31/03/2011

Suspense will reign until the Paris press conference on April 14 at which the Palme d’Or contenders for the 64th Cannes Film Festival (May 11-22, 2011) will be unveiled. Indeed, according to our sources, things are far from decided, with several films still to be viewed by Thierry Frémaux and his team.

However, several European directors are now almost certain to be selected in competition. These include Denmark’s Lars von Trier with Melancholia (already surrounded by a positive buzz); Belgium’s Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne with The Kid With a Bike; Italy’s Nanni Moretti with We Have a Pope [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nanni Moretti
film profile]; fellow Italian director Paolo Sorrentino with This Must Be the Place; Finland’s Aki Kaurismäki with Le Havre [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Aki Kaurismäki
film profile]; and Scotland’s Lynne Ramsay with We Need To Talk About Kevin.

They will apparently be joined by US directors Gus Van Sant with Restless and Terrence Malick with Tree of Life (which is still wavering between competition and out-of-competition); Philippine director Brillante Mendoza with Captured; and Mexico’s Carlos Reygadas with Post Tenebras Lux. Also in with a good chance of selection are Russia’s Andrei Zvyagintsev with Elena and Turkey’s Nuri Bilge Ceylan with Once Upon a Time in Anatolia.

Among the main outside favourites are Upside Down by Argentina’s Juan Solanas, Alps by Greece’s Yorgos Lanthimos, Tatsumi by Singapore’s Eric Khoo, Play by Sweden’s Ruben Ostlund, Paradise by Austria’s Ulrich Seidl, Almayer’s Folly by Belgium’s Chantal Akerman, and even The Source by Romania’s Radu Mihaileanu.

Meanwhile, a competition selection is looking increasingly less likely for Faust by Russia’s Alexander Sokurov, Miracle by Japan’s Hirokazu Kore-Eda and Love and Bruises by China’s Lou Ye. The same applies for Korean director Hong-jin Na’s The Yellow Sea, which may nonetheless be showcased in the Official Selection; and Eran Kolirin’s The Exchange, which may screen in the Directors’ Fortnight.

There is even greater uncertainty surrounding the French films with five favourites (most of which have apparently not yet been viewed) for three places: Dominik Moll’s The Monk, Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud’s Chicken with Plums, Christophe Honoré’s The Beloved, Bruno Dumont’s Hors Satan (formerly known as L'Empire) and Mathieu Kassovitz’s Rebellion. They will battle it out for selection, with Pierre Schoeller’s The Exercise of State and Mia Hansen Love’s Goodbye First Love also waiting in the wings.

Finally, in a non-exhaustive list, here are some of the many titles well-placed for an appearance on the Croisette: The Woman in the Fifth by Poland’s Pawel Pawlikowski, Alois Nebel by the Czech Republic’s Tomas Lunak, Thanator by Palestine’s Tawfik Abu Wael, Where Do We Go Now? by Lebanon’s Nadine Labaki, Beirut Hotel by fellow Lebanese director Danielle Arbid, Michael by Austria’s Markus Schleinzer, Polisse by France’s Maïwen, Pater by Alain Cavalier, L'Apollinide by Bertrand Bonello, Giants [+see also:
film review
trailer
making of
interview: Bouli Lanners
film profile] by Belgium’s Bouli Lanners, Sponsoring by Poland’s Malgorzata Szumowka, Halt Auf Freier Strecke by Germany’s Andreas Dresen , The Loneliest Planet by Russian-American director Julia Loktev and The Bullet by Mexico’s Luis Hernández Navarro.

(Translated from French)