68th Festival de Cannes Official Selection Update 4

A few minutes ago organizers released the Screening Guide for all films in the official Selection. Go down to check the guide.

---///----
5/5/15
Today the Camera d'Or jury was announced with Sabine Azéma as the jury president. The Caméra d’Or, created in 1978, is awarded to the best first film presented in the Official Selection (In Competition, Out of Competition and Un Certain Regard), during La Semaine de la Critique or the Directors’ Fortnight, which represents a total of 26 films in 2015.

She will be accompanied by the director Delphine Gleize, the actor Melvil Poupaud, Claude Garnier representing the AFC (French Association for Cinematographers), Didier Huck, representing the FICAM (Federation of Cinema, Audiovisual and Multimedia Industries), Yann Gonzalez, representing the SRF (Society of Film Directors) and Bernard Payen, representing the SFCC (French Union of Cinema Critique.

The post will be constantly updated with info released by fest organizers and could include new films in the Official Selection, Cannes Classics, events, etc.

Festival runs from May 13 to 24. In BLUE female directors.

Competition

Carol, Todd Haynes, UK and USA
Chronic, Michel Franco, USA
Dheepan (aka Erran), Jacques Audiard, France
Il Racconto dei Racconti (The Tale of Tales), Matteo Garrone, Italy, France and UK
La loi du marché (A Simple Man), Stéphane Brizé, France
Louder Than Bombs, Joachim Trier, Norway, Denmark, USA and France
Macbeth, Justin Kurzel, UK, USA and France
Marguerite et Julien, Valérie Donzelli, France
Mia Madre, Nanni Moretti, Italy, Germany and France
Mon Roi, Maïwenn, France
聂隐娘 Nie Yin niang (The Assassin), Hou Hsiao Hsien, Taiwan
(*) Saul Fia (Son of Saul), László Nemes, Hungary
山河故人Shan He Gu Ren (Mountains May Depart), Jia Zhang-ke, China, France and Japan
Sicario, Denis Villeneuve, USA
The Lobster, Yorgos Lanthimos, Greece, UK, Ireland, Netherlands and France
The Sea of Trees, Gus van Sant, USA
海街 diary Umimachi Diary (Our Little Sister), Kore-eda Hirokazu, Japan
Valley of Love, Guillaume Nicloux, France
Youth, Paolo Sorrentino, Italy, Switzerland, UK and France

Out of Competition
Opening Film: La Tête Haute (Standing Tall), Emmanuelle Bercot, France
Closing Film: La Glace et le Ciel (Ice and the Sky), Luc Jacquet, France
Irrational Man, Woody Allen, USA
Inside Out, Peter Docter and Ronaldo Del Carmen, USA (animation)
Mad Max: Fury Road, George Miller, Australia and USA
The Little Prince, Mark Osborne, France (animation)

The Jury
President: Joel and Ethan Coen, filmmakers, USA
Xavier Dolan, director, writer, producer and actor, Canada
Guillermo del Toro, director, writer and producer, Mexico
Sophie Marceau, actress and director, France
Rossy de Palma, actress, Spain
Jake Gyllenhall, actor, USA
Rokia Traoré, composer, singer-songwriter, Mali

Un Certain Regard

Opening Film: あん An (Sweet Red Bean Paste), Naomi Kawase, Japan
Alias María, José Luis Rugeles, Colombia and Argentina
Comoara (The Treasure), Corneliu Porumboiu, Romania and France
Chauthi Koot (The Fourth Direction), Gurvinder Singh, India
Hrútar (Rams), Grímur Hákonarson, Iceland
(*) Je Suis Un Soldat (I Am A Soldier), Laurent Larivière, France
岸辺の旅 Kishibe no tabi (Journey to the Shore), Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Japan
(*) Lamb, Yared Zeleke, Ethiopia
Las Elegidas (The Chosen Ones), David Pablos, Mexico
Louisiana - The Other Side, Roberto Minervini, Italy and France (documentary)
마돈나 Madonna, Shin Suwon, South Korea
Maryland (aka Close Protection), Alice Winocour, Belgium and France
(*) Masaan (Fly Away Solo), Neeraj Ghaywan, India
무뢰한 Mu-roe-han (The Shameless), Oh Seung-Uk, South Korea
(*)ناهید Nahid, Ida Panahandeh, Iran
Rak Ti Khou Kaen (Cementery of Splendour), Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Thailand
Taklub (Trap), Brillante Mendoza, Philippines
Un etaj mai jos (One Floor Below), Radu Muntean, Romania, Sweden and France
Zvizdan (The High Sun), Dalibor Matanić, Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia

Une Certain Regard Jury
President: Isabella Rosellini, actress and director, Italy
Nadine Labaki, actress and director, Lebanon
Tahar Rahim, actor, France
Haifaa Al-Mansour, director, Saudi Arabia
Panos H. Koutras, director, writer, actor, Greece

Special Screenings

Amnesia, Barbet Schroeder, Switzerland and France
Asphalte, Samuel Benchetrit, France
(*) Hayored Lema'Ala, Elad Keidan, Israel and France
Oka, Souleymane Cisse, Mali and France
(*) Panama, Pavle Vučković, Serbia
(*) Sipur Al Ahava Ve Choshech (A Tale of Love and Darkness), Natalie Portman, USA
Une histoire de fou (Don't Tell me the Boy was Mad), Robert Guédiguian, France

Midnight Screenings

Amy, Asif Kapadia, UK (documentary)
Love, Gaspar Noé, France
(*) 오피스 O Piseu (Office), Hong Won-chan, South Korea

(*) First film, competes for the Camera d'Or

Camera d'Or Jury
President: Sabine Azéma, actress, France
Delphine Gleize, director, France
Melvil Poupaud, actor, France
Claude Garnier, AFC, France
Didier Huck, FICAM, France
Yann gonzalez, SRF, France
Bernard Payen, SFCC, France

Short Films Competition

Ave Maria, Basil Khalil, Palestine, France and Germany, 14'
Copain (Buddy), Jan Roosens and Raf Roosens, Belgium 14'
Le Repas Dominical (Sunday Lunch), Céline Devaux, France 13'
Love is Blind, Dan Hodgson, UK, 6'
Patriot, Eva Riley, UK, 14'
Presente Imperfecto (Present Imperfect), Iair Said, Argentina, 15'
Sali (Tuesday), Ziya Demirel, Turkey and France, 12'
The Guests, Shane Danielsen, Australia, 10'
موج '٩٨ Waves '98, Ely Dagher, Lebanon and Qatar, 14'

Cinéfondation Selection

Четырнадцать шагов 14 Steps, Maksim Shavkin, Russia, 37', Moscow School of New Cinema
Abwesend (Absent), Eliza Petkova, Germany, 13', Deutsche Film & Fernsehakademie (dffb)
Ainahan ne Palaa (To Return Until), Salla Sorri, Finland, 17', Aalto University, ELO Film School Helsinki
Anfibio (Anphibian), Héctor Silva Núñez, Cuba, 15', EICTV
Asara Rehovot Mea Etsim (Ten Buildings Away), Miki Polonski, Israel, 25', Minshar for Art
El Ser Magnético (The Magnetic Nature), Mateo Bendesky, Argentina, 17', Universidad del Cine (FUC)
Het Paradijs (Paradise), Laura Vandewynckel, Belgium 6', RITS School of Arts Brussels
Koshtargah (Slaughterhouse), Behzad Azadi, Iran, 24', Art University of Tehran
Leonardo, Félix Hazeaux, Thomas Nitsche, Edward Noonan, Franck Pina, Raphaëlle Plantier, France, 6', MOPA (ex Supinfocom Arles)
Les Checheurs (The Wheels of Emotions), Aurélien Peilloux, France, 32', La Fémis
Locas Perdidas (Lost Queens), Ignacio Juricic Merillán, Chile, 28',Carrera de Cine y TV Universidad de Chile
Manoman, Simon Cartwright, UK, 11' National Film and Television School
Retriever, Tomáš Klein and Tomáš Merta, Czech Republic, 23', FAMU Prage
Ri Guan Zhi Xia (Under the Sun), Qiu Yang, Australia, 19', The VCA, Film & TV School, Melbourne University
Share, Pippa Bianco, USA, 11', AFI's Directing Workshop for Women
Tsunami, Sofie Kampmark, Denmark, 7', The Animation Workshop
Victor XX, Ian Garrido López, Spain, 20', ESCAC
Vozvrashenie Erkina (The Return of Erkin), Maria Guskova, Russia, 28', High Courses for Scriptwriters and Film Directors

Short Films and Cinéfondation Jury
President: Abderrahmane Sissako, director, Mauritania
Cécile de France, actress, Belgium
Rebecca Zlotwski, director, France
Daniel Olbrychski, actor, Poland
Joana Hadjithomas, director, writer, producer, Lebanon

Check available info and trailers for
Official Selection @MOC
Un Certain Regard @MOC
Cinéfondation Short Films @MOC
Short Films @MOC

Screenings Guide



If you wish to watch the Press Conference check the following video that has (awful) English Translation. For French and no translation go here.




---///---
4/30/15
This morning organizers announced the closing film that is called as "a hymn to save the planet" as Luc Jacquet fourth feature film, Ice and the Sky will be the festival closing film.

In this documentary Luc Jacquet discusses the scientific discoveries of Claude Lorius who left in 1957 to study the Antarctic ice. In 1965 he was the first to be concerned by global warming and its consequences for the planet. Today, aged 82, he continues to look at the future with hope: "I believe that men will still up. Men will find the solidarity that will lead the people living on this planet to another type of behavior."

"Cannes is a huge opportunity for this film and for what it says," said Luc Jacquet. "I am pleased and impressed, much like The Fifer from the tales that is welcomed at the palace. Showing this film in the world's largest film festival is contributing to this huge challenge facing humanity as quickly as possible to secure its future and the future of the planet. My language is cinema. In different times, I would have made other films. But I make fierce cinema, political cinema, cinema that has no choice."

Luc Jacquet has dedicated all his work to environment and nature issues: March of the Penguins (2005), Le Renard et l’enfant (2007) et Il était une forêt (2013). He has created an NGO, Wild Touch, to educate more young people to respect and preserve the planet.

Echoing and supporting the fighting of those who have been alerting for a long time, the Festival de Cannes is pleased to get also engaged by programming Ice and the Sky to close its 68th edition. Programming such a film is sending it to the future and to make an appointment for a successful Climate Change Conference to be held in Paris from November, 30th to December, 11th, 2015.

Ice and the Sky has been written and directed by Luc Jacquet. It has been produced by Eskwad and will be distributed by Pathé. Wild Bunch will handle international sales and Le Public Système will be in charge of the French media and Martin Marquet of the international media.

Let us remind that the SCAM has decided with the support of the Festival de Cannes to create a prize to reward documentaries in the Official Selection and in the sidebars.

Above paragraph from today's press release, tells about some news that I was NOT aware but here is the basic info. Found that the L'Oeil d'Or (Golden Eye) is the new Cannes award created by Julie Bertuccelli, SCAM president, Thierry Frémaux and INA (Institut National de l'Audiovisuel) which will be awarded to one documentary from docs in all sections of the festival. By the way, SCAM means Société Cvile des Auteurs Multimedia (Civil Society of Multimedia Authors) and to read the announcement at the official site go here, available only in French.

Most interesting is the eclectic jury that will decide the award this year, take a look.

President: Rithy Pahn, director, Cambodia
Nicolas Philibert, director, France
Irène Jacob, actress, France
Diana El Jeiroudi, producer, Syria
Scott Foundas, Variety film critic, USA

It is clear that this award will calm most Cannes complainers that year after year regret that festival does not showcase documentaries.  As far as I can tell most docs are in the Cannes Classics section but there are more in the Official Selection and the three collateral sections of the festival.  So, there are many films in competition for this first-time award.

---///---
4/29/15
A few minutes ago organizers announced the films in the Cannes Classic section but as they are too many and post will become too large, decided to include films in one specific post. So today I'm deleting all info about this section in this post.

---///---
4/23/15
A few minutes ago organizers announced the films that COMPLETE the Official Selection. There are two (2) new films In Competition to make a total of 19 films, Mexican director Michel Franco represents Latin America with Chronic, his first English-language film and the second film is The Valley of Love by Guillaume Nicloux, starring Isabelle Huppert and Gérard Depardieu.

There are five (5) more films in the Un Certain Regard section by great filmmakers Naomi Kawase, Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Brillante Mendoza; also films by José Luis Rugeles Gracia and Yared Zekete.

Also, add one (1) more film in the Special Screening section by Robert Guédiguian and one (1) in the Midnight Screening section by Gaspar Noé.

Can't deny that films by Kawase, Weerasethakul, Mendoza, and Noé did not make it to the competition, but glad they are in Cannes this year as always assure the quality of their films. But definitively I'm pleased at least one Latin American director made it to the main competition, even when his film looks/feels not representative of great Latin American cinema, sigh. Then, there is no doubt that the new films add more French flavor to the already strong flavor that Cannes has this year, which is absolutely GREAT!

---///---
4/16/15
No matter what many have already started to voice, this year selection is "audacious" to say the least and exciting/interesting as even when there are some cinema Gods in the selection there are ALSO some newcomers, young filmmakers that have their films for the first time in the main competition. This undoubtedly makes great food for the possibility of a great festival, like when the official selection care more about quality and less about commercial cinema.

Still this year the Selection will bring to Cannes a rain of huge movie-stars, European and American, which indeed attracts press coverage; so in a way, this will be a great fest with great cinema and great movie stars. An odd combination of elements that not often go well together, but seems this time could be explosively good. Just for fun will make the list of "movie stars" that will walk the red carpet and you will see more clearly what I mean.

The list of those out of the Official Selection is long. Had to be as when I read again my long list becomes very clear that there were too many great French films and in general, too many great films from "traditional" cinema strong countries. So, because who the directors are, imagine that could not end up in lesser than the main competition official selection sections; still there is hope that some French films and elsewhere films could be part of La Quinzaine selection, where there is always a good mix of known and newcomer directors.

This year main competition has some oddities, like for example, a film that has already premiered, critics have seen it, many have already reviewed and is in the competition. Yes I'm talking about Nanni Moretti's film, a film that according to me , HAD to be in competition -no matter what- and indeed it is, but that doesn't mean that is odd to not have a premiere in Cannes.

In the press conference Thierry Fremaux said there were 16 films in competition and that there could be 4 more to come, to make 20 films in competition. But as many noticed, including me, he announced 17 films, so it's not clear if there is room for 3 or 4 more films. So we will sooner than later will find out how many films will be in this year competition.

From the 17 films already announced we can say that up-to-this-moment, the festival is more European as more than half of the films have production teams from European countries, even when they were filmed in English. Which makes this selection the one with the most English-spoken films, probably ever or in a very long time (will check this later to be exact). But please pay attention to France, once again French movie produces high quality cinema either being the sole, the majority or the minority producer. Vive Le Cinéma Française!

Talking about the Un Certain Regard section, we see there has to be room for more films as there are only 14 announced today. Assume that soon we will learn the film that will open the section plus more films up to perhaps 20 (?).