Film Festivals

2012 Directors’ Fortnight includes Raoul Ruiz’s Final Film, Gondry Opener and Pablo Stoll, Pablo Larrain, Jaime Rosales and Ben Wheatley

Published on April 24, 2012

One section’s lose (Un Certain Regard) is indeed another section’s gain. The Directors’ Fortnight list of 21 films will begin with Michel Gondry’s “The We and the I” and the sidebar which is loaded in items from France and Latin America will include the special screenings of Raul Ruiz’s last picture and Ben Wheatley’s highly anticipated Sightseers. Among the more note-worthy items from Edouard Waintrop’s selections we find a pair of Pablos as in Pablo Stoll (now being referred to as Pablo Stoll Ward and who we’ve been keeping tabs on since 25 Watts) who presents a family comedy with 3 (see pic above) and the return of Pablo Larrain who brought Tony Manero to the section and who will roll out No while Jaime Rosales is also a return visitor with Dream and Silence.

Further breakdown of the section shows us that there are exactly 18 world premieres with only three international preems including a Sundance title that we predicted for the Croisette in Rodney Ascher’s Room 237. Of the 21 films, a total of six are from first-timers, meaning the Camera d’or odds will once again be a Quinzaine vs. Semaine de la Critique honor. Blake Williams and I have plenty of digging to do for our crazy Cannes coverage in three weeks from now, but I imagine we’ll be covering several other nuggets in the titles included below.

OPENER
“The We and the I,” U.S., Michel Gondry

MAIN PROGRAM
“3,” Uruguay-Germany-Argentina, Pablo Stoll Ward
“Adieu Berthe,” France, Bruno Podalydes
“Alyah,” France, Elie Wajeman
“The King of Pigs,” South Korea, Yeun Sang-Ho
“Dangerous Liaisons,” China, Hur Jin-Ho
“Ernest and Celestine,” France-Belgium-Luxembourg, Stephane Aubier, Vincent Patar, Benjamin Renner
“Fogo,” Canada, Yulene Olaizola
“Gangs of Wasseypur,” India, Anurag Kashyap
“Infancia clandestina,” Argentina-Spain-Brazil, Benjamin Avila
“La Sirga,” Colombia-France-Mexico, William Vega
“No,” Chili-U.S., Pablo Larrain
“Operation Libertad,” Switzerland-France, Nicolas Wadimoff
“Hold Back,” France, Rachid Djaidani
“Le Repenti,” Algeria, Merzak Allouache
“Room 237,” U.S., Rodney Ascher
“Sueno y silencio,” Spain, Jaime Rosales
“A Respectable Family,” Iran, Massoud Bakhshi