Cannes at Home: Day 2 - Breakdowns and rebellions
The first day of Main Competition screenings saw the premiere of a few film by Kirill Serebrennikov, and a collaboration from Felix van Groeningen, and Charlotte Vandermeersch. Tchaikovsky's Wife (read Elisa's review) marks the third time Serebrennikov competes for the Palme d'Or, but the first time he's been at the Croisette. In the last few years, he's forbidden from exiting Russia after being convicted of deviating state funds for the Gogol Center in Moscow, a subterfuge for punishing an artist who's consistently spoken against Putin's regime. The other screening was less politically charged in comparison. The Eight Mountains (read Elisa's review) is the first directorial collaboration of Groeningen and Vandermeersch, though they previously wrote the screenplay for Groeningen's The Broken Circle Breakdown. Moreover, it's Vandermeersch's debut as a director and is the first of five competition titles directed or co-directed by women – a record in Cannes history.
For the Cannes at Home miniseries, today's films are The Broken Circle Breakdown and Serebrennikov's Leto...