Top 20 Alternative Picks for Cannes 2012: Short Films from Tsai Ming-liang and Joao Pedro Rodrigues

Critics Week Closing Night: Walker – Tsai Ming-liang + Morning of Saint Anthony’s Day – João Pedro Rodrigues

Buzz: Two of the most ambitious, singular, and intelligent auteurs currently working in world cinema, the only complaint is that these two projects aren’t each four times longer. It’s been three years since we last saw features from either of them (Tsai’s Face and Rodrigues’ To Die Like a Man were among the very best films of 2009), so even these little tastes will be welcomed with open arms.

The Gist: Walker: Shortly after witnessing a brutal beating, Skunk’s home, neighbourhood, and school become treacherous environments, where the happy certainties of childhood give way to danger; her innocence is rapidly worn away and a harsh world fills her future, over which she has no control. When Skunk finally seeks solace in an unspoken friendship with sweet, damaged Rick, she’s faced with the greatest choice of all.

Morning of Saint Anthony’s Day : Tradition says that on June 13th, Saint Anthony’s Day – Lisbon’s patron-lovers must offer small vases of basil with paper carnations and flags with popular quatrains as a token of their love.