Cannes Film Festival 2019
Another year another late spring visit to the French riviera, where the great and the good of the global film industry, and the world’s press, converged on the 14th of May to mark the beginning of twelve days of film celebration and promotion at the world’s biggest and most prestigious film festival, the 72nd annual Cannes Film Festival.
For yet another year the impasse between Netflix and Cannes was a feature of the festival, with the organisers refusing to budge on the requirement of a French theatrical release for official selection consideration. The streaming giants once again responded by skipping the event entirely—depriving the world of an early look at some of their more anticipated work, while giving competing festivals who will showcase it (like Venice) a boost—as this microcosm of the battle over the future of cinema and the film industry persists.
Once again filmmakers & shakers from across the globe unleashed the results of their hard work and passions unto the world, giving us an array of likely award-contending films to be released throughout the rest of 2019 and well into 2020. And of course there was also the small matter of awarding Cannes’ own prestigious prizes, the pinnacle of which the Palme d’Or went to Bong Joon-ho’s socially conscious tragic comedy ‘Parasite’.
Jury
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This year’s jury for the main competition—which awarded the Palme d’Or among other prizes—was an eclectic, director-heavy international selection of filmmakers, presided over by multiple Oscar-winning Mexican writer/director Alejandro González Iñárritu and included French author/artist Enki Bilal, American actress Elle Fanning, French writer/director Robin Campillo, Senegalese actress Maimouna N’Diaye, Greek writer/director Yorgos Lanthimos, American writer/director Kelly Reichardt, Polish writer/director Paweł Pawlikowski, and Italian writer/director Alice Rohrwacher.
Jury press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Premieres & Screenings
Tuesday the 14th
The Dead Don’t Die
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This year’s festival opened in comedic, idiosyncratic Jim Jarmusch style, as the American writer/director and Cannes regular returned to riviera to open proceedings with a gala world premiere of his all-star zombie comedy ‘The Dead Don’t Die’. A contemporary tale set in small town USA, where the dead unexpectedly start rising with flesh-eating intentions, prompting the local cops and citizens unite in a fight for their lives
Jarmusch was joined on the Cannes red carpet by his stars Bill Murray, Sara Driver, Tilda Swinton, Luka Sabbat, Adam Driver, Selena Gomez and Chloe Sevigny, ‘The Dead Don’t Die’ is out on the 12th of July in the UK, 14th of June in the US.
The Dead Don’t Die press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Wednesday the 15th
Les Misérables
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The first full day at Cannes culminated the first French participant at this year’s festival and a rare in-competition premiere from a debutant director, as Parisian visual artist turned filmmaker Ladj Ly brought his urban drama ‘Les Misérables’ to the red carpet in Palme d’Or contention. A contemporary reflection of Victor Hugo’s classic novel inspired by the 2005 Paris riots and set in the suburb of Montfermeil, following a young man who joins the neighbourhood’s anti-crime brigade, only to discover the tensions that run deep and a tinderbox waiting to be set alight.
The writer/director was joined by his stars Alexis Manenti, Issa Perica, Al Hassan Ly, Djebril Zonga and Damien Bonnard among others, ‘Les Misérables’ has no confirmed released dates yet.
Les Misérables on the Cannes red carpet (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Bacurau
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Brazilian cinema returned to the riviera on Wednesday, as did director Kleber Mendonça Filho (Aquarius), as he teamed up with fellow filmmaker Juliano Dornelles for an in-competition premiere of their violent mystery/thriller ‘Bacurau’—a part contemporary, part near futurist and politically reflective Brazilian tale set in the rural Northeast, where the residents of a small town begin to experience strange happenings after the death of the town’s elderly matriarch, only to be pushed into a mad clash with some unsavoury foreign visitors. The directors were on hand with their stars Thomas Aquino, Barbara Colen, Udo Kier and Karine Teles among others, ‘Bacurau’ has no confirmed release dates yet.
Bacurau press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Bull
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The ‘Un Certain Regard’ competition also saw some action on Wednesday, as American documentarian and shorts director Annie Silverstein brought her feature debut ‘Bull’ to the festival. A tale of flawed people looking for redemption set in bleak contemporary West Houston, where a troubled and willful teen headed for disaster collides with her equally headstrong ageing neighbour, as they form an unlikely bond over his past bullfighting and rodeo exploits which sparks a light at the end of the tunnel for both. The director was joined by her stars Rob Morgan, Amber Havard and Yolonda Ross, ‘Bull’ has no confirmed release dates.
Bull Cannes photocall (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Thursday the 16th
Rocketman
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The first Thursday’s proceedings this year culminated in some rock and roll red carpet showmanship, glamorous last minute promotion, and an out-of-competition world premiere for Dexter Fletcher’s Elton John musical biopic ‘Rocketman’—a semi-fantastical chronicle of the music legend’s breakthrough years and his transformation from shy suburban London kid to global show-stopping superstar, plus his relationship writing partner Bernie Taupin, and the toll exacted on him and his family by the excesses of early rock stardom.
Director Fletcher was joined on the Cannes red carpet by Sir Elton and Taupin themselves, as well as producer David Furnish and the film’s stars Taron Egerton, Bryce Dallas Howard and Richard Madden, ‘Rocketman’ is out in UK cinemas now, and on the 31st of May in the US.
Rocketman press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Pain and Glory (Dolor y Gloria)
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Thursday’s Palme d’Or competition saw the return of Spanish cinematic great and Cannes veteran Pedro Almodóvar to the riviera for a gala screening of his latest introspective human drama ‘Pain and Glory’; a semi-autobiographical story which follows the fortunes of an ageing Spanish director in decline, who finds salvation in reliving and recounting the past and the formative experiences which shaped him—in all their pain and glory.
Almodóvar reunited with his longtime stars Penelope Cruz and Antonio Banderas for the film and the Cannes red carpet, along with their co-stars Leonardo Sbaraglia, Nieves Alvarez and Asier Etxeandia, ‘Pain and Glory’ is out now in Spain, on the 23rd of August in the UK and the 4th of October in US cinemas.
Pain and Glory press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Sorry We Missed You
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The official competition also saw some British participation on day three, when Cannes veteran and multiple Palme d’Or winner Ken Loach brought his latest social-realist meditation on modern Britain ‘Sorry We Missed You’ to the riviera. A tale of debt, inequality and injustice revolving around a struggling working-class Newcastle family and their patriarch, whose opportunity to turn things around as a self-employed delivery driver is threatened by the economic realities around him, and their close family unit is put under new pressures. Loach was joined by producer Rebecca O’Brien and screenwriter Paul Laverty, plus the film’s stars Debbie Honeywood, Katie Proctor, Rhys Stone and Kris Hitchen, ‘Sorry We Missed You’ is out on the 1st of November in the UK.
Sorry We Missed You press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Atlantics (Atlantique)
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Thursday also brought some African representation to the official competition, as actress-turned-director Mati Diop brought her feature directorial debut ‘Atlantics’ to the festival; a contemporary tale of struggle and migration centred on two young Senegalese lovers—she a teenager destined to marry another, he a young construction worker fleeing the country by sea for a better future—who are unexpectedly reunited in Dakar in the midst of tragedy and struggle. Writer/director Diop was joined by her stars Aminata Kane, Amadou Mbow, Mame Sane, Nicole Sougou and Mariama Gassama, ‘Atlantics’ has no confirmed dates yet.
Atlantics press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Friday the 17th
Too Old to Die Young
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Friday’s out-of-competition premiere at Cannes this year was a further signal of the blurred lines between the big and small screens at global film festivals, as Nicolas Winding Refn brought along his star Miles Teller for a sneak peak of their Amazon series ‘Too Old to Die Young’—the Danish director’s typically moody and stylised, dark and existential take on L.A.’s criminal underbelly through the prism of belief and death, following a callous but complicated cop who doubles as a killer-for-hire, and his morbid dealings with the shady and dangerous characters in the city of angels. ‘Too Old to Die Young’ premieres on the 14th of June on Amazon Video.
Too Old to Die Young press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Little Joe
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Friday also brought German participation to the official competition this year, in the form of writer/director Jessica Hausner’s Anglo-Germanic sci-fi drama ‘Little Joe’—a pseudo-futurist, surrealist warning tale of parenthood, happiness and identity, revolving around a genetic botanist at a breeding tech corporation who unadvisedly brings home one of her extraordinary therapeutic experiments for her son, only to find that her creation may bring ominous side effects. Hausner was joined on the Cannes red carpet by her stars Kerry Fox, Emily Beecham, Kit Connor and Phenix Brossard, ‘Little Joe’ has no release dates yet.
Little Joe press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Papicha
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French participation on the first Friday came in the Un Certain Regard competition, as directorial debutante Mounia Meddour brought her Algeria-set period drama ‘Papicha’ to the festival; a story set in the 90s at the height of the Algerian civil war, when a fiercely independent fashion student rejects the oppression of the tragedy around her and defies the increasingly influential radicals by staging a fashion show. Meddour was flanked by her stars Lyna Khoudri, Zahra Manel Doumandji, Shirine Boutella and Amira Hilda Douaouda, ‘Papicha’ has no confirmed dates yet.
Papicha Cannes photocall (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Saturday the 18th
The Whistlers (Gomera)
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The first Saturday this year saw some Romanian participation in the official competition, as writer/director Corneliu Porumboiu brought along his stars Vlad Ivanov, Catrinel Marlon and Rodica Lazar for a premiere of their crime/comedy ‘The Whistlers’; a contemporary tale revolving around a Romanian cop who moonlights as an inside man for the mafia, intent on freeing a crooked businessman from a Canary Island prison by learning the inscrutable local whistle-based language. ‘The Whistlers’ has no UK or US dates yet.
Gomera press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
The Wild Goose Lake (Nan Fang Che Zhan De Ju Hu)
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Saturday also saw Chinese contention for the Palme d’Or when writer/director Diao Yinan returned to the riviera with his latest drama ‘The Wild Goose Lake’; a neo-noir thriller tale of a gangster on the run and the troubled girl he meets, as they struggle together for redemption and freedom on the shores of Wild Goose Lake. The director was joined by his stars Liao Fan, Gwei Lun-Mei, Hu Ge and Wam Qian, ‘The Wild Goose Lake’ has no confirmed release dates yet.
The Wild Goose Lake press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Port Authority
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The Un Certain Regard competition also saw some action on Saturday, including from American cinema as debutante Danielle Lessovitz brought her first feature ‘Port Authority’ to the festival. A 21st century love story set in the world of drag balls, where a young man is introduced to the flamboyant LGBT subculture by the young woman for whom he has fallen, only to discover that she’s trans, as he is forced to confront his ideas of identity and what he heels for her.
Lessovitz was joined by her stars William Dufault, Paris Warren, Devon Carpenter, Jari Jones, Isaiah Wilder, Fionn Whitehead, Lenya Bloom, McCaul Lombardi, Taliek Jeqon, Eddy Plaza and Christopher Quarles, ‘Port Authority’ has no release dates yet.
Port Authority Cannes photocall (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Family Romance, LLC
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Saturday also saw the return to Cannes for German cinema legend Werner Herzog for a special screening of his latest exploration of humanity ‘Family Romance, LLC’; a blend of documentary and drama which sees the global filmmaker head to Japan, to explore the country’s rent-a-family industry through the story of a man hired to impersonate the missing father of a twelve-year-old girl. Herzog brought along his producer Roc Morin to showcase the film, which has no confirmed dates yet.
Family Romance, LLC trailer (courtesy of FREE TRAILER ARCHIVE)
Sunday the 19th
A Hidden Life
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The end of week one’s Palme d’Or competition signalled the return of a cinematic visionary—or at least his work—to the festival, as American writer/director Terrence Malick premiered his latest existential human drama and fist primarily foreign language film ‘A Hidden Life’. Set in 1940s Austria under the Third Reich, it tells the story of Franz Jägerstätter—an anti-Nazi farmer and conscientious objector who had a crisis of conscience when drafted to serve in the German Wehrmacht, only to pay the ultimate price for his beliefs and convictions.
In the absence of In the absence of Malick himself, it was left to stars Valerie Pachner and August Diehl, along with producers Dario Bergesio, Grant Hill, Marcus Loges and Bill Pohla to represent the film, ‘A Hidden Life’ has no confirmed dates yet.
A Hidden Life press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Portrait de la Jeune Fille en Feu)
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The second in-competition offering of the day was a French affair, as writer/director Céline Sciamma made her third visit to the festival with her stars Valeria Golino, Adele Haenel, Noemie Merlant and Luana Bajrami for a premiere of their period costume drama ‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’.
Set in the isolation of an island in late 18th century Bretagne, where a young artist commissioned to paint the portrait of a reluctant bride-to-be must follow her subject in secret to capture her essence, only to find herself falling for her. ‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’ is out on the 18th of September in France, with no other dates yet.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Diego Maradona
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Sunday’s out-of-competition action saw British archivist documentarian Asif Kapadia make a return to Cannes with his latest biographical portrait of a cultural phenomenon, as he brought along his producers but not his illustrious Argentinian subject for a world premiere of ‘Diego Maradona’. A chronicle of the charismatic football legend at the height of his success and excess at Napoli in the mid-80s, and his transformation from a kid in a Buenos Aires shantytown to a notorious global superstar, in this unflinching look at one of the greatest to ever play the world’s beautiful game. ‘Diego Maradona’ is out on the 14th of June in the UK, and on the 24th of September in the US.
Diego Maradona Cannes red carpet (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Week 2 (Next Page)–>
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