Here is some great news for fans of the long take. Cannes' 2007 Palme d'Or winning director Cristian Mungiu (4 months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days) and Golden Lion winning director Abdellatif Kechiche (La Graine et le mulet) are two of the 18 European co-productions that have received coin from Council of Europe's Eurimages Fund.
Even when you include Gus Van Sant's Restless, there are no surprises this morning with the names mentioned in the Masters programme finally released today. From Cannes, Aki Kaurismäki, the Dardennes, Bruno Dumont, Robert Guédiguian and a must-see masterwork from Nuri Bilge Ceylan make the cut, while from the upcoming Venice film festival we'll be heavily inclined to see Chantal Akerman's Almayer's Folly and Alexander Sokurov wrap up his trilogy of films about 20th-century rulers with Faust.
If you want a piece of Belgium this year, skip Tintin and look out for the Dardenne's latest. Lorna's Silence might not have been a masterwork in a filmography populated by great achievements in cinema, and despite rehashing of similar themes, they outfitted the film with sense of hope. Here's hoping that Cécile de France (local Belgian actress) navigates troubled waters and we see whipping boy/Dardenne favorite actor Jérémie Renier embody another fringe character. Their hallmark items of gritty handheld camerawork, their attention to detail void of anything theatrical and infectious characters are always appreciated.
Jérémie Renier is joining the latest Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne project. No this isn't a case of deja-vu folks, the brothers and Renier have a complicity that began back with 1996's La promesse and has been constant through the years. The freshly titled Délivrez-moi (Set Me Free) would mark the fourth collaboration between team Dardenne and the co-countryman.