Cannes Diary #06: Or, I Took the Night Off

by Elisa Guidici

Cannes partygoers watching the game on a phone -- photo vis Scott Feinberg's Twitter

Yes, I took last night off. I'm not exactly a socialite during festivals: I spend the majority of my time in screenings and what's left desperately trying to write as much as possible about the movies I saw. I really envy colleagues who are able to balance work and social life at a festival as it's a skill I completely lack.

Having said so, come on, European football championship finals with Italy against England: every other Italian journalist was planning to see the match. Poor Nanni Moretti, had to present his latest movie just one hour before the match. I spent the night at a local pub with a group of Italian colleagues, watching the match and having my first dinner actually seated at a table and not hiding somewhere near the press room eating a baguette-with-something since the very first day. And Italy won, so it was a beautiful night. And now my voice is almost gone.

And the movies, Elisa, the movies? Well, I saw only two movies, but one is the longest in competition, so...

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Links: Korean Actors, Fun Director Interviews, etc...

• Observer a strong piece on the pros and con for both movie theaters and streaming at this juncture
• Variety has a piece up asking if the $60 million Black Widow made on premiere streaming (at $30 a pop) is good or not. And why is Disney being "transparent" about something so vague and impossible to confirm? 
• The Actor is Present The Korean Film Council has a huge guide to current Korean actors (200 of them!) so I'd check it out if you're into Korean cinema or television

More after the jump including Zola, Catherine Zeta Jones...

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Cannes Diary #2: New Ozon and old Japanese sensations

by Elisa Giudici

At the premiere of "Everything Went Fine"

The Festival has really begun and I finally discovered where the press room is inside the enormous Palais. Free coffees and soft drinks for journalists are a treat I never experienced at other festivals (so I'm feeling spoiled). The room is lovely with its wooden tables and cream colored seats with a view on the blue sea. The day after Annette, it's still the first question everyone asks: do you like it or not? I've already had interesting discussion about the movie with a couple of colleagues. I am really curious to see how it will be received by broader audience after the "festival bubble" ends.

But on to the day two screenings...

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Yes No Maybe So: "Belle" from Mamoru Hosoda

by Nathaniel  R

We recently debuted our first Oscar chart of the year for Best Animated Feature as well as an extensive overview of all the international animated films  which could be competing for the unofficial "foreign" spot in that particular Oscar race. Perhaps we underestimated Belle by Mirai director Mamoru Hosoda who we had the pleasure of interviewing a couple of years back. Here's the international trailer...

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74th Cannes. Un Certain Regard, Special Screenings, and More...

by Nathaniel R

Todd Haynes' first documentary is about the seminal band, THE VELVET UNDERGROUND

We've already looked at the competition lineup so here are the other key sections. It's worth noting that though the press mostly focuses on the Competition films, sometimes the buzziest titles come from other sections. There are some juries that pull from multiple sections too like the Camera d'Or jury (which honors first films), as well as two unofficial but exciting competitions, the Queer Palm and the fan favourite the Palm Dog (which names the best dog in the festival... and it's often much more competitive than you'd think with some years offering multiple win-worthy candidates). Director's Fortnight and Critics Week lineups haven't been announced yet but here are the rest of them...

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