THE OBENSON REPORT

Covering Cinema From All Across The African Diaspora
Showing posts with label cannes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cannes. Show all posts

And The Awards Go To...

Posted on 12:27 PM comments (3)
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And now ladies and gents, below are the Cannes Film Festival award winners, as announced over the weekend. These are films to look out for in the coming year at your local theatre or video rental store (whether in the real or virtual world). Of special note is Afro-British filmmaker Steve McQueen winning the festival prize for best first feature, also known as the Camera d'Or, for his apparently impressive debut film titled Hunger, which was picked up for distribution by IFC Films. Also worth mentioning is the Mike Tyson documentary (titled simply Tyson) which also got picked up for distribution by Sony Pictures Classics, winning the "Knockout Prize" in the Un Certain Regard section of the festival:

IN COMPETITION
Palme d’Or: The Class (Dir. Laurent Cantet)
Runner-up (Grand Prix): Gomorra (Dir. Matteo Garrone)
Best Director (Prix de la Mise en Scene): Nuri Bilge Ceylan for Three Monkeys
Best Screenplay (Prix du Scenario): Jean Pierre and Luc Dardenne for Lorna’s Silence
Best First Feature (Camera d’Or): Hunger (Dir. Steve McQueen)
Jury Prize (Prix du Jury): Il Divo (Dir. Paolo Sorrentino)
Best Actor (Prix d’interpretation masculine): Benicio del Toro for Che
Best Actress (Prix d’interpretation feminine): Sandra Corveloni for Linha de Passe

UN CERTAIN REGARD
1st Prize: Tuplan (Dir. Sergey Dvortsevoy)
2nd Prize: Cloud 9 (Dir. Andreas Dresen)
Prize of Hope: Johnny Mad Dog (Dir. Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire)
Knockout Prize: Tyson (Dir. James Toback)
Jury Prize: Tokyo Sonata (Dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa)

CINEFONDATION
1st Prize: Anthem (Dir. Elad Keidan)
2nd Prize: Forbach (Dir. Claire Burger)
3rd Prize: Stop (Dir. Jae-Ok Park) and Roadmarkers (Dir. Juho Kuosmanen)

Flashing Lights - Cannes Unveils 2008 Lineup!

Posted on 10:14 AM comments (5)
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The "prestigious" Cannes Film Festival unveiled its lineup of films both in and out of competition for the 2008 festival taking place in its usual luxurious French Riviera location next month! I put the word "prestigious" in quotation marks because l'm starting to question the true relevance and value of the 69 year old film festival! It's very much an elitist affair, and I think it's always been that way, but it's starting to wear its elitism like a badge of honor, which is a turnoff. It negates its legitimacy and global acceptance as THE preeminent film festival in the world. Just like new technology companies are changing how we think of and use technology, challenging the reach of the stalwarts (for example, Google VS Microsoft), I feel like America, and even the world, need upstart festivals to replace the dinosaurs of the industry, in which the quality of the work is the only thing that matters, and who you are or who you know mean absolutely nothing!

Of course, no surprise, there aren't any films from Africa. Apparently Sembene's death meant the end of African cinema as well - at least, according to the good people at Cannes.

However, it is what it is, and regardles of what I say, filmmakers and the media will ensure that it remains the top festival in the world... at least for now!

Of note for those of us in the USA, Clint Eastwood's next film, The Changeling (starring Angelina Jolie) will make its debut. Notable screenwriter Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut, Synecdoche, New York, also is scheduled. Steven Soderbergh's highly anticipated Che Guevara bio-pic starring Benicio Del Toro will screen as well. And Woody Allen strikes again with a film that supposedly has a lesbian storyline, titled Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Woody Allen and lesbian themes just don't seem like a fit to me. And David Lynch's daughter, Jennifer, makes her Cannes debut with a thriller called Surveillance. Let's hope there's actually a coherent, plausible story, unlike her father's last film, Inland Empire... talk about a cure for insomnia! Lastly, Steven Spielberg's next (and hopefully, final) installment of the Indiana Jones series, Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, will premiere.

You can see the complete list HERE, including the selected panel of judges.

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