Image courtesy of © Medianest Fasten Films
Before she won L'Œil d'or, the top Cannes prize for documentary, I talked with the actress turned filmmaker, as we sat perched high up on a terrace overlooking the Croisette on a balmy, sunny day — which made the chat almost feel surreal.
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Nisrin Erradi in a still from Laila Marrakchi’s ‘Strawberries’ courtesy of Lumen, Atelier and Mont Flueri
A film worth its weight in gold, lingering on in one’s thoughts, from a filmmaker whose vision never ceases to amaze.
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And ends up occupying a large part of my heart too, with its story of overcoming grief by bringing about the impossible.
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Isabelle Huppert and Adam Bessa in ‘Parallel Tales’ photo © Carole Bethuel
The film by the Iranian helmer has gained space inside my thoughts since I first watched it on the Croisette, always a sign of something special in a work of the seventh art.
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The short documentary, which follows a team of refugees in Paris working towards sustaining French haute couture, has also received a nomination by Raindance in the category of Best Documentary Short.
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Sandra Hüller and Hanns Zischler in a still from Paweł Pawlikowski’s 'Fatherland', photo © Agata Grzybowska
Near the beginning of Pawel Pawlikowski’s stunning film on novelist’s Thomas Mann’s return to Germany in 1949, the author and his daughter Erika drive through war-torn Frankfurt, the city reduced to rubble. It’s a scene which showcases in the first clip from the film, but it also features in current events, as I awoke on the morning to the news that multiple Russian-deployed drones had hit Kiev, bringing the haunting film home. In more ways than one.
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Juliette Binoche and Anna Calder-Marshall in a still from ‘Queen at Sea’
There are films which devour you at first watch and this Juliette Binoche starrer is one of those works of the 7th art, one which grabs hold of you right away and never really lets go.
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A still from ‘Narciso’, photo by © La Babosa Cine, used with permission
The brilliance of a film is sometimes in the casting and Martinessi’s latest film, screening in this year’s Panorama section, proves that point, with a central cameo by an actor who makes you sit up in your chair as soon as he enters the picture.
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The film recently screened in Rotterdam, after enjoying its international premiere at the Marrakech Film Festival in the fall and I caught up with the filmmaker, his DoP and one of the actors while they were at IFFR.
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When people say, or write, things like “what has become of America?” pointing to our current leadership and our contemporary USA, I always think, we’ve been there all along — because America was built on slavery, and the kind of human/civil rights abuses that never let up.
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While the Iranian helmer’s latest film may not be his best, it has turned out to be his most crucial to date — all because Panahi is finally able to promote it.
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Turns out you do. And Cooper is both funny in it, and wondrous behind the camera. In a few words, it’s a film you won’t want to miss.
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Tessa Thompson in ‘Hedda’ by Nia DaCosta, photo courtesy of Amazon
The film, directed and written by Nia DaCosta based on the play by Henrik Ibsen, transports the story to 1950s England, with all its class issues and gender bias, and adds into the mix an LGBTQ twist that transforms what could be a dated narrative into one for the here and now.
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Banin Ahmad Nayef in a still from ‘The President’s Cake’ courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
The Iraqi helmer’s film premiered in Cannes this year and suddenly, I couldn’t imagine a world without its presence. But it was as if one day, Hasan Hadi’s presence and talent exploded onto our consciousness, ready to take his place in the world of cinema greats.
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Úrsula Corberó Delgado and Nahuel Pérez Biscayart in a still from ‘Kill the Jockey’, used with permission
While Luis Ortega’s stunning 2024 film may be primarily an Argentinian title, as a Spanish co-production jury members Vincent Jaskowski-Prowse, Leigh Singer and I were able to celebrate the title in style at this year’s festival. And, in the process, we discovered a film that has filled our dreams ever since.
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A still from ‘Cotton Queen’, courtesy of Strange Bird
Behind what could be a simple tale of a young girl coming of age in Sudan, filmmaker Suzannah Mirghani’s debut feature weaves an extraordinary and cautionary tale of respect for one’s self and for the environment around us, which are always crucially, and importantly intertwined.
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Yile Vianello in a still from ‘AGON’ by Giulio Bertelli, photo courtesy of The Match Factory
This stunning film, which packs a punch and relentlessly holds on to the viewer, until you realize you may have just run out of breath, world premiered at this year’s Venice Film Festival in the 40th edition of Critics’ Week, one of the festival’s parallel section.
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Toni Servillo in Paolo Sorrentino’s ‘La Grazia’, image courtesy of La Biennale di Venezia
The Neapolitan Maestro’s perfect, awards-worthy Venice opener sees Toni Servillo playing an out-going Italian President of the Republic who, faced with several life-changing choices, allows us, the audience, to discover through him the true meaning of the word “grace”.
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A still from ‘Cotton Queen’ by Suzannah Mirghani, which will screen in Critics’ Week in Venice
Other titles supported by the respected Qatari cinematic organization include Jihan K’s personal doc on the disappearance of her father during the Qaddafi regime, Cyril Aris’ ‘A Sad and Beautiful World’ starring Mounia Akl, which will be screening in the Official Selection and Giornate degli Autori lineups, respectively, along with Sofia Alaoui’s sci-fi fable ‘Tarfaya’ which participates in the Venice Production Bridge.
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Paolo Sorrentino by © Michael Avedon, courtesy of La Biennale di Venezia
And I’ll tell you why I’m excited, plus reveal a bit of the story and where it will take place.
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