#Cannes 2016 News

As expected news have started to come drop by drop -very nice strategy to keep our attention- and yesterday we learned that none other that great Japanese filmmaker and one of my favorite contemporary directors, Naomi Kawase, is the President of The Cinéfondation and Short Films Jury for the 69th edition of the Festival de Cannes.

Assume that all of you, who read the blog regularly know who she is; but in case you're not familiar with her and wish to meet her, my best suggestion is to start with 2007 Mogari no Mori (The Mourning Forest), then go back to her previous films, continue with her recent films up to An (Sweet Bean), which perhaps is her more easy-to-watch by general audiences, as broke Japan's box office records. If I have to explain her style in a few words will be, simple everyday life moments told with full poetic storytelling and awesome visuals.

According to Cannes official site, Naomi Kawase said the following when her appointment was announced:

“Films enrich people’s lives, and their worlds inspire new possibilities. It is a little over 100 years since the advent of films, and their potential is ever expanding. They are exceptional media that can embody the diversity of world cultures, and their stories are like another life that enchants the audiences who see them.

Short films are exceptionally difficult, facing the question of how much of a story can be experienced in their short duration, while they also contain myriad possibilities yet unseen. And among films created by students there will be the discovery of hidden brilliance like a gemstone, which makes me very much look forward to participating in this jury, a journey of adventure."

The President of the Cinéfondation, Gilles Jacob, added: “From her Japanese roots, Naomi Kawase (Caméra d'or 1997) takes her extreme delicateness, refined manners and moral elegance. Her pointillist talent has helped generate a cinematic intelligence and a subtle art full of poetic mystery and graceful simplicity, conveyed through the great emotions of life and the tiny gestures of everyday existence. This year she will join a long line of great presidents of the Cinéfondation and Short Film Jury, from Martin Scorsese and Abbas Kiarostami, to Jane Campion, Hou Hsiao Hsien, John Boorman and the Dardennes brothers."



Cannes Buzz

Also yesterday The Hollywood Reported published an "exclusive" that tells about one American film going to Cannes. One month before the official announcement of the selection make me take all the "sure thing" news with a grain of salt and suggest you do the same.

But the movie is none other than Money Monster by Jodie Foster, a film that since February has strong buzz about its premiere in Cannes; then, maybe will be true and film will premiere on May 12, one day before the North American premiere on May 13.  No, buzz says that film is not expected to be the opening film.

No doubt that film has all the right credentials for Cannes, started with Jodie Foster who is a "darling" of the French Cinema industry and has history with the festival as in 2011 her film, The Beaver, also debuted at Cannes. Then we have the Hollywood A-List cast that includes George Clooney and Julia Roberts.



ACID Cannes 2016

Famous French underground graphic designer, Pierre La Police, got carte blanche to design this year ACID poster and today was released. Not sure if the following words are official but I like them, so share them here: "Les films avancement comme des trains dans la nuit".

Yes, those words (movies advance like trains in the night) are from François Truffaut's 1973 La Nuit américaine (Day for Night) but poster really goes well with them and the idea they suggest.



ACID official selection with 9 feature films will be announced on April 19 and inscription is still open until March 24.