Filmmaker Auden Lincoln-Vogel was in Cannes this year in support of “Bill and Joe go Duck Hunting,” which he's written and directed. In “Bill and Joe Go Duck Hunting,” a slow and contemplative film that was a part of the Cinefondation program, two friends go on a duck hunting expedition and much vexation ensues, the great outdoors the setting for an oppressive “huit-clos” film that's punctuated ... more >
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CANNES FESTIVAL – “Titane,” machine-friendly gender-bending allegory, wins the Palme D’Or
Cinema is now synonymous with these two words: Julia Ducournau. She is the director of "Titane," a film, all savagery and tenderness, that won the Palme D'Or last night at the Cannes Festival here in France. Why these two words? Because contemporary cinema takes risks and it's prothean and it's in step with the times and it pays tribute to its past and I can't think of a better incarnation for it ... more >
CANNES FESTIVAL – and now to one of my favorites, “Red Rocket” by Sean Baker (review)
After twenty years of working in the adult film industry in Los Angeles, Mikey Saber (Simon Rex), returns with his tail between his legs to Texas City, Texas, a small oil town south of Houston with twenty-two dollars in his pocket. He manages to convince his wife Lexi (Brie Elrod), with whom he’s separated, and his mother-in-law, to let him crash for a few days. Promises are made. Mikey will ... more >
CANNES FESTIVAL – Asghar Farhadi’s “A HERO”
This film is competing for the Palme D'Or
CANNES, France - Ethics and civility are not synonymous with honor but it’s generally understood, by most, that if you adhere to an ethical and civil conduct in life, honor will naturally flow from it. The idea of honor endures more or less overtly in Iranian society, and Asghar Farhadi’s new film “A Hero” thrives on it as leitmotif. The honor of one man, a painter calligrapher, crushed by debt ... more >
DIRECTORS’ FORTNIGHT: Panah Panahi carves himself a place in world cinema with quirky road movie “Hit the Road”
Directors' Fornight (quinzaine des realisateurs) is one of the parallel programs coinciding with the Cannes Festival every year
Pantea Panahiha, Hassan Madjooni and Rayan Sarlak
Directed by Panah Panahi
CANNES, France - A passing of the torch, of sorts, happened this year in Cannes, quietly: Jafar Panahi, high priest of Iranian cinema, bestowed the title upon his son (figuratively, of course). The Panahi name also became synonymous with a film dynasty, the counterweight, if one were to unseriously look at world cinema as a congeries of fiefdoms, to the House of Makhmalbaf. Panahi, whose films ... more >
CANNES FESTIVAL: the “Mothering Sunday” effect
CANNES, France - France counts a growing number of filmmakers making cool cinema and getting their films into festivals like Cannes, Berlin and the Biennale. Names such as Julia Ducournau (“Grave”), Hafsia Herzi (“Bonne Mère”) and Eva Husson come to mind, all of whom are presenting films this year at Cannes. The latter has directed her fourth film, "Mothering Sunday." Her previous work, "The ... more >
CANNES FESTIVAL: “Lingui: the sacred bonds,” directed by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun
This film is competing for the Palme D'Or
Achouackh Abakar and Rihane Khalil Alio
Directed by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun
CANNES, France - Overtly social issues-based cinema risk are boring unless you're a Ken Loach in which case it's not boring. Everyone knows, everyone is aware. As filmmaker you'll need to up the ante, a little. Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, with his new film "Lingui," appears to have not done this. Amina lives with her fifteen year-old daughter Maria in a suburb of N’Djamena. Her world falls apart ... more >