Cannes Diary #08: Huppert, Damon, "Titane", and peculiar babies...

by Elisa Giudici

Today a dream of mine came true: I was finally able to attend an event with Isabelle Huppert. She is quite popular on the film festival circuit but lately she is working in theatre a lot (right now some Chekhov, just like the protagonist of Drive My Car), so I was so excited to finally meet her at the "Rendez-vous avec Isabelle Huppert" event. Let me fangirl a little. She is truly a charismatic person with a serious attitude and kind smile. Her event had two moderators but they were quite nervous (I totally understand!) so the conversation was a bit repetitive if still interesting. The most iconic moment was when someone asked her if she ever experienced stage fright or if she was ever a little scared by the legendary directors she worked with. She immediately answered that she never feels intimidated by anyone. It is an attitude she is not interested in exploring; I wish my brain would listen and be more like that! On Haneke, she said that he obsesses over realistic movements, and gives actors a lot of boundaries but almost never any advice  on how to act...and she likes it that way,

In these kind of events moderators are crucial to create an interesting dialogue. I am not that much into Matt Damon's filmography but I found his Rendez-vous a memorable experience, too, because the interviewer prepared the list of questions well so that the whole event was engaging. Of course Damon's friendly attitude helped. He is a charming person and knows how to make an audience happy revealing small inside details from his long carrier. 

On to the movies...

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Cannes at Home: Day 8

by Cláudio Alves 

What an exciting day to be at Cannes this must have been. Asghar Farhadi unveiled a new picture to critical acclaim, with some even stating that A Hero is his greatest work since A Separation. In the main competition, Julia Ducournau also presented her sophomore feature, Titane. After Raw, the new film seems like it will continue the director's exploration on the limits of body horror. As for some sidebar prospects, Miguel Gomes opened his latest work in the Director's Fortnight. The Tsugua Diaries was co-directed with Maureen Fazendeiro and represents Gomes' first feature since Arabian Nights. Unfortunately, another project called Savagery remains incomplete since the pandemic forced the production to halt. In any case, for our homebound Cannes alternative, let's explore the past and best works from these filmmakers…

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