Cannes ‘09: The Lineup | Fest Official Selection Revealed

A scene from Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds". Image courtesy The Weinstein Company.

The lineup for the 2009 Cannes Film Festival was unveiled in Paris today at a press conference shortly after Noon local time in the French capital. The news of the morning, for some, was the dearth of American filmmakers in competition for the Palme d’Or at the 62nd Festival de Cannes, running May 13 - 24, 2009. The roster features a number of previous award-winning Cannes filmmakers.

Twenty films are vying for the prestigious Palme d’Or, with Quentin Tarantino as the sole American-born director. He’ll be in Cannes with his latest, “Inglourious Basterds.” Taiwanese born filmmaker Ang Lee, who is U.S. based, will be in competition with his new movie, “Taking Woodstock.” As anticipated, the festival will feature a roster of regulars who will be returning to the Croisette with new movies. Pedro Almodovar is in competition with “Abrazos Rotos” (Broken Embraces), as are Lars Von Trier with “Antichrist”, Jane Campion with “Bright Star,” Ken Loach with “Looking For Eric,” and Michael Haneke with “The White Ribbon,” among others.

Notably, the official selection for the 2009 Festival de Cannes is light on emerging talent. Only three film are from first-time feature filmmakers: Haim Tabakman’s “Eyes Wide Open” and Warwick Thornton’s “Samson and Delilah” in the Un Certain Regard section, as well as Stephane Aubier & VIncent Patar’s “A Town Called Panic” in a Midnight slot.

Thierry Fremaux announced the lineup today, while event president Gilles Jacob issued remarks on the state of cinema. “Where will the Festival de Cannes be in five years time?” Jacob began, “Politics, allegedly, is the art of answering questions you haven’t been asked. I won’t be doing that today. People often ask: where will the Festival de Cannes be in five years time? The only question that I find important is that of the future of independent, auteur cinema, and thus the future of film festivals, as they are basically the same thing.”

Cannes ‘09 will open with the Pixar Digital 3-D title, “UP,” as was recently announced. An animated 3D feature, “Up” was recently described by the festival as, “a comedy adventure in which 78-year-old Carl Fredricksen fulfils his dream of a great adventure when he ties thousands of balloons to his house and flies away to the wilds of South America, only to discover that he has brought with him his biggest nightmare, a 9-year-old Wilderness Explorer stowaway.” Pixar parent Disney will open the film in the U.S. on May 29th and in France on July 29th.

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The poster for the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. Lee Daniels’ 2009 Sundance grand jury prize and audience award-winner “Precious” (formerly “Push”) joins the slim American offerings in the event’s Un Certain Regard this year. Daniels’ story about a troubled teen growing up amid an abusive mother and father is joined by other international filmmakers including Korea’s Bong Joon Ho (“Mother”), Hirokazu Kore-Eda (“Kuki Ningyo” - Air Doll) France’s Alain Cavalier (“Irene”) and Iranian filmmaker Bahamn Ghobadi (“Nobody Knows About the Persian Cats”). In all, twenty titles join the sidebar’s roster. French actress Isabelle Huppert will lead the feature film jury, which also includes Turkish director Nuru Bilge Ceylan, Taiwanese actress Shu Qui, British writer Hanif Kureishi, Italian actress and director Asia Argento, and two Americans - actress Robin Wright Penn and director James Gray. Director John Boorman heads the Cinefondation and short films jury, working alongside French director Bertrand Bonello, Tunisian director Ferid Boughedir, Portugese actress Leonor Silveira, and Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi. Directors’ Fortnight and Critics’ Week are expected to be announced on Friday in Paris. —lineups are listed on page two—   (1 of 2)  Next Page › Login to recommend this article » posted on April 23, 2009 |Share Login to Leave a Comment »