Exclusive articles:
Honoré’s ‘The Beloved’ To Close Cannes 2011? If Not, Then Who?
The film festival world was shocked and awed by a bit of leaked information announcing that Cannes' Closing Night film this year would not, in fact, be a crappy, skippable piece of hackery, like it usually is (The Tree, Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky, What Just Happened? - the list goes on). No, as a matter of fact, it could very well be Christophe Honoré's The Beloved (Les biens-aimés).
Weinsteins Want to Push Lee Hirsch’s ‘The Bully Project’ Around
In one of those happenings that is so (in)appropriate that it's downright poetic, the Weinstein Company has gained North American distribution rights to The Bully Project, a documentary by Lee Hirsch (2002 Sundance winner for Amandla! A Revolution in Four Part Harmony) about the repercussions of controlling, pushy, and oppressive behaviour.
DeWitt, Krasinski, and Thirlby in the Running for Ry Russo-Young’s ‘Nobody Walks’
The indie dramedy/mumblecore revolution keeps sailing on with word that Rosemarie DeWitt, John Krasinski, and Olivia Thirlby are in negotiations to star in Ry Russo Young's new film Nobody Walks.
2011 Cannes’ Short Film Competition Introduces World to Next Wave of Auteurs
There are talent labs, and there are cinema funds from festivals (ie. Rotterdam's CineMart; Cannes' Atelier), and then there are the short film sections; every important festival has one, and those who do well get their films promoted and financed to become feature-length debuts. Cannes' Short Film Competition (Court Métrage) awards a full-blown Palme d'Or to its winner, and more often than not, these winning filmmakers become the next big names in cinema.
Directors’ Fortnight 2011: Téchiné, Kalev, Jayasundara, Sono Headline 25 Announced Features
The final Cannes sidebar of new feature films to unveil its lineup, the Directors' Fortnight (Quinzaine des Réalisateurs), announced 25 features this morning - 21 competing, and 4 special screenings. This year's edition is especially heavy on European films, which take up a whopping 17 of the 21 competing slots. Just like the Critic's Week selection, we've got a majority of debut films and films by little known directors, but also a handful of names that most cinephiles will already be familiar with.
