Festival Circuit 2022

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

Indulging in conspiracy here: The fact that he says it's "disappointing" is kind of interesting. Perhaps he made it for Netflix and Fremaux still won't allow their films. Maybe they thought "surely they'd make an exception for Lynch" and assumed they were a go?

Cannes allows Netflix films out of competition, which is where a Lynch film would probably go at this point anyway. Frémaux was chomping at the bit to premiere The Other Side of the Wind, but Netflix is totally boycotting the festival until the competition ban is dropped.

[DarkImbecile]

I find myself pretty intrigued to see how Ali Abbasi’s Holy Spider turns out; if it’s in a similarly off-puttingly perverse vein as 2018’s Un Certain Regard-winning Border, it’ll be a conversation starter one way or the other given the reported subject matter.

Do we have anyone attending on behalf of the forum this year?

[ryannichols7]

Uh, Shoplifters made 3.5 million dollars in the US and was nominated for an Oscar. It was not buried!

played at only one theatre near me! and it still isn't even available on bluray here, since Magnolia doesn't care about their home video releases really. the Oscar nomination was nice, yes, but I don't know...I feel like it should've had a lot of the fanfare Parasite and Drive My Car later got

[yoshimori]

Do we have anyone attending on behalf of the forum this year?

I'll be there again. But if anyone wants a "consensus" view re the films, I find the Screen Daily and Film Francais aggregates pretty reliable, along with the bigger, broader one at urban's website. Particularly unreliable are the "instant impressions" of the "critics" tweeting out their proclamations of "masterpieces" the second the press screening's credits begin to roll. Jeez. Please ignore them.

[ellipsis7]

Is this his Sophia Loren-starring remake of Au hasard, Balthazar (yes, really!) or something else entirely?

Looks like it is...

EO
A contemporary interpretation of the cult classic "Balthazar, at random" by Robert Bresson (1966). The masterfully written screenplay (Ewa Piaskowska and Jerzy Skolimowski) is distinguished by its original cinematic framework and allegorical approach to the subject. The story of a donkey named Baltazar, beginning in a Polish circus and ending in an Italian slaughterhouse, is a bitter but also warmly humanist paraphrase of a "road movie". It is a panopticon of human behaviour towards a defenceless animal, a suggestive picture of social relations and cultural changes taking place in the modern world.
[Warmia-Masuria Film Fund]

How did you just make this sound even more exciting.

Eeyore, I guess...

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

A Variety interview with Frémaux. He says they could add around ten more films (two in the competition), clarifies that the ban on Netflix films in competition is being upheld by the festival's board and that he personally wants to drop it, and "smiles coyly" when asked about Lynch's "new project."

[therewillbeblus]

Less exciting news than Cannes, but the IFF Boston schedule is announced, tix go on sale tomorrow for non-members, and they did a good job lumping most of the films together at the same theatres during non-conflicting times and evenings.

Work will get in the way of Emily the Criminal for me, so gotta decide if it's worth requesting off, otherwise scored tix for the Strickland, Denis, Zhang Yimou, Resurrection and Cha Cha Real Smooth.. curious if there are any others I'm missing from the link above that have good word of mouth?

[swo17]

That Patton Oswalt film looks interesting

[therewillbeblus]

That Patton Oswalt film looks interesting

I agree, as does God's Country and How to Rob (though the latter conflicts with Resurrection), and I'm curious about Piggy, Girl Picture and Montana Story if only to see another almost-surely strong Haley Lu Richardson perf

[Pavel]

Didn't like A Love Story but some of the people I saw it with loved it. Also wasn't a fan of the Denis but that's obviously a must. Enjoyed One Second.

[DarkImbecile]

Strong Quinzaine line-up announced:

“Scarlet,” Pietro Marcello (Opening Film)

“1976,” Manuela Martelli

“The Dam,” Ali Cherri

“The Super 8 Years,” Annie Ernaux, David Ernaux-Briot

“Ashkal,” Youssef Chebbi

“The Five Devils,” Léa Mysius

“De Humani Corporis Fabrica,” Véréna Paravel, Lucien Castaing-Taylor

“Continental Drift (South),” Lionel Baier

“The Water,” Elena López Riera

“Enys Men,” Mark Jenkin

“Falcon Lake,” Charlotte Le Bon

“Will-o’-the-Wisp,” João Pedro Rodrigues

“Funny Pages,” Owen Kline

“God’s Creatures,” Anna Rose Holmer, Saela Davis

“Harkis,” Philippe Faucon

“Men,” Alex Garland (Special Screening)

“The Mountain,” Thomas Salvador

“Pamfir,” Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk

“Paris Memories, Alice Winocour

“Under the Fig Trees,” Erige Sehiri

“One Fine Morning,” Mia Hansen-Løve

“A Male,” Fabian Hernández

“The Green Perfume,” Nicolas Pariser (Closing Film)

[MichaelB]

Well, it seems that Sophia Loren didn't end up in Jerzy Skolimowski's Eo...

...but [spoiler]Isabelle Huppert[/spoiler] did.

This is not a deal-breaker for me.

[yoshimori]

Critics' Week line-up

[britcom68]

The Wexner Center here in Columbus is hosting a five-film mini-fest in May on Toshirō Mifune’s collaborations with director Kihachi Okamoto. Per their site listing, all five films are presented in Toho 35mm prints from the Japan Foundation.

https://wexarts.org/explore/mifune-okamoto

[DarkImbecile]

Additions to the Cannes line-up include Albert Serra in competition, Mouret and Bozon in Cannes Premiere, and Garrel out of competition.

[DarkImbecile]

Fun set of films for the Chicago Critics Film Festival, and passes are extremely affordable for those in the area

[DarkImbecile]

Cannes Jury announced:

The Jury

Vincent Lindon - President
Actor
France

Rebecca Hall
Actress, producer, screenwriter, director
United Kingdom / United States

Deepika Padukone
Actress
India

Noomi Rapace
Actress
Sweden

Jasmine Trinca
Actress, director
Italy

Asghar Farhadi
Director, producer, screenwriter
Iran

Ladj Ly
Director, screenwriter, actor, producer
France

Jeff Nichols
Director, screenwriter
United States

Joachim Trier
Director, screenwriter
Norway

[criterionsnob]

Vincent Lindon - President

Claire Denis win secured.

[Omensetter]

There's a certain "who's available?" feel to that jury, with Trier and Farhadi being the throwbacks of "directors who had a hit at the previous year's edition". It's also possible the 2019 jury having Reichardt, Lanthimos, Alice Rohrwacher, and Pawlikowski all in a non-presidential role spoiled. I have no doubt there's truth to the rumors of Fremaux being unable to snag Penélope Cruz especially given the late announcement. Lindon is perhaps the most obscure jury president in quite a while (I guess depending on Emir Kusturica's name recognition in 2005, but then Varda could have easily been president of that jury), but he's affable and has good taste. Jeff Nichols is a surprise, though. I have no doubt his schedule was clear because I have no idea what he's been up to since releasing two films in 2016, one of which landed in Competition. Wikipedia says he directed a Hank the Cowdog podcast adaptation—which I'm all over, but he seems like someone who would have at least hooked up with A24 or something.

Completely baseless pre-Cannes predictions:
Palme d'Or — David Cronenberg, Crimes of the Future
Grand Prix — Arnaud Desplechin, Brother and Sister
Director — Claire Denis, Stars at Noon
Screenplay — Ruben Östlund, Triangle of Sadness
Actress — Michelle Williams, Showing Up
Actor — Luca Marinelli, The Eight Mountains
Jury Prix — Saeed Roustayi, Leila's Brothers
75th Anniversary Prix — Jean-Pierre, Luc Dardenne, Tori and Lokita

[yoloswegmaster]

Why Deadline Can't Publish Our Interview With Cannes Head Thierry Frémaux

[swo17]

So obviously Tom Cruise did not just win the Palme d'or (whose description in the article is taken verbatim from a Wikipedia entry) but what is this golden palm-looking thing he's pictured as holding?

[Never Cursed]

That's the honorary Palme d'Or, which is awarded semi-regularly to actors or directors (or in one case, an executive) that have never won a competitive Palme. The first one was Ingmar Bergman and the most recent ones were Marco Bellochio and Jodie Foster. 0 guesses as to who the first American director to get one was

[swo17]

Ah, got it. They should have copy/pasted from lower in the article!

[DarkImbecile]

James Gray’s Armageddon Time seems to be the first home run at Cannes, with a long ovation and multiple reviews calling it his best

[therewillbeblus]

James Gray’s Armageddon Time seems to be the first home run at Cannes, with a long ovation and multiple reviews calling it his best

David Ehrlich wrote a great review comparing it as favorably humble in its moralism to the awful Belfast