I decided to take a break and slow it down on Day 5 of the festival. After having a great time with my friends from South Africa I felt I needed some down time. Thankfully I had no appointments and no special receptions to attend.  I decided to take in a film later in the day entitled “Martha Marcy May Marlene” an indie film that took Sundance by surprise. After its Sundance screening Variety wrote that it was a clear indication of new talents to the industry with director Sean Durkin and promising new star Elizabeth Olsen…younger sister to the Olsen twins. The film was scooped up by Fox Searchlight – with the hopes that it would follow in the success of “Precious” and “Blue Valentine” both of which were invited to the Festival de Cannes 09 and 2010 respectably. Not having the opportunity to see either film in Cannes I felt it was time to see this film before it rode on the success of a Sundance/Cannes/Toronto circuit. I began to wonder if this is will be a trend?

Cast ofÂ

I arrive about an hour and a half to the Debussy Theatre – where all films selected for Un Certain Regard are been screened – well prepared to wait in the cue with my iTouch and a warm jacket. I’ve learnt over the years to bring a light jacket because the weather can be a bit unpredictable at times due to the proximity of the ocean and the cinema. Once inside I began to realize that the theatre was mostly filled with a younger audience and they were Americans. Because I was listening to my iTouch it was an observation that had escaped me while I was waiting in line. The film is about a young woman who is haunted by painful memories and increase paranoia. She is damaged woman struggling to re-assimilate with her family after fleeing a farm where an abusive cult thrives. I felt it was a suspenseful film that reflects on the insidious way cults operate and the psychological vulnerabilities on which they prey.  This is Sean Durkin’s first feature film  and it starts with a few subtle scenes in which we learn that something is off-key at the isolated farm, where women cook and serve men first, then eat separately after the men have eaten before bedding down in a dorm-like fashion. A very strong tone was set at the beginning of the film that made a clear indication that the director had unintentionally isolated the audience.  In preparing Elizabeth who I felt did a great job in her role as a psychological damaged woman, the director establish a barrier that kept me disconnected from the emotional journey. I can understand why Sean won the best director prize at Sundance this is an essential Sundance film but I did not feel it was Cannes worthy. After the film a group of us decided to grab a bite to eat and then take in the night life of the Grand Hotel – one of the hot spots during the festival. When we arrive to the Grand Hotel we saw a sea of professional drinking, smoking and having a great time in the makeshift garden lounge leading up to the hotel bar which onlyhas a capacity of 75. We decided the wait would be too long and left to join the indie group at the Petit Majestic which is located behind the Grand Hotel.  A very different crowd - they were the kind of people you would find at Sundance. Perhaps I will have the opportunity to speak the next Sean Durkin over a pint of  cheap beer. Note: I apologize for not being able to post pictures into the blog. There are some issues with my laptop. Pictures will be inserted at a later date or check out the pictures on Facebook in the album entitled Cannes 2011.

I knew that I would be busy but not quite so busy that my nights ends at roughly 3am and my days begin at 10am. Of course during that down period I need to have a late supper, take care of FMA blog, updates on Facebook/ Twitter, hygiene and of course sleep. But this is in no way a complaint. I couldn’t be happier being here at the fest. To be honest I have been feeling bad because I have not been able to keep up with my writing. So to catch up to the festival that is now on Day 7 I will need either write shorter entries or blend them together. Hmmm…something think about.

Day 4 in Cannes was filled with meeting and no films. I started the day with a meeting at Abu Dhabi Film Commission where I was told unfortunately that my meeting needed to be rescheduling due to a conflict. No problem there – a quick reschedule and I was onto my next appointment at the Greek Pavilion. I had an excellent meeting with the Greeks and at the end was offer an invite to their reception.  Let’s hope they serve some kabobs

Later that afternoon I was to attend the Canada/India reception –upon my arrival there was a down pour of rain from out of the blue. I should have realized that this was a foreshadowing to the vibe of the event.  While chatting to a producer I noticed to my disappointment that they decided serve beef skewers. I find that particular tasteless seeing as we are the host to India and cows are quite sacred. But it goes further than that.  The young producer that has been in my company since day 1 of the fest…(I choose  to leave him nameless at this point) found himself in a discussion at the door of the Canada Pavilion where he was completely dismissed as “not a senior producer “ and was turn away from the event until I spoke up on his behalf. Please keep in mind that this event is paid for through Canadian tax dollars. But in fairness (Canada Pavilion) said they wanted to showcase senior producers so that delegates from India would feel they were with their peers on such topics as co-production.  Hmmm…so I asked when does a short filmmaker who has produced his short film and gets accepted into Cannes Short Film Corner – travels miles to be in Cannes spent their own funds… gets a break to network with senior producers so they can learn? Good question – but no one could answer so he was admitted.  

Later that evening my spirit was lifted as I dance the night away on the dance floor of the South African party. The first event in Cannes that had a full buffet and an excellent dessert bar including a chocolate fountains and array of creamy ice cream flavours. In the middle of the event we were treated by very entertaining fireworks display. Even though Kane West was hosting an event just down the Cossette from us, his party I have to admit had all the hype surrounding it but no substance. It was siad that they a VIP room and a VIP-VIP room. I much prefer the real people of South Africa.  Watching fireworks on the beach just made those unfortunate incidents in the day melt away like ice cream on a hot night.

OMDC & TIFF celebrates Canadian filmmakers

On any given day after the Opening of the festival you will hear this familiar question “What do you do in the industry?” – a big question that could stop someone in their tracks if they are not as confident as the person asking the question. Let’s say the person who is asking this particular question was founder and creator of the software for IMDb Col Needham. We met at the tiff reception – Celebrating Canadian Filmmakers.

Search for any film on the internet and IMDb will be the first site on the list of results. The website is for film fans and is put together by film fans explained to me by Col as we sip the last of our red wine. Anything you ever wanted to know about movies can be found on IMDb and probably a whole lot more as well. The Internet Movie Database – has an astonishing 100 million users and its immense popularity is growing with no sign of slowing down any time soon. Adding to their strength is IMDbPro an addition to the site where most importantly users pay that little bit extra get to see exactly what film fans across the world are searching for. Plus the acquisition of  “Withoutabox”  The Withoutabox website offers filmmakers a platform to search over 3000 film festivals on five continents and to submit their films to over 850 film festivals world wide including festivals such as Sundance and the Toronto International Film Festival (tiff). So what do you say to a Col Needham? Join the Film Market Cannes Program next year and I will tell you.

Also at the reception were the tiff programming staffs such Jesse Wente, Collin Geddes and co directors Cameron Bailey and Piers Handling. The reception was also pack with some international names and film organization, such as people from Sundance, AFI, and Berlin. There also some distributors in attendance …like Mongrel Media, Raven Banner Entertainment, Max Films and Moiveola the short film channel in Canada.

Albina Nahar actor of short film ESHA

But beyond the popular question there are also those uncomfortable situations where you have to be at your best. For example you will run into someone at the festival that you have seen for awhile and they will start to list off 101 events that they’ve attended. Whether true or false is neither here or there! Albina Nahar a young lady that was part of our group at the reception shine in such an opportunity. While having this particular conversation with a friend on the street she was over heard by the host of the tiff reception as he walked by her towards my direction. The host stopped to say to me – I just over heard the best compliment about our reception from the young lady in your group. She was quoted as saying I just left an awesome reception…all the right people you would want to meet were there. Later we learnt that her friend began to focus on her stories and a lot less on his own.

Albina Nahar is the lead actress in the short film Esha playing at the short film corner in Cannes  http://itwaswritten.ca/

I’ve said it once before – Cannes always flet like home to me once you’ve arrived. For me there are several factors in making that statement. The first fact would be taking comfort after a long trip.  I think perhaps the further you travel to get to Cannes the more of a relief you feel upon arrival. I met a producer all the way from Brazil (flew 11 hours to get to Amsterdam and then he still needed to fly 2 hours) to Nice. That’s a total of 13 hours in the air not to mentioned time waiting for your connection. Reminds me of that saying “Are we there yet?”

As for myself I flew 7 hours to Paris sitting next to the most irritating couple – two older business men who are on their way to Russia. To keep themselves entertain they drank throughout most of the flight and got louder with each drink. At some point the thought to change seat had cross my mind but unfortunately it was a full flight. So at this point you can only imagine 7 hours of sitting next to a couple of drunks with a 2 hours of lay over connection then one hour speeding on another flight to Nice plus a 40 minutes bus trip into Cannes – a total of 12 hours including all my connections. However, upon my arrival in Cannes I saw the beach heard the French language and felt the 21 degree weather. It was all starting to worth all that effort to get here. There were people lying on the beach soaking up the sun and a view of the Mediterranean Sea with floating yachts that makes it all picture perfect.

But that’s just the backdrop for a uniquely popular festival that has been running for the last 64 years.

The Festival Opening Night featured the U.S director Woody Allan with an American cast adding to the mix our Canadian darling Rachel McAdams in what I imagined was a romantic story about Paris. I made these assumption based on a trailer (post earlier in April on FMA) and the fact that I arrive too late to see the film. But had I arrived earlier I would have declined seeing it. I’m just not a fan of Woody.

So I made my way to the accreditation office to get my pass and ran into a really good friend who used to live in NYC, producer Moria Griffin. Moria now resides in L.A as Industry Affairs at Loyola Marymount University. We took time over dinner to catch up on what we were both up to and what our goals were for this festival. I chose a familiar restaurant. We talked, laughed, eat and drink a glass of wine occasionally watching and commenting as people as they stroll by for an evening out all dress up. A couple of times we were greeted by other colleagues and joined by one. This may seem like the norm and it is in Cannes. It’s kinda of experience that makes you feel like your home.

So a couple hours later it was time to return to my hotel – do some last minute emails, Facebook updates and tweeting then hit the sack because Thursday is really the start of the full schedule to the festival and I expect it to be a long day. Stay tuned!

Festival de Cannes contender Lynne Ramsay, director of We Need To Talk About Kevin.

The highly anticipated Terrence Malick’s Tree of Life finally makes an appearance after speculation that it would have premiered last year at the festival. Along with film auteur Malick are a few notable U.S directors Gus Van Sant (Milk – 2009), Jodie Foster, Rob Marshall and finally a pleasant surprise from Sundance this year Sean Durkin’s  Martha Marcy May Marlene, starring Elizabeth Olsen. 

But wait there are more lovely surprises – from regular attendee Pedro Almodovar (Spain) Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Turkey) Lynne Ramsay (U.K), and we also see the return of the Plame D’or duo Jean-Pierre et Luc Dardenne (France) and Ki-duk Kim (Korean) 

Among the omissions, as suspected: films from Walter Salles, Alexander Payne (Sideways), Wong Kar Wai, Andrea Arnold, Canada’s own David Cronenberg, and Marina Zenovich’s with her Roman Polanski follow-up, which is still a work in progress.

And finally, the festival has stepped into the social media community. You can now get updates about this year’s festival: screenings, events, interviews, the stars on the red-carpet and the awards ceremonies.  This is been offered free of charged as a “Festival de Cannes” app, developed by Orange (France’s Media Company). But this app is only useful to those attending the festival.

As Opening Night approaches I will give more insights & details on some of more interesting titles. Your comments are always welcome!

Opening Film:
Woody ALLEN – MIDNIGHT IN PARIS (Out of Competition)

Nuri Bilge Ceylan

COMPETITION
Pedro Almodovar – LA PIEL QUE HABITO
Bertrand Bonello – L’APOLLONIDE – SOUVENIRS DE LA MAISON CLOSE
Alain Cavlier – ALIER – PATER
Joseph Cedar – HEARAT SHULAYIM (Footnote)
Nuri Bilge Ceylan – BIR ZAMANLAR ANADOLU’DA (Once upon a time in Anatolia)
Jean-Pierre et Luc Dardenne – LE GAMIN AU VÉLO
Aki Kaurismaki – LE HAVRE
Naomi Kawase – HANEZU NO TSUKI
Julia Leigh – SLEEPING BEAUTY
MAÏWENN – POLISSE
Terrence Malick – THE TREE OF LIFE
Radu Mihaileau – LA SOURCE DES FEMMES
Takashi Miike – ICHIMEI (Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samuraï)
Nanni Moretti – HABEMUS PAPAM
Lynne Ramsay – WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN
Markus Sshlienzer – MICHAEL
Paolo Sorrentino – THIS MUST BE THE PLACE
Lars Von Trier – MELANCHOLIA
Nicolas Winding Refn – DRIVE

Gus Van Sant - Opens Un Certain Regard with his film "Restless"

UN CERTAIN REGARD
• RESTLESS,  dir Gus VAN SANT – Opening Film
• THE HUNTER, dir Bakur Bakuradze
• HALT AUF FREIER STRECKE, dir Andreas Dresen
• HORS SATAN, dir Bruno Dumont
• MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE, dir Sean Durkin
• LES NEIGES DU KILIMANDJARO, dir Robert Guediduian
• SKOONHEID, dir Oliver Hermanus
• THE DAY HE ARRIVES, dir Hong Sangsoo
• BONSÁI, dir Cristián Jimenez
• TATSUMI, dir Eric Khoo
• ARIRANG, dir Kim Ki-duk
• ET MAINTENANT ON VA OÚ, dir Nadine Labaki
• LOVERBOY, dir Catalin Mitulescu
• YELLOW SEA, dir NA Hong-jin
• MISS BALA, dir Gerardo Naranjo
• TRABALHAR CANSA, dir Juliana Rojas & Marco Dutra
• L’EXERCICE DE L’ETAT, dir Pierre Schoeller
• TOOMELAH, dir Ivan Sen
• OSLO, AUGUST 31ST, dir Joachim Trier

OUT OF COMPETITION

Xavier DURRINGER - LA CONQUÊTE
Jodie FOSTER – THE BEAVER
Michel HAZANAVICIUS – THE ARTIST
Rob MARSHALL – PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES

Each year Cannes offers up a Hollywood blockbuster as a treat – sadly this year its Pirates…

Midnight Screenings
CHAN Peter Ho-Sun – WU XIA
Everardo GOUT – DIAS DE GRACIA

Special Screenings
Frederikke ASPÖCK – LABRADOR
Rithy PANH – LE MAÃŽTRE DES FORGES DE L’ENFER
Michael RADFORD – MICHEL PETRUCCIANI
Christian ROUAUD – TOUS AU LARZAC