14/05/2008

There was media excitement this afternoon on the Croisette at the press conference given by the official competition jury for the 61st Cannes Film Festival.

Journalists’ attentions were focused on president Sean Penn, who responded well about film at the Q&A session, with a fair share of provocations, but strayed into politics a few times. These debates have been experienced firsthand by the eight other members of the impressive jury: Alexandra Maria Lara, Sergio Castellitto, Natalie Portman, Jeanne Balibar, Mexican filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron, Marjane Satrapi, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, and Rachid Bouchareb.

Frame of mind
Sean Penn: We are going to view 22 films in the same frame of mind. It’s not a competition and we will reach a consensus. We have no intention of damaging the reputation of the films but boosting their prospects. The Cannes stamp of approval, the opportunity to take part in the festival and possibly win a prize is already a reward for the films. We will approach our work as the jury with an open mind and celebrate the films. I don’t believe we are going to “judge” but rather react enthusiastically to the quality of the films. Whatever film we select as the Palme d’Or winner, we also share the same idea: we want to feel certain that the director is aware of the state of the world he lives in.

Cultural influence
Penn: We are always influenced by our own culture, but that in and of itself doesn’t constitute a positive or negative bias for we can also be attracted to a film’s exoticism, for example. We belong to the culture into which we’re born and although we can discover and explore other cultures, this fact remains. But cinema is a universal culture and what’s essential is to get to the heart of the film.

Bias and favoritism
Penn: Clint Eastwood – whose film is in competition – is a good example. I’ve only worked with him on one occasion and how many films has he made? So you can’t claim that my judgement is biased, as certain journalists have rudely implied. Friendship and celebrity carry no weight here and I’m certain we’ll be free from prejudice. At festivals, as a director, you’re concerned about the quality of the screening and the sound so that every second is experienced by every viewer. We’ll also focus on every second of every film. And there won’t be any advantage to films screened at more glamorous times.

Cannes
Penn: It seems that there is always a breath of talent in the world and it blows and rests here and there. There is also mutual inspiration in this film world fraternity: everyone develops, follows their own path and Cannes encourages this.

Globalisation and multiculturalism
Alfonso Cuaron: We are all multicultural nowadays and this is reflected in film. But this is not a recent phenomenon: in the 1930s, Eastern European directors left their country to go and work in Hollywood or Paris. Film is a country and cinema is a language.

Film and politics
Marjane Satrapi: A film is a work of art, not a political pamphlet with temporary significance. A film should still interest viewers decades later.

(Translated from French)