While most of the world obsesses on Eurovision today, we'll stayed obsessed with France. The Cannes festival ends tomorrow with the awards ceremony and the biggies like the Palme D'Or (the overall winner) Best Actress (or 'The Anti-Marion' as it will surely soon be retitled since she's in the mix every single year but never wins) and the Camera D'Or (first film). But until tomorrow afternoon when we hear those honors, we've still got plenty to discuss including potential Oscar submissions (I must soon create those massive foreign submission charts) and the first wave of jury prizes.
UN CERTAIN REGARD
Isabella Rossellini's jury has handed out their prizes with this statement from Rossellini
We, the jury, would like to thank the Festival de Cannes for inviting us to be part of the Jury for Un Certain Regard. The experience of watching nineteen films from twenty-one countries was memorable. It was like taking a flight over our Planet and its inhabitants… Any anthropologist would be envious of us. We would like in particular to thank Thierry Frémaux and his team for their incredible kindness. I cannot refrain from expressing also my personal gratitude to the Festival for having chosen my mother Ingrid Bergman for the poster of the 68th edition of this festival. Mamma seems to hovered over all of us, filmmakers and film lovers, as a guardian angel. Thank you.
Here's a roundup of prizes including many potential Oscar submissions for Best Foreign Language Film...
'Rams" from Iceland
Prize of Un Certain Regard: Hrútar / Rams from Iceland. Director Grímur Hákonarson is mostly known for his documentary work but he had one previous narrative feature with Summerland (2010). This comedy about estranged brothers trying to save their sheep was well reviewed and it seems likely to be Iceland's Oscar submission at this early stage, both because of the reviews and because Iceland doesn't produce a ton of pictures each year.
The High Sun from Croatia
Jury Prize: Zvizdan / The High Sun from Croatia. Director Dalibor Matanic, who was previously Oscar submitted over a decade ago for Fine Dead Girls (2002) has won fine reviews for his eighth feature which is three stories of forbidden inter-ethnic love in neighboring Balkan villages. Croatia has yet to be nominated for the Oscar for foreign film but eventually their luck will have to change.
Best Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa for Kishibe No Tabi / Journey to the Shore (Japan). Variety called this a "gently moving ghost story" It stars Tadanobu Asano (who you'll recognize from the Thor movies and the Oscar nominated Mongol) as a husband thought dead who returns to his wife three years later. It's far too early in the year to know if this will be Japan's submission -- they have a lot to choose from and their selections are often unexpected.
Un Certain Talent Prize: Comoara / The Treasure from Romania. Corneliu Porumboiu is one of Romania's most acclaimed directors though this prize is specifically for "masterful narration" Hmmm. The movie is about a loving father who sees himself as a hero but becomes involved with a metal detector search for buried treasure. Porumboiu has been Oscar submitted once before for Police, Adjective.
Masaan, a debut film from Neeraj Ghaywan
Promising Future Prize: [TIE] Masaan from first time director Neeraj Ghaywan from India is a melodrama about two separate romances between castes that eventually come together with tragey. The other winner is an Iranian debut, Nahid by Ida Panahandeh, about a woman beset with problems from all sides. Sareh Bayet, who co-starred in the Oscar winning masterpiece A Separation and who was nominated right here at our own awards for that role, plays the title character.
(This jury can give out acting awards as they did last year but they are not required to and it appears they didn't feel the urge.)
CINEFONDATION
Adbderrahmade Sissako's Short Film Jury also announced their awards
First Prize: Share from USA. Directed by Pippa Bianco
Second Prize: Locas Perdidas from Chile. Directed by Ignacio Juricic Merillán
Third Prize: [TIE] The Return of Erkin from Russia. Directed by Maria Guskova. And Victor XX from Spain. Directed by Ian Garrido López
"Paulina," an Argentinian film, about a idealistic but irrational teacher was a big hit with the critics
MISCELLANEOUS PRIZES
It's tough to keep track of all the random prizes a festival this size has from multiple official juries and other groups outside of the official business. I'm sure we'll hear of a few more than just these.
Art Cinema Award The Embrace of the Serpent from Colombia. Directed by Ciro Guerro
Europe Cinema Labels Best European Film Mustang from Turkey. Directed by Deniz Gamze Erguven.
Nespresso Grand Prix (Critics Week): Paulina from Argentina. Directed by Santiago Mitre. I saw his first film The Student which was also about obsessive idealogies and though I didn't warm to it, Mitre struck me as someone with promise so I'll be curious to see this one. (For what it's worth The Student had buzz for awhile as Argentina's submission in its year (it didn't happen) but perhaps Mitre will get that honor this year?)
Canal Plus Best Short: Ramona.
Sony CineAlta Discovery Prize: Chickenpox from Italy. Directed by Fulvio Risuelo
The Gan Foundation Support for Distribution Award The Walkhan Front from Afghanistan. Directed by Clement Cogitore
FIPRESCI Prize, Competition: Son of Saul from Hungary
FIPRESCI Prize, Un Certain Regard: Masaan
FIPRESCI Prize, Critics Week Paulina
PREMIERES
Finally, three premiere photos to go. It's thrilling to hear that Hou Hsia-Hsien's latest film, the period epic The Assassin has been so warmly received primarily because his films are always so beautiful and he's reunited Shu Qi and Chang Chen (who made such a transcendent couple in Three Times many years ago) and don't they look lovely together again at their premiere? Variety's review calls it "ravishing" and it's already booked for a US release (yay) though I hadn't heard of the distributor Well Go USA (oh no) but at this point I fully expect it to be Taiwan's Oscar submission unless China or Hong Kong can or want to claim it... you never know with these multi-national funded pictures.
The last major film to premiere was Justin Kurzel's much hyped new interpretation of MacBeth starring Marion Cotillard as that "out damned spot" Lady and Michael Fassbender as her would-be King. Here they all are that premiere and I included a picture of jury members Xavier Dolan and Sienna Miller because it looks like they color coordinated their outfits ...and who would put that past either of them?
And one more to go. C
an you believe that in our three fashion roundups I totally forgot to include the Carol premiere? My bad. Here are Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett and Todd Haynes together with their backs turned because sometimes to look directly into the face of the sun is blinding.
