, Jan Lachauer and Bin Han To for their animated film “Once Upon a Time … by Roald Dahl” ( “Revolting Rhymes“), co-produced by BBC and ZDF.
ONE FUTURE PRIZE is awarded to the Italian film Pure Hearts (Cuori Puri) . The jury justified its decision by saying, “. Roberto de Paolis complex debut film opened an intelligent and very touching look at the socio-political problems of contemporary Italy First seemingly only a love story about two young people from very different social backgrounds, taking the 1980 in Rome born director refugee issues increasingly into focus. “
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Melbourne International Film Festival to Feature 35 Films From Cannes
[caption id="attachment_22898" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
The Square[/caption]
The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) will present big award winners from this year’s Cannes Film Festival, including the 2017 Palme d’Or winning The Square, a deliriously strange detonation of art and imagination from Swedish director Ruben Öslund (Force Majeure, MIFF 14), featuring a riveting performance from Danish actor Claes Bang and scene stealing performances from Elizabeth Moss (also appearing in Top of the Lake: China Girl, MIFF 17) and Dominic West. Other films include Loveless, the must-see winner of the Jury Prize at this year’s Cannes – a razor-sharp portrayal of a marriage in the state of collapse from one of the greatest Russian filmmakers working today, Andrey Zvyagintsev (Leviathan, Elena, MIFF 11); and BPM, from French director Robin Campillo, (Eastern Boys, MIFF 14; They Came Back, MIFF 05) winner of this year’s Cannes Grand Jury Prize and Queer Palm winner, which dives headfirst into the passions, protests and politics of ‘90s AIDS activism.
International purveyor of the bizarre and MIFF favourite Yorgos Lanthimos is back with regular co-writer Efthymis Filippou (The Lobster, MIFF 15; Alps MIFF 12) for The Killing of a Sacred Deer – bringing Colin Farrell and Nicole Kidman together in a darkly comic modern rendering of an ancient Greek morality play; and Julianne Moore reunites with Todd Haynes for the enchanting Wonderstruck, an intoxicating, visually ravishing adaptation of Brian Selznick’s (writer of Hugo) illustrated tale of two deaf runaways and the glimmering, redemptive magic of cinema.
Thrillers that packed a punch include Good Time, where Robert Pattinson electrifies in the pulse-quickening heist thriller from American indie stars Josh and Benny Safdie who were subjects of a MIFF focus in 2015, with an electronic score by Oneohtrix Point End; and In the Fade, from Germany’s Faith Akin where Diane Kruger delivers her Best Actress-winning performance as a mother dealing with the aftermath of her Kurdish husband and young son’s death in a neo-Nazi hate crime.
Films from European directors that set Cannes ablaze include master auteur Michael Haneke’s (Amour, MIFF 12, The White Ribbon, MIFF 09) Happy End, which sees the director reunite with the great Isabelle Huppert and Jean-Louis Trintignant in a cutting portrait of bourgeois European Life; Let the Sunshine In, the Directors’ Fortnight award-winning new film from iconic French director Claire Denis (Bastards, MIFF 13), with Juliette Binoche delivering a shining performance in the starring role; and veteran French director Philippe Garrel’s (In the Shadow of Women, MIFF 15) Lover for a Day, shot in lyrical monochrome and starring his daughter Esther in her first major role, which once again brings a poetic touch to his perennial themes of fidelity and sexual freedom.
Also from France, the grande dame of the French New Wave Agnès Varda revives the spirit of The Gleaners and I (MIFF 01) with Faces Places, a picaresque romp through rural France, where she is joined in her travel by the artist JR; and The Venerable W, which sees Barbet Schroeder complete his “trilogy of evil” with a stunning portrayal of xenophobic demagogy in an unexpected quarter: Buddhist monks in the Republic of Myanmar.
Films exploring corruption and injustice include the winner of the prestigious Un Certain Regard prize A Man of Integrity, from acclaimed Iranian writer/director Mohammed Rasoulof (Manuscripts Don’t Burn, MIFF 13; Iron Island, MIFF 05), which is a potent thriller that captures one man’s desperate battle to stand up to a corrupt system; and Tehran Taboo, the boundary-pushing new animation from Iranian-born first-time feature director Ali Soozandeh, which tackles the sexual taboos of Islamic society and reveals a world of hypocrisy and political corruption.
Works of distinct individuality from exciting new voices in the cinematic landscape include the satirical and witty I Am Not a Witch, inspired by real-life rural witch camps in Africa and directed by first-time feature director Ryngano Nyoni, with cinematography by David Gallego (Embrace of the Serpent); Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts, a “feminist Indonesian Spaghetti Western” (The Irish Times) directed by a shining star of the blossoming Indonesian film industry, Mouly Surya; and Michael Franco’s (Chronic, MIFF 15) Un Certain Regard Jury Prize winner April’s Daughter, a gripping depiction of maternal devotion gone wrong, with Emma Suárez (Pedro Almodóvar’s Julieta, MIFF 16) mesmerising as the ruthlessly calculating mother.
Continuing to uncover and capture the bizarre and bold, the festival is proud to present Nothingwood, first-time documentarian Sonia Krunlund’s rousing portrait of Afghani writer/actor/director Salim Shaheen that captures the auteur using the resources available to him to make cheap, fast, out-of-nothing films starring himself, his friends and his family, which bring hope to his adoring fans in Afghanistan’s climate of violence; co-produced by Toni’s Erdmann’s Maren Ade, Western is the acclaimed Cannes hit from German writer/director Valeska Grisebach (Longing, MIFF 05) that uses non-actors in a European standoff to evoke the spirit of the titular American genre; starring and co-written by Saturday Night Live’s Kyle Mooney, helmed by frequent collaborator Dave McCary and produced by Andy Samberg, Brigsby Bear is the latest thigh-slapping comedic effort to double as an SNL “Where Are They Now?” reunion special; and hope springs from Josh Hartnett, a blonde wig and a Tokyo-to-California jaunt in Oh Lucy!, Atsuko Hirayangi’s affectionate expansion of her MIFF 2014 short of the same name.
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Patti Cake$[/caption]
The festival will feature the Australian premiere of the entire second season of Top of the Lake: China Girl, directed by Jane Campion and MIFF Accelerator alumnus Ariel Kleiman, and offering a unique opportunity to see the series before its television premiere on BBC First on Foxtel; and Patti Cake$, music video director Jeremy Gasper’s feature debut about an aspiring rapper, starring Australian actress Danielle McDonald in her sensational breakout performance.
Slower, more meditative works centered around image, exploration and self-reflexivity include Claire’s Camera, in which Isabelle Huppert reunites with director Hong Sang-soo to present an uncomplicated and refreshing meditation on the joy of chance encounters and the power of art; 24 Frames, a minimalist hymn to the capturing of images and the final work by the late Iranian master Abbas Kiarostami; and Naomi Kawase’s (Still the Water, MIFF 14) Radiance, which explores the complexity of cinematic images through description alone, as protagonist Misako writes voiceovers for vision impaired film viewers.
Scoring an award at the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, Jonas Carpignano’s (Mediterranea, MIFF 15) latest, A Ciambra, explores the European refugee crisis in a heart-wrenching, ultra-realist tour of the outcast and refugee communities of Italy’s south; and in Hungarian phenomenon Kornél Mundruczó’s (White God, MIFF 14) Jupiter’s Moon, the superhero genre collides with the rolling tragedy of that same crisis in an action-packed assault on tribalism, human indecency of the basic laws of gravity.
Set to screen at MIFF as part of Night Shift, A Prayer Before Dawn is a claustrophobic, face-pulping mash of growling sound, kinetic editing and so-real-you-have-to-flinch fight scenes from French provocateur Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire (Johnny Mad Dog, MIFF 08); and Blade of the Immortal is samurai, swords and Takashi Miike – celebrating his 100th feature with the tale of an immortal swordsman looking to reclaim his soul.
Hot from the Un Certain Regard section, Closeness explores family relations intermingled with ethnic tensions in a stunning, disturbing debut from young Russian filmmaker Kantemir Balagov; shot in nine parts, each in sweeping unbroken takes, Beauty and the Dogs is based on a real incident of a young Tunisian student plunged into an infuriating and intimidating bureaucratic nightmare; and Until the Birds Return, a film of three stunningly rendered dispatches from the still-scarred people and landscapes of modern Algeria, by young gun of North African cinema Karim Moussaoui.
And finally, Chilean filmmaker Marcela Said’s sophomore feature Los Perros explodes class privilege when a wealthy woman – the dynamite Antonia Zeger – falls for her older riding instructor, a man accused of war crimes; and A Gentle Creature, the latest film by Sergei Loznitsa (The Event MIFF 16; In the Fog, MIFF 12) that shifts from rusted realism to dreamy fantasy as it follows a woman (Vasilina Makovtseva) on a voyage through multiple layers of violence, indignity and human cruelty.
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THE SQUARE Wins Palme d’Or at 70th Cannes Film Festival, Sofia Coppola, Joaquin Phoenix, Diane Kruger Win Awards
[caption id="attachment_22468" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] The Square by Ruben Östlund[/caption]
The Square by Ruben Östlund is the winner of the Palme d’Or at the 70th edition of the Cannes Film Festival. Other award winners include Best Director for Sofia Coppola for The Beguiled; Best Actor for Joaquin Phoenix in You Were Never Really Here by Lynne Ramsay; and Best Actress for Diane Kruger in In The Fade by Fatih Akin.
2017 Cannes Film Festival Awards
Feature Films – Competition
Palme d’Or The Square directed by Ruben Östlund Christian is the respected curator of a contemporary art museum, a divorced but devoted father of two who drives an electric car and supports good causes. His next show is “The Square”, an installation which invites passersby to altruism, reminding them of their role as responsible fellow human beings. But sometimes, it is difficult to live up to your own ideals: Christian’s foolish response to the theft of his phone drags him into shameful situations. Meanwhile, the museum’s PR agency has created an unexpected campaign for ”The Square”. The response is overblown and sends Christian, as well as the museum, into an existential crisis. 70th Anniversary Award Nicole Kidman The 70th Anniversary Award was awarded by Will Smith. “I feel blessed to be able to work in this profession. The 70th celebration was incredible; it was the celebration of cinema and stories.” – Nicole Kidman, Video from Nashville, Tennessee – Grand Prix 120 BPM – Beats Per Minute (Battements Par Minute) directed by Robin Campillo Early 1990s. With AIDS having already claimed countless lives for nearly ten years, Act up-Paris activists multiply actions to fight general indifference. Nathan, a newcomer to the group, has his world shaken up by Sean, a radical militant, who throws his last bits of strength into the struggle. “This film can be thought of as a tribute to those who died and especially those who are living, who fought, were subjected to harsh treatment and who put their life on hold during this time. People are never as fine or as strong as when they come together. – Robin Campillo – Best Director Prize Sofia Coppola for The Beguiled The Beguiled is a thriller from acclaimed writer/director Sofia Coppola. The story unfolds during the Civil War, at a Southern girls’ boarding school. Its sheltered young women take in an injured enemy soldier. As they provide refuge and tend to his wounds, the house is taken over with sexual tension and dangerous rivalries, and taboos are broken in an unexpected turn of events. “I like to thank my father, who taught me to write and how to be a film director, and my mother, for teaching me how to be an artist. Thanks as well to Jane Campion, for being a role model and inspiring women to be directors.” -Sofia Coppola – Best Performance By An Actor Joaquin Phoenix in You Were Never Really Here directed by Lynne Ramsay A missing teenage girl. A brutal and tormented enforcer on a rescue mission. Corrupt power and vengeance unleash a storm of violence that may lead to his awakening. Best Performance By An Actress Diane Kruger in In The Fade (Aus Dem Nichts) directed by Fatih Akin Katja’s life collapses after the death of husband and son in a bomb attack. After the time of mourning and injustice, here comes the time of revenge. “Fatih, my brother, thank you for having believed in me; you gave me a strength that I never believed I could possess. I can’t receive this award without thinking of those who have been victims of terrorism. Please know that you are not forgotten.” – Diane Kruger – Jury Prize Loveless (Nelyubov) directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev Boris and Zhenya are going through a divorce. Arguing constantly, and in the process of selling their apartment, they are already preparing for their new lives: Boris with his younger, pregnant girlfriend and Zhenya with the wealthy lover who is keen to get married. Neither seems interested in their 12-year-old son Alyosha. Until he disappears. “I’d like to thank all the members of the Jury, and one in particular: Will Smith. He really exists!” – Andrey Zvyagintsev – Best Screenplay (tie) Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthimis Filippou for The Killing Of A Sacred Deer Lynne Ramsay for You Were Never Really HereShort Films – Competition
Palme d’Or A Gentle Night (Xiao Cheng Er Yue) directed by Qiu Yang Special Distinction By The Jury The Ceiling (Katto) directed by Teppo Airaksinen The Palme d’or and the Jury Special Mention for Shorts Films were awarded by Uma Thurman and Cristian Mungiu.Un Certain Regard
Un Certain Regard Prize A Man of Integrity (Lerd) directed 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 directed 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 Prize For The Best Poetic Narrative Barbara directed by 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 April’s Daughter (Las Hijas de Abril) directed 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.CAMÉRA D’OR
Jeune Femme (Montparnasse Bienvenüe) directed by Léonor Serraille presented as part of UN Certain RegardCinefondation
First Prize Paul Is Here (Paul Est Lå ) 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 Égares Sont Morts) directed by Tommaso Usberti La Fémis, France The CST Jury decided to award the Vulcain Prize for Artist-Technician to: Josefin Asberg for her remarkable artistic contribution to match the inventiveness of the film The Square.
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Sony Pictures Classics Acquires Russian Film LOVELESS
[caption id="attachment_22301" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Loveless[/caption]
The Russian language film Loveless directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev which is set to premiere In Competition at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival has been acquired by Sony Pictures Classics.
InLoveless, Zhenya and Boris are going through a vicious divorce marked by resentment, frustration and recriminations. Already embarking on new lives, each with a new partner, they are impatient to start again, to turn the page – even if it means threatening to abandon their 12-year-old son Alyosha. Until, after witnessing one of their fights, Alyosha disappears.
“I am very pleased to be working with the excellent team at Sony Pictures Classics again; they were sensitive and inspired in their tremendous efforts on Leviathan, and I look forward to our new collaboration,” stated Andrey Zvyagintsev.
Said Alexander Rodnyansky “Michael Barker, Tom Bernard, and the outstanding team at SPC, are the gold standard of American distribution for our films. We are thrilled to be working with them once again.”
Sony Pictures Classics and Zvyagintsev previously worked together on Leviathan, winner of Best Screenplay at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, Best Foreign Language Film at the 2015 Golden Globes and was Oscar nominated for Best Foreign Language Film. Loveless also marks the third partnership between Zvyagintsev and producer Alexander Rodnyansky.