Last night (May 16^th) I climbed the grand staircase of the Lumiere theatre to watch Mahamat-Saleh Horoun’s “Un Homme Qui Crie –A Screaming Man”. It’s a very simple story. It centres around Adam (played by veteran actor Youssourf Djaoro), a former swimming champion in his early sixties who is now a pool attendant in a small hotel in Chad. He has a twenty something son Abdel who works along with him at the pool but with the war at the city gates and serious economic cut back only one of the two could keep their position in the aquatic dept. Because of this situation bad blood develops between father and son leaving us to examine the Oedipus complex.

Un Homme Qui Crie –A Screaming Man is the first Africa film to be screened in competition in the last 10 years of the festival. Which explain the long standing ovation that the director and cast received before the screening of the film. It was equally touching after the film during the second standing ovation when the camera captures tears streaming down the face of Youssourf Djaorot. It was a very conventional film for Cannes. It captured the look and feel of an art house film. However, as pride also began to fill me one question came to mind – are the 2300 people in attendance tonight be the only audience that will appreciate this film?

"Carancho" director Pablo Trapero and Kirk Cooper

However tonight (May 17^th) on the other side of the Palais in the Debussy Theatre a different film was shown. The film is called Carancho and it was selected in the Un Certain Regard section. I almost missed this film if it wasn’t for a meeting I had earlier at the Canada pavilion and later running into the same colleague heading to the film.

Carancho is from Argentina and is directed by Pablo Trapero (Familla Rodante- 2004). Sosa (Ricardo Darin) is unlicensed lawyer who lurks around the emergence rooms for clients. He meets Lujan (Martina Gusman) and they fall for each other but Lujan ends up too deep in the black market world of Sosa where bodies are the best form of currency. (trailer in Spanish below)

This by far has become one of my favourite film at the festival including Xavier Dolan – “Heartbeats”. Here is why. It was not predictable in the telling of the story nor did it fail to deliver a great performance by both Darin and Gusman. The director was successful in bringing together horrific accident scenes in the editing room that made the film seamless. I think it was design and certainly no accident that I end my night watching Carancho after a long day of meetings with the same colleague that I had a met with earlier for business. Strange as it may seem that just one of the many things that happens here in Cannes.