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CANNES FESTIVAL – BILGE CEYLAN HANDED PALME D’OR

His "Winter Sleep" more than deserved it
Some disappointments, an even bigger triumph
Closing ceremony lasted 45 minutes

The 67th Cannes Festival was capped with a lively closing ceremony last night. There were tears, there was comedy and there was scandal. Some of the night's victories were well-deserved—Timothy Spall's winning of the best actor prize was a fait accompli, his turn as the British painter Turner in Mike Leigh's romanticized biopic rating well above par. Xavier Dolan sharing his prize with French new ... more >

CANNES – Clouds of Sils Maria

Not the director's best work
Juliette Binoche and Kristen Stewart
Directed by Olivier Assayas

For an unbeatable view of the Swiss Alps and their picture-perfect mountaintops see the “Clouds of Sils Maria.” This new film by French director Olivier Assayas (“Summer hours,” “Carlos”) shot entirely within the idyllic spreads of rural Switzerland puts in focus the coming undone of Maria Enders, an older actress (played by Juliette Binoche) who is confronted by her past when an actress half her ... more >

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CANNES – WHITE GOD WINS UCR PRIZE (AND DESERVEDLY SO)

"White God" is just over two hours long
You'll never look at dogs the same way after this movie
Directed by Kornél Mundruczó

CANNES (France) - In a brief ceremony in the Debussy theater prizes for the Un Certain Regard (“a certain look” in French translation) program were given by the jury, presided over by Pablo Trapero. Even though these films run in the non-competitive selection they are still recognized by a jury and awarded prizes. Something happened tonight which I’ve never seen before: departing festival ... more >

CANNES – KIAROSTAMI ANNOUNCES CINEFONDATION WINNERS

"The bigger picture" given joint third prize
Cinefondation acknowledges finished student films
Program was created by Gilles Jacob

(FROM THE OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE) The Cinéfondation and Short Films Jury headed by Abbas Kiarostami and including Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, Noémie Lvovsky, Daniela Thomas and Joachim Trier, has awarded the 2014 Cinéfondation Prizes during a ceremony held in the Buñuel Theatre, followed by the screening of the winning films. The Cinéfondation Selection consisted of sixteen student films, chosen out ... more >

DAY 8: CANNES COMES ALIVE WITH “MOMMY”

This is Xavier Dolan's sixth feature film
140 mins.

This Cannes Festival has finally been unshackled from the supremacy of older males turning out less than stellar work: Xavier Dolan, a twenty five year-old filmmaker from Québec who's brought films to Cannes before has thrown down the gauntlet. His new film "Mommy" is the first one to appear in the competition section and is the new favorite for the top prize this year. In “Mommy” single-mother ... more >

CANNES DAY 8: GODARD’S ADIEU AU LANGAGE

In competition
Godard was absent from the premiere
70 minutes long

Major rush trying to get into the Lumiere theater for the mid-afternoon premiere of Godard’s “Adieu au Langage” yesterday, people pushing, shoving, huffing and puffing their way inside the theater. “We’re about to go watch the new Godard film in Cannes,” I told my colleague in the rush to the theater, “it’s incredible.” In the end, it felt more like we were stuck in a space-time continuum. ... more >

CANNES FESTIVAL – DAY 8: THE SEARCH

An unlikely encounter develops in war-town Chechnya
Bérénice Bejo

"The Search," which screened for the press yesterday morning is a two-and-a-half hour-long war drama set in war-torn Chechnya in 1999. In this new film by "The Artist" director Michel Hazanavicius we follow four different people as they contend with the vagaries of war, the main one being about a woman who's separated from her brother after a bombing attack and goes on the search of the title. ... more >