LONDON – Latin cinema is the big winner, while U.S. and French filmers hold their place, in the Official Selection of the 59th Cannes Film Festival (May 17-28), announced in Paris today.
This year’s Competition, at a trim 19 titles, artfully mixes Croisette favorites (Pedro AlmodovarPedro Almodovar, Ken Loach, Nanni Moretti, Aki Kaurismaki) alongside known or established names that are new to that particular section.
Among the latter is Sofia CoppolaSofia Coppola (costumer “Marie-Antoinette”), who actually began her Cannes career in Directors Fortnight with “The Virgin Suicides””The Virgin Suicides” (1999) and Mexican Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (English-lingo drama “Babel”), who was discovered by Critics Week six years ago with “Amores perros.”
Other Competition newcomers were nurtured by festivals like Toronto and Venice, including Richard LinklaterRichard Linklater (“Fast Food Nation”), Belgian Lucas Belvaux (“The Weakest Is Always Right”) and Portuguese mini-malist Pedro Costa (“Youth on the March”).
As such, artistic director Thierry Fremaux maintains the position of the Competition as a platform to be aspired to, rather than one of discovery. Only one Competition feature is a first work: Scottish-set experimental drama “Red Road” by the U.K.’s Andrea Arnold, who won an Oscar for her short “Wasp.”
Fremaux has bundled most of the first features (seven) into the sidebar Un Certain Regard, which is the usual broad mix of international titles peppered with some more familiar names (ItaloItalo vet Marco Bellocchio, Australia’s Rolf de Heer).
Linklater also has a movie in Un Certain Regard – noir crimer “A Scanner Darkly,” from a Philip K. Dick novel – making him the first director in memory to have two features in different sections of the Official Selec-tion.
Around a fifth of the 59 features that make up the Official Selection’s three sections – Competition, Out of Competition, Un Certain Regard – come from Spanish, Portuguese or Italian-speaking countries. Two Italian directors (regulars Nanni Moretti and Paolo Sorrentino) are repped in Competition, alongside two Mexican helmers (Guillermo del ToroGuillermo Del Toro, Alejandro Inarritu), both new to Cannes’ Official Selection.
U.S. presence – and English-language cinema in general – is on a parpar with recent years, with around a dozen North American filmers across the various sections. Richard KellyRichard Kelly (“Donnie Darko””Donnie Darko”) joins Coppola and Linklater in Competition with the ensembler “Southland Tales, while U.S. prods dominate the galas (“United 93,” “X-Men: The Last Stand,” DreamWorks toontoon “Over the Hedge”) and Special Screenings. Latter include an HBO docudocu featuring Variety itself: “Boffo: Tinseltown’s Bombs and Blockbusters.”
Big loser this year is Asia, with no films from Japan and only one small independent drama from South Korea “The Unforgiven” (in Un Certain Regard). In a year when the main jury has an unprecedented two Chinese members (prez Wong Kar-wai, plus actress Zhang Ziyi), Chinese-speaking cinema is more substantially repped, with two works from the Mainland, one from Hong Kong (Johnnie To’s “Election 2”) and one from Taiwan (swordplay spectacle “Silk”).
CANNES 2006: OFFICIAL SELECTION
OPENER
“The Da Vinci Code,” U.S., Ron HowardRon Howard (non-competing)
CLOSER
“Transylvania,” France, (non-competing)
IN COMPETITION
“The Weakest Is Always Right,” Belgium-France, Lucas Belvaux
“Summer Palace,” China-France, Lou Ye
“Lights at the Edge of the City,” Finland, Aki Kaurismaki
“Flandres,” France, Bruno Dumont
“Selon Charlie,” France, Nicole Garcia
“Quand j’etais chanteur,” France, Xavier Giannoli
“Days of Glory,” France, Algeria, Rachid Bouchareb
“The Wind That Shakes the Barley,” Ireland-U.K., Ken Loach
“The Cayman,” Italy-France, Nanni Moretti
“The Family Friend,” Italy, Paolo Sorrentino
“Pan’s Labyrinth,” Mexico-Spain-U.S., Guillermo del Toro
“Youth on the March,” Portugal, Pedro Costa
“Volver,” Spain, Pedro Almodovar
“Climates,” Turkey, Nuri Bilge Ceylan
“Red Road,” U.K.-Denmark, Andrea Arnold
“Fast Food Nation,” U.K.-U.S, Richard Linklater
“Marie-Antoinette,” U.S., Sofia Coppola
“Southland Tales,” U.S., Richard Kelly
“Babel,” U.S.-Morocco, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
OUT OF COMPETITION
GALA SCREENINGS
“United 93,” U.S.-U.K., Paul GreengrassPaul Greengrass
“X-Men: The Last Stand,” U.S., Brett RatnerBrett Ratner
“Over the Hedge,” U.S., Tim Johnson, Karey KirkpatrickKarey Kirkpatrick
MIDNIGHT SCREENINGS
“Election 2,” Hong Kong, Johnnie To
“Silk,” Taiwan, Su Chao-pin
“Shortbus,” U.S., John Cameron Mitchell
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
“Zidane, un portrait du 21e siecle,” France, Phillipe Parreno, Douglas Gordon
“These Girls,” France, Tahani Rached
“Avida,” France, Benoit Delepine
“Ici Najac, a vous la terre,” France, Jean-Henri Meunier
“Bamako,” France-Mauritania, Abderrahmane Sissako
“Volevo Solo Vivere,” Italy, Mimmo Calopresti
“Boffo: Tinseltown’s Bombs and Blockbusters,” U.S., Bill Couturie
“An Inconvenient Truth,” U.S., Davis GuggenheimDavis Guggenheim
UN CERTAIN REGARD
“Cronica de una fuga,” Argentina, Israel, Adrian Caetano
“Ten Canoes,” Australia, Rolf de Heer
“Surburban Mayhem,” Australia, Paul Goldman
“Luxury Car,” China, Wang Chao
“La tourneuse de pages,” France, Denis Dercourt
“La Californie,” France, Jacques Fieschi
“Meurtrieres,” France, Patrick Grandperret
“Paris, je t’aime,” France, 24 directors (opener)
“Bled Number One,” France-Algeria, Rabah Ameur-Zaimeche
“977,” France-Russia, Nikolay Khomeriki
“Re-cycle,” Hong Kong, Oxide Pang, Danny Pang
“Taxidermia,” Hungary, Gyorgy Palfi
“Serambi,” Indonesia, Garin Nugroho
“The Wedding Director,” Italy-France, Marco Bellocchio
“You Am I,” Lithuania, Kristijonas Vildziunas
“El violin,” Mexico, Francisco Vargas
“Uro,” Norway, Stefan Faldbakken
“Hamaca Paraguaya,” Paraguay, Paz Encina
“Z odzysku,” Poland, Slawomir Fabicki
“Cum Mi-am Petrecut Sfarsiful Lumii,” Romania, Catalin Mitulescu
“The Unforgiven,” South Korea, Yoon Jong-bin
“Salvador Puig Antich,” Spain, Manuel Huerga
“Bihisht Faqat Baroi Murdagon,” Tajikistan, Djamshed Usmonov
“A Scanner Darkly,” U.S., Richard Linklater
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION JURY
Wong Kar Wai, Hong Kong director (president)
Monica BellucciMonica Bellucci, Italian actress
Helena Bonham-Carter, English actress
Lucrecia Martel, Argentinean director
Zhang Ziyi, Chinese actress
Samuel L. JacksonSamuel L. Jackson, American actor
Patrice Leconte, French director
Tim RothTim Roth, English actor
Elia Suleiman, Palestinian director
CINEFOUNDATION AND SHORT FILMS JURY
Andrei Konchalovsky, Russian director (president)
Sandrine Bonnaire, French actress
Daniel Bruhl, German actor
Souleymane Cisse, Malian director
Zbigniew Preisner, Polish composer
CINEFOUNDATION AND SHORT FILMS JURY
Andrei Konchalovsky, Russian director (presi-dent)
Sandrine Bonnaire, French actress
Daniel Bruhl, German actor
Souleymane Cisse, Malian director
Zbigniew Preisner, Polish composer
COMPETITION SHORTS
“Primera Nieve,” Pablo Aguero
“Banquise,” Claude Barras, Cedric Louis
“Poyr,” Belma Bas
“Ongeriewe,” Robin Kleinsmidt
“Conte de Quartier,” Florence Miailhe
“Film Noir,” Parker Osbert
“Sniffer,” Bobbie Peers
“Sexy Thing,” Denie Pente-cost
“Nature’s Way,” Jane Shearer
“O Monstro,” Eduardo Valente
OUT OF COMPETITION SHORTS
“The Water Diary,” Jane CampionJane Campion
“Les signes,” Eugene Green
“Stanley’s Girlfriend,” Monte Hellman
“Sida,” Gaspard Noe
“Un lever de Rideau,” Francois OzonFrancois Ozon
Story courtesy of Variety
