And don’t be surprised to find Jafar Panahi’s latest among the films, as that is the official entry to the International Feature Film Oscar race for France. Vive la France, I say!
Read More
The kind of beautiful women attending this year’s Festival de Cannes, as photographed at the Kering Women in Motion Awards dinner
The difference between us: Another Cannes Film Festival dispatch
Never before did I notice such a gender divide and so much incredibly superfluous mansplaining as I did this year on the Croisette.
Read More
A still from ‘The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo’ by Diego Céspedes
Moments incroyables: A second Cannes Dispatch
Everything moves so fast on the Croisette, that sometimes I imagine I’ve been here for a year, others that I landed just five minutes ago. But in that time, somewhere in between, I’ve definitely watched loads of films, met interesting people and attended a few parties. So here’s a recap of… only the last 48 hrs?! Incroyable, I tell you.
Read More
© Les Films 13 - ‘A Man and a Woman’ by Claude Lelouch (1966) / Graphic design © Hartland Villa
Two posters, a first film's cool Jury President and Alain Chabat at the Fortnight
If the Festival de Cannes is approaching, then it’s time for this journo to check her inbox at least a hundred times a day. News include the announcement of the Caméra d'or for first works Jury President and two posters for ‘A Man and a Woman’ as the image of the Croisette for this 2025 edition.
Read More
Cannes' sidebars -- Critics' Week, Directors' Fortnight and ACID selections announced
Among the titles which stand out to me immediately are two beautiful projects, one selected for Critics’ Week and the other in the Fortnight line up, which participated in the recent DFI Qumra industry incubator. And I included the shorts in Critics’ Week!
Read More
Laetitia Ky in a still from Erige Sehiri’s ‘Promised Sky’
Cannes Line-Up announcement 2025: Wondrous women filmmakers, returning favorites and a Spike Lee joint
You have to love Spike Lee for crashing Thierry Frémaux’s insiders party at the line-up press conference… via social media of course!
Read More
Oscar-winning director Michel Hazanavicius at Ciné Lumière in London to present his latest
‘The Most Precious of Cargoes’ is the French-born director’s foray into animation and features the narration of legendary actor Jean-Louis Trintignant in what would turn out to be his last role.
Read More
A still from Abderrahmane Sissako’s ‘Black Tea’ which enjoys its UK premiere at the festival
Film Africa 2024 is coming to London to celebrate the best of cinema from the continent
The festival, presented by The Royal African Society, will run from 25 October to 3 November during the UK’s celebration of Black History Month and will showcase the best of African cinema in Europe.
Read More
Cannes Film Festival awards include top prizes for Sean Baker's 'Anora' and Guan Hu's 'Black Dog' in Un Certain Regard
Many women-directed gems were snubbed, in favor of a story about a sex worker written and directed by a male filmmaker.
Read More
This year’s Palm Dog winner Kodi with his director and co-star Laetitia Dosch
The Cannes Diaries: The day the festival went to the dogs!
The Palm Dog winners, that is…
Read More
A still from ‘Salted Skins’ by Nicolas Fattouh, courtesy of the DFI
The Cannes Diaries: Doha Dreaming with multiple DFI projects in the Cannes Official line up & Spring 2024 upcoming grants
It’s all in a week’s work for the Doha Film Institute, the greatest cinematic organization in the MENA region.
Read More
A still from ‘The Girl with the Needle’, courtesy of the Festival de Cannes
The Cannes Diaries: Magical interviews, chance meetings and beautiful films
There is a trick to this festival. If you stand still long enough in Cannes — something a bit difficult to do on a weekend as crowds are bustling all around you — you’ll run into everyone who is anyone in the film universe.
Read More
A still from ‘Maria’ by Jessica Palud
Cannes adds more titles, include Jessica Palud's 'Maria' and unveils jury for Un Certain Regard
Plus, their selection of short films from all over the world and an immersive program which includes fantastic works featuring the voices of Cate Blanchett, Indira Varma, Tahar Rahim and Colin Farrell.
Read More
‘Rhapsody in August’ by Akira Kurosawa (1991) © Shochiku Co., Ltd. / Kurosawa Prod. – Graphic design © Hartland Villa
Studio Ghibli, Kevin Costner, Baloji and other goodies to come at the Festival de Cannes
Turns out there are lots of winning people and moments on this year’s Croisette, and that’s before the festival has even started. And finally, we have a poster for the 77th edition of the festival!
Read More
A still from ‘The Second Act’, photo © Chi-Fou-Mi Productions
The latest Cannes announcements, including the Léa Seydoux starrer which will kick off the festival
Plus, the festival releases its latest guidelines to make the event more eco-friendly.
Read More
Jim Sheridan, Leos Carax, Claire Denis and more at Qumra for this year's DFI industry meet up
Plus Atom Egoyan fresh from the Berlinale and Academy Award nominated sound designer Martín Hernández, all to give Masterclasses while in Qatar.
Read More
An empty red carpet means anticipation. No red carpet means defeat.
Requiem for a Festival: Letter to a Cannes FF that might never happen
I wrote a letter to the Festival de Cannes. I asked it to help save cinema by not going online.
Read More
A still from ‘Family Romance, Llc’ by Werner Herzog
The Cannes 2019 Diaries: Wondrous Werner Herzog, 'Papicha' is my new heroine and the life surreal of a film journo
In ‘Family Romance, Llc’ Werner Herzog finds a new way to work through the difficulties life throws our way — outsource them to an agency specializing in family connections. He does it with his usual flair for our human ridiculousness and making the impossible seem real. During the junket following the screening, I loved listening to my esteemed colleagues’ confused explanations of stories they thought they’d seen like this one in documentaries, or even completely convinced this was a reality film, instead of fiction. And Herzog himself quite perfectly, calmly and smoothly shooting down each and all of their perplexed ideas.
‘Family Romance, Llc’ was a Special Screening at this year’s Festival de Cannes.
Read More
Julianne Moore in ‘The Staggering Girl’ by Luca Guadagnino
The Cannes 2019 Diaries: Films that broke my heart and Luca Guadagnino's Valentino project
There has been a certain je ne sais quoi in the air here in Cannes, and I wasn’t able to quite put my finger on it. It bothered me, someone always good at defining a moment, person or place, that I couldn’t put that feeling into words. Then I attended the press conference for Luca Guadagnino’s ‘The Staggering Girl’ and I had a ‘EUREKA!” moment. So bear with me for a moment while I get to that…
Read More
Me after my nightmare trip… NO! Just kidding, it’s Iggy Pop in a still from ‘The Dead Don’t Die’.
The Cannes 2019 Diaries: 'The Dead Don't Die', they land at Nice airport though!
Yes, there was a flash taxi strike at the airport in Nice yesterday, just as my flight was getting in. No, they were not prepared for an action by all taxi drivers to block the roads accessing the airport, so no vehicle of any sort could get in or out of the airport. Yes, there is a tramway track recently built which reaches terminal 3 but no, there was no tram traveling on it. So everyone had to walk for miles, with luggage in tow, under the sweltering sun, to reach an overcrowded train, through overpasses and station underpasses (read: lots and lots of stairs) mimicking the zombies in Jim Jarmusch’s Cannes opening night film.
Welcome to the glamorous life of a journalist covering the Festival de Cannes! If I hear one more time what a wonderful opportunity it is for me to be doing what I do, I’ll strangle someone. Then, I might actually begin to get the attention I deserve.
Read More