Coppola's 'Tetro' to open FortnightSidebar favors alumni, U.S., Francophone picsBy Jordan Mintzer,
VarietyPosted: Fri., Apr. 24, 2009, 3:14am PTFrancis Ford Coppola is to open
the 41st edition of Directors' Fortnight (May 14-24) with his Argentina-set family drama "Tetro." The self-financed production stars Vincent Gallo as an exiled writer who's visited in Buenos Aires by his estranged younger brother. Helmer will self-distribute the movie in the U.S. through his own American Zoetrope Releasing.
Pic was originally offered a non-competing slot by Thierry Fremaux in this year's Official Selection, which Coppola declined. Fortnight topper Olivier Pere then stepped in with his own offer -- arguably snagging one of the biggest names for the Cannes sidebar in recent memory.
"After Coppola announced that he wouldn't show 'Tetro' out of competition, we asked to screen it for the Quinzaine," Pere told Daily Variety. "We loved it! And our enthusiasm convinced Coppola that an opening Fortnight slot would be the ideal place to debut his film."
With five features, including "Tetro," U.S. directors have a stronger presence in the Fortnight than in Cannes' Competition. Two are sexually edgy comedies that already screened at this year's Sundance Film Festival.
Jim Carrey-Ewan McGregor starrer, "I Love You Phillip Morris," an openly gay romcom directed by freshmen duo Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, has yet to find a distributor Stateside. Pic was co-produced by Gaul's EuropaCorp, who will handle the French release.
Writer-director Lynn Shelton's lowbudget comedy, "Humpday," about two straight friends who attempt to make an amateur gay porno, was picked up by Magnolia at Sundance. Stateside release is skedded for mid-July.
"Contemporary American comedies have grown more and more interesting in recent years," Pere told Daily Variety. "The Fortnight always goes for films that reflect contemporary reality, but this year we leaned more towards movies that approach the subject with a sense of distance and humor."
The U.S. selection also includes another lowbudget, mumblecore-brand film, Josh and Benny Safdie's "Go Get Some Rosemary." Josh Safdie's previous feature, "The Pleasure of Being Robbed," was in the 2008 Fortnight.
American presence is rounded out by a third Sundance title, U.S.-born Palestinian/Jordanian director Cherien Dabis' immigrant indie dramedy "Amreeka." Critically acclaimed debut was picked up by National Geographic Entertainment, who plans a fall release Stateside.
Aside from Coppola, the sidebar, which unveiled its lineup in Paris on Friday, also includes other auteurs more usually associated with Cannes' Official Selection.
Portuguese arthouse fave Pedro Costa -- whose "Colossal Youth" competed in the fest's 2006 edition -- will preem his docu, "Ne change rien." The French-Portuguese co-prod trails Gallic thesp/singer Jeanne Balibar through rehearsals and concerts across the globe.
South Korean helmer and Cannes regular Hong Sang-soo will present his new film "Like You Know It All." Hong competed twice for the Palme d'Or in 2004 and 2005.Fortnights' closing film is debuting duo Yaron Shani's and Scandar Copti's fast-paced and violent youth drama, "Ajami." Jaffa-set story relates the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through multiple viewpoints as characters clash throughout the city's dangerous streets. Shani is Israeli and Copti is Palestinian. German salesco Match Factory will handle international sales.
Francophone films from Gaul and Canada are another staple in this year's selection. French vet Luc Moullet will preem his docu, "Land of Madness," about the over-abundance of violent family crime in his native Southern Alps region. Arthouse comic director Alain Guiraudie will present his latest romp, "Le roi de l'evasion." Popular local comic book artist Riad Sattouf debuts with "Les beaux gosses," a teenage comedy about a sex-obsessed loner who can't manage to get a date.
Two French co-prods include the Franco-Japanese family drama "Yuki & Nina," co-directed by Japanese auteur Nobuhiro Suwa and Gallic thesp Hippolyte Girardot, who makes his helming debut; and Axel Ropert's Franco-Belgian dramedy "La Famille Wolberg," about a family coming apart over their daughter's upcoming 18th birthday party.
Quebecois films rep their strongest Fortnight presence in recent years, with three titles, including 19-year old thesper Xavier Dolan's helming debut, "J'ai tue ma mere" (I Killed My Mother). Director Denis Villeneuve's "Polytechnique" dramatizes the 1989 massacre of several female engineering students by a gun-wielding misogynist in Montreal's Polytechnique School.
"Carcasses," the third feature by scriber-helmer Denis Cote, is an intimate drama set in a monumental junkyard of rusting automobiles.
"It's been a while since we've had this many Quebecois films in the selection, which gives the Quinzaine a more Francophone feel than usual," explained Pere.
Non-North American or European titles are, as in the Official Selection, less present than in previous years. The Bulgarian race-crime drama "Eastern Plays," by freshman helmer Kamen Kalev, and the Singaporean experimental narrative "Here" by contemporary artist Tzu-Nyen Ho are two such examples.
Both films will be vying for the Camera d'Or, along with the Mexican director Michel Franco's "Daniel & Ana," about two teenagers whose lives are thrown into turmoil by a kidnapping.
Other Camera d'Or contenders are closer "Ajami," "Les beaux gosses" and "J'ai tue ma mere."
"I think the variety of this year's selection will surprise our audience," quipped Pere, who's overseeing his sixth and last edition before taking the reins at Locarno later this year.
"I hope to continue the auteur-driven work I've been doing during six years at the Fortnight, but with more ambition and a greater scope."
As for his successor, the SRF (Societe des Realisateurs de Films, which runs the Fortnight) is currently reviewing a short list of remaining candidates, and plans for an announcement once the fest hits the Croisette.
Via
http://www.quinzaine-realisateurs.com/DIRECTORS' FORTNIGHT LINEUP"La Pivellina," Austria, Tizza Covi, Rainer Frimmel
"The Alasness of Things," Belgium-Netherlands, Felix van Groeningen
"Eastern Plays," Bulgaria-Sweden, Kamen Kalev
"Carcasses," Canada, Denis Cote
"J'ai tue ma mere," Canada, Xavier Dolan
"Polytechnique," Canada, Denis Villeneuve
"Navidad," Chile, Sebastian Lelio
"Oxhide II," China, Liu Jia Yin
"La famille Wolberg," France-Belgium, Axelle Ropert
"Land of Madness," France, Luc Moullet
"Le roi de l'evasion," France, Alain Guiraudie
"Les beaux gosses," France, Riad Sattouf
"Yuki & Nina," France-Japan, Nobuhiro Suwa, Hippolyte Girardot
"Ajami," Israel-Germany, Scandar Copti, Yaron Shani (closer) "Daniel & Ana," Mexico-Spain, Michel Franco
"Karaoke," Malaysia, Chan Fui (Chris) Chong
"Ne change rien," Portugal-France, Pedro Costa
"Here," Singapore-Canada, Tzu-Nyen Ho
"Like You Know It All," South Korea, Hong Sang-soo "Amreeka," U.S., Cherien Dabis
"Go Get Some Rosemary," U.S.-France, Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie
"Humpday," U.S., Lynn Shelton
"I Love You Phillip Morris," U.S.-France, Glenn Ficarra, John Requa
"Tetro," Argentina-Spain-Italy, Francis Ford Coppola (opener)
SPECIAL SCREENING "Montparnasse," France, Mikhael Hers
SHORT FILMS"Cicada," Australia, Amiel Courtin-Wilson
"Jagdfieber," Belgium, Alessandro Comodin
"Superbarroco," Brazil, Renata Pinheiro
"Anna," Denmark, Runar Runarsson
"Nice," France, Maud Alpi
"The Fugitives," France, Guillaume Leiter
"Thermidor," France, Virgil Vernier
"The History of Aviation," Hungry, Balint Kenyeres
"Song of Love and Health," Portugal-France, Joao Nicolau
"Dust Kid," South Korea, Jung Yu-mi "The Attack of the Robots from Nebuma-5," Spain, Chema Garcia Ibarra
"Drommar Fran Skogen," Sweden, Johannes Nyholm
"American Minor," U.S., Charlie White
"John Wayne Hated Horses," U.S., Andrew Betzer
62nd Cannes Selects 9 Korean Films By David Oxenbridge & Nigel D'Sa,
KOFICMay 08 2009
A total of 9 Korean films including 5 features have been invited to the official line-up of the 62nd Cannes Film Festival, which runs May 13-24 in the famed coastal city of southern France. Headlining the robust range of Korean films this year is PARK Chan-wook's vampire thriller,
Thirst, one of 20 world class films in competition for the Palm D'or.
PARK's tale of a priest-turned-vampire whose nocturnal cravings result in an illicit affair with his friend's young wife, stars top local star SONG Gang-ho and is the second time the director has had a film in competition at Cannes since his Grand Prize win for
Old Boy in 2004.
BONG Joon-ho, director of the 2006 smash hit
The Host, will screen his upcoming fourth feature,
Mother, in Cannes Un Certain Regard section. The film stars veteran star KIM Hye-ja as a mother determined to save her 28-year-old-son (played by WON Bin) who has unwittingly become the prime suspect in a murder case.
Recently added to the line-up is debut director Ounie Lecomte's biographical feature
A Brand New Life, a Korean-French co-production. Lecomte's film recalls her early childhood in Korea when she was given up by her parents and put in an orphanage before finding a home in France. It will be presented in a Special Screenings section under the title LEE Chang-dong Presents.
LEE, who is credited as producer and co-writer of
A Brand New Life, was director of the 2007 Cannes selection
Secret Sunshine, which won a Best Actress prize for lead, JEON Do-yeon. LEE will sit on the international jury of Cannes this year that will decide on the festival's major prizes.
No stranger to Cannes, director HONG Sang-soo will screen his latest, titled
Like You Know It All, in the prestigious Directors' Fortnight section. The fifth Korean feature to screen is 1961 classic
Prince Yeonsan by legendary director SHIN Sang-ok. It will unspool in the Classics: New or Restored Prints category.
Also in the Directors' Fortnight section is the 10-minute animated short
Dust Kid by JUNG Yu-mi. Rounding out the Korean shorts are
Don't Step out of the House by JO Sung-hee and
The Horn by YIM Kyung-dong, both in the Cinfondation program. The short film
6 Hours by MOON Seong-hyeok will screen in the International Critics' Week section.
Kim Taewoo and Kim Taehoon, who are colleague actors as well as brothers, will be entering the Cannes International Film Festival together.
The two actors have been invited to the 62nd Cannes International Film Festival through movies "You Don't Even Know Well" and "6 Hours" they starred in. "You Don't Even Know Well" was chosen for the director week, and "6 Hours" was selected for the critic week. Therefore, the two actors will be entering the festival hand in hand.
Kim Taewoo took the role of a movie director named Goo Gyungnam in the movie "You Don't Even Know Well," and starred in the movie with actors such as Goh Hyunjung, Ha Jungwoo, Jung Yumi, Gong Hyungjin, and Yoo Junsang. Kim Taehoon took the role of a taxi driver Sunwoo in the movie "6 Hours" and acted with Kim Hyojoo. Kim Taehoon also starred in a movie "Run Rose" in 2006, and was evaluated as an actor with great potential through low-budget movies. [via
Sportsworldi.com]
QUOTE
Cannes Critics go for first-timersLatin American films dominateBy Jordan Mintzer,
VarietyPosted: Thurs., Apr. 23, 2009, 6:02pm PTCannes' 48th Critics' Week will feature predominantly debuting films.
Latin American films continue a strong showing, with Chilean helmer Alejandro Fernandez Almendras' "Huacho" and Uruguayan director Alvaro Brechner's "Bad Day to Go Fishing" both included in the sidebar's seven-film competition.
Also in the mix is Colombian feature "1989," directed by Camilo Matiz and starring Vincent Gallo (who apparently acted in the film on his days off from the shoot of Francis Ford Coppola's "Tetro"). Pic will be presented on closing night.
"Latin American films are less present than in previous years," the fest's artistic director, Jean-Christophe Berjon, told Daily Variety. "But having Latino fare at Critics' Week continues to be an important tradition."
This year, Belgium presents two competition features: Caroline Strubbe's "Lost Persons Area," about the relationship between a Hungarian engineer and a co-worker's young daughter in the wake of a fatal accident, and Peter Brosen and Jessica Woodworth's Andean-set drama "Altiplano," starring Dardenne brothers fave Olivier Gourmet. "Altiplano" is the sole nondebut in the competition.
Also competing are Iraqi helmer Shahram Alidi's "Whisper With the Wind" and Serbian director Vladimir Perisic's "The Ordinary People."
Fest will include two debuting French titles, as previously announced. "Nothing Personal," director Mathias Gokalp's dark corporate drama, will open the sidebar in a special screening. Featuring a handful of Gallic stars including Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Denis Podalydes and Zabou Breitman, pic will be distributed in France by Rezo with MK2 repping international sales.
Premiering in the competition, Gallic helmer Nassim Amaouche's "Adieu Gary" (originally titled "Adieu Gary Cooper") features French names Jean-Pierre Bacri and Angela Molina. StudioCanal will release it in July.
Both French productions will be competing for the Camera d'Or.
Gaul is also repped by closing-night short "La Baie du renard," the first stab at helming by thesp Gregoire Colin.
"If there's a common ground for this year's selection," Berjon said, "it's the abundance of older, mature characters who suddenly find themselves in limbo, questioning both their origins and their surroundings."
An additional feature for the Special Screenings session will be announced in the coming days.
Via
http://www.semainedelacritique.com/COMPETITION"Lost Persons Area," Belgium, Caroline Strubbe
"Altiplano," Belgium-Germany-Netherlands, Peter Brosen, Jessica Woodworth
"Huacho," Chile, Alejandro Fernandez Almendras
"Adieu Gary," France, Nassim Amaouche
"Whisper With the Wind," Iraq, Shahram Alidi
"The Ordinary People," Serbia-France-Switzerland, Vladimir Perisic
"Bad Day to Go Fishing," Uruguay-Spain, Alvaro Brechner
COMPETITION SHORTS"Runaway," Canada, Cordell Barker
"Tulum," Croatia, Dalibor Matanic
"Logorama," France, H5
"C'est gratuit pour les filles," France, Claire Burger, Marie Amachoukeli
"Together," Germany-U.K., Eicke Bettinga
"Noche adentro," Paraguay, Pablo Lamar
"Seeds of the Fall," Sweden, Patrick Eklund
SPECIAL SCREENINGS"Nothing Personal," France, Mathias Gokalp (Opening film)
"Hierro," Spain, Gabe Ibanez
"La baie du renard," France, Gregoire Colin (Closing night short)
"1989," Columbia, Camilo Matiz (Closing night)
SPECIAL SCREENINGS - SHORTS & MEDIUM-LENGTH"Elo," Brazil, Vera Egito
"Espalhadas pelo ar," Brazil, Vera Egito
"Les Miettes," France, Pierre Pinaud
"Faiblesses," France, Nicolas Giraud
"6 Hours," South Korea, Moon Seong-hyeok
