Film industry guns for fresh start at Cannes

Issued on: 12/04/2022 – 06:12

Following a sluggish return to cinema-heading right after the Covid-19 pandemic, the film small business will be hoping for a boost on the French Riviera when the 75th edition of the world’s leading cinema competition returns from Might 17 to 28.

Tom Cruise is by now confirmed for the festival selling the globe premiere of “Prime Gun: Maverick”, the sequel to his 1986 blockbuster. Also attending is Tom Hanks, who co-stars in “Elvis” as the rock’n’roll star’s supervisor, Colonel Tom Parker.

The latter is the most current spectacle from Australian director Baz Luhrmann, who has formerly lit up Cannes with “Moulin Rouge!” and “Gatsby”.

The relaxation of the line-up will be announced on Thursday, together with the 20-odd films competing for the major prize Palme d’Or.

The collection committee, who have been working their way through much more than 2,000 entries in new months, have a difficult act to follow immediately after previous year’s classic version.

Coming right after the pageant was cancelled by the pandemic in 2020, it released many movies that went on to world achievement, specially “Drive My Automobile”.

Immediately after choosing up 3 awards at Cannes, it went on to get this year’s Oscar for very best intercontinental attribute movie — and was the to start with Japanese movie to be nominated in the most effective picture class.

Significant-identify speculation

Very last year’s jury — led by US director Spike Lee — gave the Palme d’Or to Julia Ducournau’s human body-horror “Titane” — guaranteeing the festival preserved its status for boosting bold and edgy filmmaking alongside starry entertainment.

The organisers have remaining it late to announce who will chair the jury this yr, but Penelope Cruz and Marion Cotillard are between the favourites according to field insiders.

Film professionals have also been picking by way of the release schedules for tips on who may possibly be in levels of competition.

Quite a few are hoping to see the return of David Cronenberg, whose future sci-fi/horror cross-more than stars Viggo Mortensen, Kristen Stewart and Lea Seydoux.

Also hotly tipped is Australian George Miller, the man powering “Mad Max”, who usually takes a new route with “A few Thousand A long time of Longing” about a djinn (played by Idris Elba) supplying 3 needs to Tilda Swinton.

A different likelihood is Terrence Malick, who received earlier for “Tree of Everyday living” starring Brad Pitt. His new film follows the lifetime of Jesus Christ and stars Mark Rylance as Satan.

Even though ladies have been acquiring more of a existence on the competition circuit, they stay poorly represented.

One particular possible contender in opposition at Cannes may well be US director Kelly Reichardt, with her new film, “Exhibiting Up”. Her lo-fi hit “Initially Cow” was on a lot of critics’ conclusion-of-yr lists in 2021.

Shadow of war

As with anything in the arts at the instant, the Russian invasion of Ukraine hangs in excess of the range.

Achievable names involve exiled Russian filmmaker Kantemir Balagov, 30, whose film “Beanpole” received the directing award of the Un Sure Regard area in 2019.

Or there may be the return of Kirill Serebrennikov, who was unable to go to Cannes last 12 months for his Palme nominee “Petrov’s Flu”, soon after currently being banned from travelling due to a controversial court circumstance.

A person possible Ukrainian entry is a movie about the Allied destruction of German cities at the end of Globe War II by director Sergei Loznitsa.

In the meantime, competition director Thierry Fremaux has been pushing for a alter to the rule that bars streaming platforms from competing at Cannes.

But French cinema distributors, who have a seat on the festival board, go on to block the shift even as major-title administrators this sort of as Martin Scorcese and Jane Campion have turned to Netflix and other streamers for economical assist.

In the small expression, that means that the substantially-expected Marilyn Monroe biopic, “Blonde”, starring Ana de Armas, a Netflix movie, are not able to contend for Palme, despite the fact that enthusiasts are even now hoping it will get a premiere on the Cote d’Azur.

© 2022 AFP