17/05/2006

The customary migration of international film industry professionals to Cannes is in full swing for the 59th Cannes Film Festival (May 17–28), which will open this evening with the international blockbuster The Da Vinci Code.

With locations ranging from the Louvre to Scotland, and a cast that includes French actress Audrey Tautou and Jean Reno, British actors Ian McKellen, Paul Bettany and Alfred Molina (of Italian and Spanish origin) and Germany’s Jürgen Prochnow, alongside US star Tom Hanks, this curtain raiser will give the festival a distinctly European flavour that is set to dominate the event this year.

Other examples of this trend include scenes of the castle at Versailles in Sofia Coppola’s Marie-Antoinette, the UK co-production Fast Food Nation by US director Richard Linklater, and the collective film of shorts, Paris, je t’aime, opening Un Certain Regard tomorrow.

According to the festival’s artistic director Thierry Frémeaux, “with masterpieces from renowned directors in competition (Almodovar, Moretti, Kaurismäki, Loach), Europe wants to let everyone know how great its cinema is. For several years now, there have been new arrivals from the East with Poland, Hungary, Romania and Lithuania at Cannes again this year. Screening in Un Certain Regard are films from Scotland, Norway, Italy and Spain”. German and Scandinavian productions are also represented.

Asian films are not very present this year, opting instead to leave centre-stage to European productions and co-productions, of which there are no less than 15 of the 20 official competition titles, with directors Paolo Sorrentino, Andrea Arnold, Lucas Belvaux, Pedro Costa and Xavier Giannoli making a return to the festival.

The parallel sections are no different, with 13 European productions and two co-productions from the 22 features selected for the Directors’ Fortnight, and nine of 11 features (five of the seven films in competition) in Critics’ Week. It remains to be seen if quantity (especially French films) will translate into quality.

Official Competition
Pedro Almodovar – Volver [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Agustín Almodóvar
interview: Carmen Maura
interview: Pedro Almodóvar
interview: Pénélope Cruz
film profile] (ES)
Nanni Moretti – The Caiman [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jean Labadie
interview: Nanni Moretti
film profile] (IT)
Paolo Sorrentino – L'amico di famiglia (IT)
Ken Loach – The Wind That Shakes the Barley [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ken Loach
interview: Rebecca O’Brien
film profile] (UK)
Nicole Garcia – Charlie Says [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (FR)
Bruno Dumont – Flanders [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (FR)
Xavier Giannoli – The Singer [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (FR)
Rachid Bouchareb – Days of Glory [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jean Bréhat
interview: Rachid Bouchareb
film profile] (DZ)
Lucas Belvaux – The Weakest Is Always Right [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (BE)
Sofia Coppola – Marie-Antoinette (US)
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu – Babel(MX)
Nuri Bilge Ceylan – Climates [+see also:
trailer
interview: Zeynep Ozbatur
film profile](TR)
Pedro Costa – Juventude em marcha [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (PT)
Guillermo del Toro – Pan's Labyrinth [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (MX)
Aki Kaurismaki – Lights in the Dusk [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (FI)
Andrea Arnold – Red Road [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (UK)
Richard Kelly – Southland Tales (USA)
Richard Linklater – Fast Food Nation (USA)
Lou Ye – Summer Palace (CN)
Israel Adrian Caetano – Cronica de una fuga (UY)

Out of competition
Opening film: Ron Howard – The Da Vinci Code (USA)
Closing film: Tony Gatlif – Transylvania [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (FR)

(Translated from French)