63rd Cannes Film Festival 2010 Archive

Check out the news from the 63rd Cannes Film Festival 2010 where the jury was headed by master movie maker Tim Burton. The festival was opened by Ridley Scott's latest epic Robin Hood. The festival was preceeded by two mishaps. The world's press threatened to boycott the event over restricted access to the press conferences, and a massive storm saw many beach restaurants and the Croisette badly damaged. Jean Luc Godard, Woody Allen and Oliver Stone premiered anticipated movies. Critics were divided over the winning movie  by Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul.

Terry Gilliam interview

Maverick film director and former Python Terry Gilliam debuted his new fantasy movie 'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus' at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival in 2009. In this interview with RivieraLife.tv's Mark Dezzani, Terry Gilliam talks about his artistic roots in the 60s; how style now rules over substance; his difficulty with compromising; the essence of his moviemaking; the legacy of Monty Python and digital technology for up and coming film-makers.

Palme d'Or 2009 Das Weisse Band (The White Ribbon) Director Michael Haneke (Austria)

Palme d'Or 2009 Das Weisse Band (The White Ribbon) (Ge, Au,Fr, It) Drama 2h 24m Director Michael Haneke Starring Leonie Beneach, Christian Friedel A village in Protestant northern Germany. 1913-1914. On the eve of World War I.The story of the children and teenagers of a choir run by the village schoolteacher, and their families: the baron, the steward, the pastor, the doctor, the midwife, the tenant farmers.Strange accidents occur and gradually take on the character of a punishment ritual. Who is behind it all?

Haneke's chilling "White Ribbon" wins in Cannes  Reuters 24 May 09 Austrian director Michael Haneke won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes film festival Sunday for "The White Ribbon," a chilling exploration of the roots of Nazi terror. Haneke's first Palme d'Or (Golden Palm), the top prize at the world's biggest film festival, was one of the favorites among the thousands of critics and journalists in the French Riviera resort for the 12-day movie marathon. Mike Collett-White & James Mackenzie.

Film about the roots of fascism a surprise winner at Cannes  Canada.com 24 May 09 The White Ribbon, Michael Haneke’s devastating drama about abuse and violence in a small German village on the eve of the First World War, was chosen Sunday as the top film at the Cannes Film Festival. Jay Stone.

Aboriginal film 'Samson and Delilah' wins Cannes first film prize  Yahoo! 24 May 09 Aboriginal director Warwick Thornton's "Samson and Delilah", a tale of young love in a troubled indigenous community, was Sunday awarded the Camera d'Or first film prize at the Cannes festival. AFP.

Banned China director's film takes best screenplay at Cannes  Yahoo! 24 May 09 Banned Chinese film director Lou Ye's screenwriter, Feng Mei, on Sunday won the Cannes festival's best screenplay award for the torrid underground movie on a gay love triangle, "Spring Fever".

Austrian director's 'The White Ribbon' wins top film festival prize  France 24 24 May 09 Michael Haneke's "The White Ribbon," a chilling study of malice in a German village on the eve of World War I, took the Cannes film festival's prestigious top prize on Sunday. The Austrian director's austere black and white work beat stiff competition from 19 other films by heavyweight auteurs like Quentin Tarantino and Jane Campion to win the Palme d'Or at the world's greatest cinema showcase. AFP.

Video Top honour Palme d'Or to be awarded tonight  France 24 24 May 09 The Cannes Film Festival enters the final stretch as the movie industry awaits the jury's verdict on this year's selections. Twenty films are in the running for the Palm d'Or, the festival's top prize. AFP.

Von Trier agrees cuts to beat censors  Expatica.com 24 May 09 Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier has agreed to a toned-down cut of his new film "Antichrist", which features graphic scenes of sexual mutilation, to satisfy foreign censors, his production company said Wednesday. AFP.

Closing Movie Sun 24 May  Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky (France) Drama 1h 58m Director Jan Kounen  Starring  Anna Mouglalis, Mads Mikkelsen Paris 1913, Coco Chanel is madly in love with the handsome and wealthy Arthur ‘Boy’ Capel. At the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Igor Stravinsky premieres his Rite of Spring. Coco attends and is mesmerised. But the revolutionary work is too modern & radical: the audience boos and jeers. Stravinsky is inconsolable. 7 years later. Coco is devastated by Boy Capel’s death. She meets Stravinsky again - now a penniless refugee living in exile in Paris after the Russian Revolution, The attraction between them is immediate and electric.

In Competition Sat 23 May Map of the Sounds of Tokyo (Spain) Drama 1h 49m Director Isabel Croixet  Starring Rinko Kukuchi, Takao Nakahara  Ryu is a solitary girl whose fragile appearance is in stark contrast with the double life she leads, working nights at a Tokyo fishmarket and sporadically taking on jobs as a hit-woman. Mr Nagara is a powerful impresario mourning the loss of his daughter Midori, who has committed suicide. He blames David, a Spaniard who runs a wine business in Tokyo. Mr Nagara's employee, Ishida, was silently in love with Midori and hires Ryu to murder David.

In Competition Sat 23 May Visage (Taiwan, Fr, Be, Ne) Drama 2h 18m Director Tsai Ming-Liang  Starring Fanny Ardant, Jean-Pierre Leaud A Taiwanese filmmaker makes a film based on the myth of Salomé at the Louvre. Even though he speaks neither French nor English, he insists on giving the part of King Herod to the French actor Jean-Pierre Léaud. To give the film a chance at the box-office, the production company gives the role of Salomé to a world famous model. But problems arise as soon as filming begins...

Video Cannes: the final day  Euronews 23 May 09 Audiences at Cannes would be forgiven for feeling nervous ahead of yesterday’s screening of Gaspar Noé‘s latest film “Enter the Void.” The Argentina-born French director doesn’t mind if shocked viewers walk out of his films, in fact he may actually enjoy it. His last Cannes release, “Irréversible,” left some appalled and others in awe.

Unhappy ending in Cannes, best film hard to call  Reuters 23 May 09 The Cannes film festival opened 12 days ago with the crowd-pleasing Disney animation "Up", but a string of critical duds toward the close means its ending has been decidedly downbeat. The 20 films in the main competition have been variously booed, cheered, jeered and shunned as Cannes' notoriously picky audiences failed to agree on one, or even a handful of entries, worthy of the coveted Palme d'Or. Mike Collett-White.

French jail drama heads pack at Cannes film fest  Gulf Times 23 May 09 A gripping French prison drama led the pack of contenders for Cannes’ coveted Palme d’Or as the Riviera ’s 12-day film frenzy headed into its finale yesterday. AFP.

Loach scoops fringe Cannes prize  Yahoo! 23 May 09 As Cannes gears up to award its coveted Palme d'Or, Ken Loach scored an early goal Saturday for his football flick "Looking for Eric," scooping the Ecumenical Jury Prize. Starring temperamental football legend Eric Cantona, the director's feelgood film is one of half a dozen frontrunners for the festival's top prize, out of 20 movies in competition. AFP.

Film co-written by Saberi wins Cannes prize  Twincities.com 23 May 09 A film co-written by U.S.-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi has won a prize in one of the Cannes Film Festival competitions. "No One Knows About Persian Cats" won a special jury prize Saturday in the festival's Un Certain Regard sidebar. AP.

Two deaths, one broken vertebra - but Gilliam makes it to Cannes  NZHerald.co.nz 23 May 09 A dead A-lister, a dwarf, a trio of male cuties and a former Python with a wacky cackle drew the world's paparazzi to the Cannes Croisette last night for the first showing of Heath Ledger's final performance - but Terry Gilliam's fantasy tale The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus still lacks a distributor. Oliver Duff.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (UK, Canada) Action 2h 02m  

Director Terry Gilliam  Starring Heath Ledger, Lily Cole

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is a fantastical morality tale, set in the present-day. Dr. Parnassus with his extraordinary travelling show "The Imaginarium" offers to members of the audience an irresistible opportunity to enter their universe of imaginations and wonders, by passing through a magical mirror. But Dr. Parnassus is cursed with a dark secret. An inveterate gambler, thousands of years ago he made a bet with the devil, Mr. Nick, in which he won immortality. Centuries later, on meeting his one true love, Dr. Parnassus made another deal with the devil, trading his immortality for youth, on condition that when his daughter reached her 16th birthday, she would become the property of Mr Nick. Now it is time to pay the price...

Terry Gilliam: Quixote back on  thisiscornwall.co.uk 22 May 09 Terry Gilliam says a Don Quixote fantasy he had to abandon because of a series of mishaps is back on. Terry said filming on The Man Who Killed Don Quixote is expected to begin early next year.

At Cannes, cinema takes up the fight against AIDS  USA Today 22 May 09 This is the annual amFAR Cinema Against AIDS banquet, which is traditionally a high point of the . This year's featured guest: former president , a movie buff, who asked those gathered in the opulent setting to remember those less fortunate. The banquet took place just outside of at the Hotel du Cap. Attendees included supermodels Svetlana Metkina and Lily Cole, actors , and Michelle Yeoh , as well as filmmakers Eli Roth and Lars Von Trier . Anthony Breznican.

"It's a Mad, New Media World" panel at Cannes  Editorsweblog.org 22 May 09 Last Monday, a little over halfway into the 62nd Annual Cannes Film Festival, The American Pavilion hosted a panel discussion entitled "It's a Mad, New Media World." The six panelists in attendance were John Horn of The Los Angeles Times, James Rocchi of MSN Movies, Anne Thompson of ThompsonOnHollywood, Karina Longworth of SpoutBlog, and Sharon Waxman of The Wrap. Eugene Hernandez from IndieWIRE acted as the mediator. The subject under discussion was the state of new media and its consequences for print media. Gida Hammami.

In Competition Fri 22 May Enter The Void (Fr, Ge, It) Drama 2h 30m Director Gaspar Noé Starring Nathaniel Brown, Pas de la Huerta Oscar and his sister Linda are recent arrivals in Tokyo. Oscar's a small time drug dealer, and Linda works as a nightclub stripper. One night, Oscar is caught up in a police bust and shot. As he lies dying, his spirit, faithful to the promise he made his sister ­ that he would never abandon her - refuses to abandon the world of the living. It wanders through the city, his visions growing evermore nightmarish. Past, present and future merge in a hallucinatory maelstrom.

In Competition Fri 22 May The Time That Remains (Fr, Be, It, UK) Drama 1h 49m Director Elia Suleiman  Starring Elia Suleiman, Saleh Bakri  A semi biographic film, in four historic episodes, about my family - spanning from 1948, until recent times. The film is inspired by my father’s diaries of his personal accounts, starting from when he was a resistant fighter in 1948, and by my mother’s letters to family members who were forced to leave the country since then. Combined with my intimate memories of them and with them, the film attempts to portray the daily life of those Palestinians who remained in their land and were labeled « Israeli-Arabs », living as a minority in their own homeland.

In Competition Thu 21 May Das Weisse Band (The White Ribbon) (Ge, Au,Fr, It) Drama 2h 24m Director Michael Haneke Starring Leonie Beneach, Christian Friedel A village in Protestant northern Germany. 1913-1914. On the eve of World War I.The story of the children and teenagers of a choir run by the village schoolteacher, and their families: the baron, the steward, the pastor, the doctor, the midwife, the tenant farmers.Strange accidents occur and gradually take on the character of a punishment ritual. Who is behind it all?

Variety Review: Land of Madness 'La terre de la folie'  (Documentary - France) Variety 21 May 09  Murder is a laughing matter, at least initially, in "Land of Madness," a deadpan recitation of the multiple homicides that have occurred around France's sparsely populated Southern Alps. Prolific New Wave vet Luc Moullet, himself a native of the region, mounts an unapologetically flimsy argument about the dangers of small-town isolation. Justin Chang.

In Competition Wed 20 May

Inglourious Basterds (Germany, USA) Action 2h 28m  

Director Quentin Tarantino Starring Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger

In the first year of the German occupation of France, Shosanna Dreyfus witnesses the execution of her family at the hand of Nazi Colonel Hans Landa. Shosanna narrowly escapes and flees to Paris, where she forges a new identity as the owner and operator of a cinema. Elsewhere in Europe, Lieutenant Aldo Raine organizes a group of Jewish American soldiers to perform swift, shocking acts of retribution.

In Competition Wed 20 May  Les Herbes Folles (Wild Grass) (France) Drama 1h 24m Director Alain Resnais  Starring Sabine Azéma, André Dussollier A wallet lost and found opens the door - just a crack - to romantic adventure for Georges and Marguerite.

Variety Review: At the ripe age of 87, and exactly half a century since dropping a cinematic atom bomb with "Hiroshima mon amour," Alain Resnais continues his career-long experiment in filmmaking with the playfully flamboyant melodrama "Wild Grass." More freewheeling than 2006's "Private Fears in Public Places," but with a similar networking structure that connects the destinies of several melancholy adults into one intriguing web, the pic is marked by superb performances and a dazzling technical display. Jordan Mintzer.

In Competition Tue 19 May  Los Abrazos Rotos (Broken Embrace) (Spain) Drama 2h 09m Director Pedro Almodovar  Starring Penélope Cruz, Lluis Homar A man writes, lives and loves in darkness. Fourteen years before, he was in a car crash where he loses his sight. He also lost Lena, the love of his life. This man uses two names: Harry Caine, a playful pseudonym with which he signs his literary works, and Mateo Blanco, his real name, with which he lives and signs the film he directs. After the accident, Mateo Blanco reduces himself to his pseudonym, Harry Caine. If he can’t direct films he can only survive with the idea that Mateo Blanco died on Lanzarote with his beloved Lena. Red Carpet Screening: 19.30 

In Competition Tue 19 May  Vincere (Italy) Drama 2h 08m Director Marco Bellocchio  Starring Filippo Timi, Michela Cescon There is a secret in the life of Mussolini: a wife and a son, who was acknowledged and then denied. The secret bears a name: Ida Dalser. It is a page ignored in the official biography of the Duce. When Ida meets Mussolini in Milan, he is the editor of Avanti and an ardent Socialist who intends to guide the masses towards a socially emancipated future. Ida truly believes in him and his ideas: Mussolini is her hero. In order to finance Popolo d’Italia, a newspaper he has founded and the nucleus of the forthcoming Fascist Party, Ida sells everything she has. Red Carpet Screening: 22.30

Screened In Competition Mon 18 May

Looking for Eric (UK, Fr, It, Be, Sp) Drama 1h 56m  

Director Ken Loach Starring Eric Cantona, Steve Evets

Eric the postman is slipping through his own fingers...
His chaotic family, his wild stepsons and the cement mixer in the front garden don’t help, but it is Eric’s own secret that drives him to the brink. Can he face Lily, the woman he once loved 30 years ago? Despite outrageous efforts and misplaced goodwill from his football fan mates, Eric continues to sink.
In desperate times it takes a spliff and a special friend from foreign parts to challenge a lost postman to make that journey into the most perilous territory of all - the past.
As the Chinese, and one Frenchman, say:
"He who is afraid to throw the dice will never throw a six."

In Competition Mon 18 May  Antichrist (De, Ge, Fr, Sw, It) Drama 1h 44m Director Lars Von Trier  Starring Willem Dafoe, Charlotte Gainsbourg A grieving couple retreat to ’Eden’, their isolated cabin in the woods, where they hope to repair their broken hearts and troubled marriage. But nature takes its course and things go from bad to worse... Red Carpet Screening: 22.30  Lars von Trier film "Antichrist" shocks Cannes  Reuters 17 May 09 Danish director Lars von Trier elicited derisive laughter, gasps of disbelief, a smattering of applause and loud boos on Sunday as the credits rolled on his drama "Antichrist" at the Cannes film festival. Mike Collet-White.

Carrey does Scrooge as Disney previews new 'Carol'  MontereyHerald.com 18 May 09 Jim Carrey has multiple personalities in his next movie. Carrey and director Robert Zemeckis brought a bit of holiday cheer to the Cannes Film Festival on Monday with a sneak peak of "Disney's A Christmas Carol," a new slant on the Charles Dickens classic in which the actor plays skinflint Ebenezer Scrooge and several other characters. David Germain. AP.

Star-light Cannes feels pinch, early films shine  Reuters 18 May 09 Reaction to the 20-strong competition has been positive as Cannes hit the halfway stage on Monday, with a French prison drama, Jane Campion's take on John Keats and Ken Loach's picture headlined by soccer star Eric Cantona tipped as the early favorites for the coveted Palme d'Or. Mike Collett-White.

Remote love story wins hearts at Cannes  The Australian 18 May 09 The stars of Australian film sensation Samson and Delilah have received a rock star reception at the Cannes film festival. Jazzing up his black-tie red-carpet attire with a baseball cap and bandanna, lead actor Rowan McNamara resembled an American rapper as he posed for photographers and his newfound fan base. Angus Hohenboken.

Zombie movie gets drop-dead offers  Telegraph & Argus 18 May 09 Amid all the wealth and glamour of the Cote d'Azur, a British zombie movie made for just £45 could be the surprise success story of the Cannes Film Festival. PA.

In Competition Sun 17 May  Vengeance (Hong Kong) Drama 1h 48m Director Johnnie To  Starring Cheung Siu Fai, Johnny Hallyday A father comes to Hong Kong to avenge his daughter, whose family was murdered. Officially, he’s a French chef. Twenty years ago, he was a killer. Red Carpet Screening: 19.30

Variety Review: Johnnie To and Johnny Hallyday have a bloody good time in "Vengeance," a smoothly executed revenge thriller that finds one of Hong Kong's genre masters in assured action-movie form. Justin Chang.

In Competition Sun 17 May  Kinatay (France/Philippines) Drama 1h 40m Director Brillante Mendoza  Starring Mercedes Cabral, Julio Diaz Peping, a criminology student, is recruited by his schoolmate, Abyong, to work as a part-time errand boy for a local syndicate that collects protection fees from various businesses in Manila. The easy money Peping earns is spent mostly on his girlfriend, Cecille, who’s also a student. Peping decides to marry her, but in order to do so he’ll need more money. Abyong contacts Peping to join a "special project" that pays more than normal... Red Carpet Screening: 16.30

Weisz, Amenabar preach enlightenment with Cannes film fest offering 'Agora' Newsday.com 17 May 09 Rachel Weisz and director Alejandro Amenabar traveled back to ancient times to tell a modern story about a progressive woman standing against religious dogma and persecution. Amenabar's historical epic "Agora" premiered Sunday at the Cannes Film Festival, introducing audiences to the little-known scholar Hypatia, a brilliant astronomer and mathematician working in a man's world in 4th century A.D. Egypt. David Germain / AP.

Johnny goes global  France 24 17 May 09 The singer they call the French Elvis has long been a figure of fun beyond the country's borders as "the most famous man you have never heard of". But all that may be about to change. After Cannes, we may all have to start taking Johnny Hallyday seriously. Fiachra Gibbons / RFI.

Quentin Tarantino interview: Killer touch  Scotsman.com 17 May 09 'This ain't your daddy's World War Two movie," Quentin Tarantino says as he stands on a street corner that has been scrubbed of 21st-century signposts to become the set of Inglourious Basterds, his new film about a band of Jewish-American soldiers on a scalp-hunting revenge quest against the Nazis. Kristin Hohenadel.

Tarantino Partying on Cote d'Azur Saturday Night  Mailonline 17 May 09 He started hanging out with the likes of Rachel Weisz and Mick Jagger at a posh dinner party hosted by  producer-agent Charles Finch (son of Oscar winner Peter Finch) at the Hotel du Cap. Then he sped further along the coast to the Soho House bash at Chateau de la Napoule, about four miles west of Cannes. Baz Bamigboye.

Video Audiard's film 'A Prophet' awes festival audiences  France 24 17 May 09 For his fifth film, French director Jacques Audiard stuck with what he does best - exploring the inner workings of lost souls and their everyday battles. Cannes movie-goers were riveted by the performance of newcomer Tahar Rahim, who plays "Malik" - an illiterate, homeless 19-year-old sentenced to six years behind bars. In 'A Prophet', there are no gangsters with a big heart. In this world, the strongest man wins.

In Competition Sat 16 May

Taking Woodstock (USA) Drama 2h 00m  

Director Ang Lee  Starring Demetri Martin, Imelda Staunton

It’s 1969, and Elliot Tiber, a down-on-his-luck interior designer in Greenwich Village, New York, has to move back upstate to help his parents run their dilapidated Catskills motel, the El Monaco. The bank is about to foreclose; his father wants to burn the place down, but hasn’t paid the insurance; and Elliot is still figuring how to come out to his parents. When Elliot hears that a neighbouring town has pulled the permit on a hippie music festival, he calls the producers, thinking he could drum up some much needed business for the motel. Three weeks later, half a million people are on their way to his neighbour's farm in White Lake, NY, and Elliot finds himself swept up in a generation-defining experience that would change his life, and popular culture, forever.

In Competition Sat 16 May  Un Prophète (A Prophet) (France) Drama 2h 30m Director Jacques Audiard  Starring Tahar Rahim, Niels Arustrup Condemned to six years in prison, Malik El Djebena cannot read nor write. Arriving at the jail entirely alone, he appears younger and more fragile than the other convicts. He is 19 years old. Cornered by the leader of the Corsican gang who rules the prison, he is given a number of "missions" to carry out, toughening him up and gaining the gang leader’s confidence in the process. But Malik is brave and a fast learner, daring to secretly develop his own plans...

Scorsese restores The Red Shoes to Cannes film-goers  Walesonline.co.uk 16 May 09 A classic British film was given a second world premiere yesterday thanks to a restoration project led by Martin Scorsese. The Goodfellas director is the founder of the World Cinema Foundation (WCF) which collects and restores rare and fragile films from around the world to preserve them for posterity.

Cannes triumph for ghetto tale  Herald Sun 16 May 09 Hard-hitting US indie movie Precious, the tale of an obese teenager trying to escape a lifetime of abuse, has won a standing ovation for its director Lee Daniels at the Cannes festival.

Nude cyclists give Cannes crowd an eyeful  abc.net.au 16 May 09 Crowds hoping to glimpse the stars on the Cannes festival's red carpet got an eye-popping surprise as a team of nude Belgian cyclists paraded down the Riviera seafront. AFP.

Video Billy Baxter Presents Diary Of The Cannes Film Festival With Rex Reed  emediawire 16 May 09 Billy Baxter parlayed the 62nd Cannes Film Festival start-date for maximum publicity impact. He'd scheduled the "Official" DVD release of his rarely seen documentary, "Diary Of The Cannes Film Festival With Rex Reed", the same Wednesday that Cannes kicked-off.

In Competition Fri 15 May Bright Star (UK/Australia) Drama 2h 00m  Director Jane Campion  Starring Abbie Cornish, Paul Schneider  London 1818: a secret love affair begins between 23 year old English poet, John Keats, and the girl next door, Fanny Brawne, an outspoken student of fashion. This unlikely pair started at odds; he thinking her a stylish minx, she unimpressed by literature in general. It was the illness of Keats’s younger brother that drew them together. Keats was touched by Fanny’s efforts to help and agreed to teach her poetry. By the time Fanny’s alarmed mother and Keats’s best friend Brown realised their attachment, the relationship had an unstoppable momentum. Red Carpet Screening: 19.30

In Competition Fri 15 May  Bak-Jwi (Thirst) (South Korea) Drama 2h 13m Director Park Chan-Wook  Starring Shin Ha-Kyun, Kim Hae-Sook  Sang-hyun is a beloved priest in a small town, who devotedly serves at a local hospital. He goes to Africa to volunteer as a test subject in an experiment to find a vaccine to a new deadly infectious disease. During the experiment, he is infected and dies. But transfusion of some unidentified blood miraculously brings him back to life, and unbeknownst to him, it has also turned him into a vampire. After his return home, news of Sang-hyun's recovery spreads and people start believing he has the gift of healing and flock to receive his prayers. Red Carpet Screening: 22.30

Iranian, Chinese directors defy bans to bring films to Cannes  Prince George Citizen 15 May 09 Cannes is not all galas and glamour. For some filmmakers, the journey to the red carpet on the Riviera is fraught with personal risk. China's Lou Ye and Iran's Bahman Ghobadi are both at the festival with movies made undercover after they were barred from working by the authorities. Jill Lawless / AP.

Video Interview: The Godfather of film  Channel 4 15 May 09 Director of The Godfather, Francis Ford Coppola, talks to Stephanie West, about returning to the Cannes Film Festival with his new film, Tetro; success; and the changes to the movie business. Stephanie West.

A quieter, less vulgar Cannes in 2009  Variety 15 May 09 The global credit crunch has taken its toll in many areas, but Cannes-goers this year have discovered that one of the victims of cutbacks is old-fashioned vulgar hoopla. Timothy M. Gray.

Un Certain Regard  Fri 15 May 22.30 Precious (USA) Drama 1h 49m Director Lee Daniels  Starring Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz, Mo'nique

Mariah Carey expected at Cannes  Bo'ness Journal 15 May 09 Mariah Carey is expected to add a dash of glamour to the Cannes Film Festival. The singer plays a social worker in Precious, a tough drama about an illiterate New York teenager pregnant with her father's baby. Mariah is expected to join her co-stars, who include musician Lenny Kravitz, on the red carpet at the Palais des Festivals for the screening of the film. The film is in the festival's Un Certain Regard competition. Press Association.

In Competition Thu 14 May Fish Tank (UK) Drama 2h 04m  Director Andrea Arnold  Starring Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Griffiths A volatile teenage girl's life is disrupted when her mother brings home a new boyfriend. Mia (played by newcomer Katie Jarvis) is always in trouble and has been excluded from school and ostracised by her friends. Another unique look at Scottish life by the director of the justly acclaimed Red Road. Michael Fassbender, fresh from his triumph in Hunger, plays Connor, the mysterious stranger that turns the head of both mother and daughter.

In Competition Thu 14 May  Chun Feng Chen Zui De Ye Wan (Spring Fever) (Hong Kong/France) Drama 1h 55m Director Lou Ye  Starring Sicheng Chen, Jiaqi Jang Nanjing, 2009. Luo Haitao has been hired by Wang Ping’s wife to spy on the passionate relationship between her husband and another man, but slowly loses control of the situation. With his beautiful girlfriend, Li Jing, he is drawn in to the affair, overcome by the fever of drunken spring nights. All are possessed by an exhilarating madness of the senses, a dangerous malady that leads the heart and head astray...

Opening Night Movie Wed 13 May

Up - Animation (2009) 1h 36m

Dir: Pete Docter, Bob Peterson  Starring Edward Asner, Christopher Plummer By tying thousands of balloon to his home, 78-year-old Carl Fredricksen sets out to fulfill his lifelong dream to see the wilds of South America. Right after lifting off, however, he learns he isn't alone on his journey, since Russell, a wilderness explorer 70 years his junior, has inadvertently become a stowaway on the trip. IMDB.

Video Film festival opens under recession woes  France 24 13 May 09 The Cannes film festival opens on Wednesday with 3D animation comedy "Up", but with studios cutting back due to the recession the "feel good" factor at the famously extravagant cinema showcase may quickly fade. Reuters / Video Carla Westerheide.

Cannes film festival: glamour, the great and the good – and 3D specs  The Guardian 13 May 09 Tonight the great and the good of the movie world were foregathering at the Cannes film festival, and pairing their dinner jackets and designer gowns with 3D glasses – resembling nothing so much as 1970s NHS specs – for the premiere of the opening film, a Pixar animation called Up. Meanwhile, Isabelle Huppert, the president of this year's competition jury, warned that interesting times could be ahead for her and her fellow judges, who will decide which of the 20 films in competition will be awarded the Palme D'Or on Sunday week. Charlotte Higgins.

Directors vying for the Cannes film festival's Palme d'Or  The Guardian 11 May 09

Cannes: City of hope  Variety 08 May 09 When the Cannes Film Festival kicks off this week, the sputtering economy will be readily apparent: fewer executives walking the Croisette, trimmed expense accounts making for less crowded restaurants and parties that are less lavish. But, amazingly enough, after a huge shakeout in the indie sector, there still is money to be had. Sharon Swart.

Cannes' arty '08 films didn't sell  Variety 07 May 09 The domestic B.O. grosses for films acquired at last year's Cannes Film Festival demonstrate what happens when fest offerings are more arthouse than not. Only two titles cumed north of $3 million: France's Oscar foreign-language nominee "The Class" ($3.6 million, still in release) and Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut "Synecdoche, New York" ($3.1 million). Pamela McClintock.

Make a hit festival? Yes we Cannes  The Times 30 Apr 09 Do deals, be seen at the right parties, and don’t expect to sleep: our film critic presents the ten golden rules of film festivals. Kevin Maher.

Scorsese to oversee Cannes retrospective section  Reuters 29 Apr 09 Filmmaker and cinema historian Martin Scorsese will serve as honorary president of the sixth annual Cannes Classics sidebar at next month's Cannes Film Festival, organizers said Tuesday. This year's retrospective lineup will feature the works of such familiar names as Jean-Luc Godard, Michelangelo Antonioni, Luchino Visconti and Jacques Tati. Rebecca Leffler/Hollywood Reporter.

Fanny Ardant to be feted at Cannes  Reuters 29 Apr 09 Fanny Ardant will be back in the spotlight at the Cannes Film Festival next month. The French actress will be the recipient of a festival homage as well as an out-of-competition screening slot for her directorial debut, "Ashes and Blood." Hollywood Reporter.

Cannes shorts highlight Euro fare  Variety 28 Apr 09 The Cannes Film Festival's official selection of nine competing short films was announced Tuesday in Paris. Like the feature competition and sidebars, the lineup in heavy on European fare, with seven out of nine shorts hailing from European Union countries. Jordan Mintzer.

48th International Critics’ Week Line Up Announced  IndieWire.com 27 Apr 09 International Critics’ Week (La Semaine de la Critique), a sidebar of the Cannes Film Festival dedicated to showcasing the first and second films from emerging directorial talents, has announced a program of 10 feature films and several shorts for its 48th edition. Andy Lauer.

Coppola premieres at Cannes Directors' Fortnight  France 24 24 Apr 09 US film giant Francis Ford Coppola is to premiere his new indie movie "Tetro," a tale of sibling rivalry set in Buenos Aires, at Cannes' prestigious Directors' Fortnight, organisers said Friday. The 70-year-old director, a two-time Palme d'Or-winner at Cannes, will open the Fortnight on May 14, an out-of-competition show running until May 24 in parallel with the official film festival. AFP.

Cannes unveils lineup Heavyweight auteurs vie for Palme d'Or Variety 23 Apr 09 It's official: Quentin Tarantino, Ang Lee and Pedro Almodovar will face off with Jane Campion, Ken Loach, Michael Haneke and Park Chan-wook in Cannes' biggest heavyweight auteur smackdown in recent years. Derek Elley/John Hopewell.

List of 20 films in competition at Cannes  Washington Post 23 Apr 09 AP.

Cannes unveils 2009 poster  Variety 22 Apr 09 The 2009 Cannes Film Festival has unveiled its official poster. The poster for the Cannes Film Fest's 62nd edition was inspired by Michelangelo Antonioni's "L'avventura," which won the fest's jury prize in 1960. Created by Annick Durban, the image of a mysterious female is meant to evoke a window opening on the magic of cinema.

Cannes gets first look at 'Christmas Carol'  Digital Spy 22 Apr 09 Disney is to debut footage from Jim Carrey's A Christmas Carol at this year's Cannes Film Festival. The first look at Robert Zemeckis's 3-D motion capture adaptation of Charles Dickens's classic tale will be shown on May 18 on the Croisette, the studio has announced. Simon Reynolds.

Cannes hit by spate of cutbacks as Vanity Fair cancels party  Event Magazine 21 Apr 09 Vanity Fair's lavish black-tie event at this year's Cannes Film Festival has been cancelled, as the wider festival experiences cutbacks. Tom Hall.

Cannes Critics' Week selects duo  Variety 20 Apr 09 The Cannes Film Festival’s 48th Critics’ Week announced Monday the first two titles in its Official Selection. Both spring from Gaul. Fest opener will be scribe-helmer Mathias Gokalp’s freshman drama “Rien de personnel” (Nothing Personal). Jordan Mintzer.

Cannes Countdown: Coppola is Out. Ang Lee is In?  IndieWire 20 Apr 09 Contrary to trade paper speculation, Francis Ford Coppola won’t be bringing his new film, “Tetro,” to next month’s Cannes Film Festival, declining an offer to screen his film out of competition. Meanwhile, Ang Lee, Jane Campion, Michael Haneke, Quentin Tarantino, Ken Loach, Pedro Almodovar, Bong Joon-ho, Marco Bellocchio, Lars von Trier and Johnnie To are on tap for the French festival. Eugene Hernandez.

Eric Cantona aims to score big at Cannes with aid of team Loach  The Sunday Times 19 Apr 09 The British film industry is hoping for a prize-winning performance at the Cannes film festival. Three films with strong British links are contesting big prizes. The charge is led by an unlikely co-operation between the former Manchester United footballer Eric Cantona and Ken Loach, a director known for gritty working-class films. Richard Brooks.

Cannes taps heavy hitters  Variety 16 Apr 09 The upcoming Cannes Film Festival will be swimming in top international filmmakers, as directors including Ang Lee, Jane Campion, Michael Haneke, Quentin Tarantino, Ken Loach, Pedro Almodovar, Bong Joon-ho, Marco Bellocchio, Lars von Trier and Johnnie To expect to square off for the Palme d'Or come May 13. Tod McCarthy.

Clinton set for Amfar fundraiser Variety 5 Apr 09 Former U.S. President Bill Clinton is set to join Sharon Stone, Harvey Weinstein and other regulars at Amfar's annual Cinema Against Aids fundraiser. Set for May 21, during the second week of the Cannes film festival, Amfar's starry dinner/live auction traditionally draws strong support from actors and execs who are in the South of France for the fest. Sharon Swart.

Cannes line-up mystery keeps industry on edge of seat  ABC News 5 Apr 09 The official announcement from Cannes film festival head, Thierry Fremaux, and his team of programmers regarding what's in store for the annual cinephile gathering won't take place for three weeks. But filmmakers, executives and sales agents are already buzzing about what will unspool at the event in May. Reuters.

'Inglourious Basterds' invades Cannes  Variety 1 Apr 09 Quentin Tarantino's WWII epic "Inglourious Basterds" is headed to the French Riviera. The Brad Pitt starrer, set in Nazi-occupied France, has been invited to play in competition at the Cannes Film Festival. Tatiana Siegel/Elsa Keslassy.

Keep the champagne on ice: Cannes feels the credit crunch  Daily Telegraph 1 Apr 09 Mandrake hears that the Vanity Fair party – the social highlight of the annual film festival – has been cancelled.

Curtain will go Up on this year's Cannes with 3-D yarn  The Guardian 19 Mar 09 The Cannes film festival will enter an uncharted new dimension in May when it pulls back the curtain on Up, an animated 3-D feature from the Disney Pixar studios. Produced by John Lasseter, the film will be the first animation to open the event in its 62-year history. Xan Brooks.

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