By Jake Howell jake.howell@utoronto.ca
Cannes Slate
(Editor’s Note: Welcome to Jake Howell, who will bring a young, new, and sometimes Canadian perspective to our Cannes coverage this year.)
Cannes Artistic Director Thierry Frémaux has revealed the full slates of both the Competition and Un Certain Regard programs, and the film world has been officially enticed for the glamorous film spectacular this coming May.
“American cinema is back in force”, said Frémaux at the announcement conference. (I wonder if Robert Redford has anything to say about that?) Nevertheless, the Competition slate has a grand total of six American-produced films this year. Despite that being rather uncharacteristic of Cannes, it should prove to be an exciting Festival, with American films headed by Jeff Nichols (Mud), Lee Daniels (The Paperboy), Wes Anderson (Moonrise Kingdom), John Hillcoat (Lawless), Andrew Dominik (Killing Them Softly), and Walter Salles (On The Road) all competing for the coveted Palme d’Or.
The slate has also raised a few eyebrows; most noticeably due to the unfortunate lack of representation from the fairer sex. A grand total of zero films in the Competition this year are by female directors, who seem to have been relegated to the Competition’s brother, the Un Certain Regard program. Also sentenced to UCR is 23-year-old Canadian Xavier Dolan, who while three for three in his career for Cannes premieres, was expected to be joining the Competition with Laurence Anyways. However, at close to three hours long, it’s possible Dolan’s latest was doomed by scheduling issues.
Speaking of Canadians, both David Cronenberg and his son Brandon will also be screening films in the south of France this year. The father/son combo will likely be subjected to a bonanza of interesting stylistic comparisons – some fairly done, some perhaps not – when May rolls around. Brandon’s first feature, Antiviral, will screen in Un Certain Regard, while his father’s Cosmopolis will go for gold in the Competition.
Indeed, according to Twitter, Twilight fans are absolutely ravenous that their beloved Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart (R-Patz and K-Stew, respectively) will be reunited, in human form no less, in Cannes. Pattinson is the star of Cosmopolis, and Stewart plays Marylou in the adaptation of iconic Beat novel On The Road. The teen-girl demographic has assuredly never been more interested in an auteur-centric film festival.
There are a few other intriguing aspects of this year’s Competition: for example, not since 2008’s Blindness has the opening film been in Competition, but Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom will change that. Missing from the line-up is 2011 Palme winner Terrence Malick, whose latest project was apparently not ready.
Also missing is Lars von Trier, 2011’s persona non grata, who has no upcoming films yet announced. Of course, this makes the subject of last year’s Hitler quagmire a non-starter in terms of his Cannes eligibility, which is rather fortunate. It’s always nice to avoid controversy.
For the full list of films, check out the Festival’s website: www.festival-cannes.fr
Good to see you here, Jake. Thanks for your insights!
Looking forward to reading your comments from Cannes soon.