Terry Gilliam has been to Cannes with three of his own films since 1983, but one of his favorite memories of the festival takes him back to that very first time, at the 36th edition, as the co-writer and co-star of Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life. Along with Graham Chapman and the film’s director Terry Jones, he’d emerged from the Carlton hotel’s iconic entrance, then bedecked with promotion for the upcoming Bond movie Octopussy, to encounter a camera crew. Jones started grabbing people at random, shouting, “Who Ees Monty Python???” in a ridiculous foreign accent, and got so carried away that, when they reached the hotel’s famous terrace, he accidentally did it to Gilliam too.
The crowd loved it, and the day only grew stranger. Out on the Carlton’s jetty, they gave an interview to British news channel ITN, with Jones hiding behind Graham...
The crowd loved it, and the day only grew stranger. Out on the Carlton’s jetty, they gave an interview to British news channel ITN, with Jones hiding behind Graham...
- 5/20/2024
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
Some 45 years ago, the Cannes Film Festival invited Francis Ford Coppola to bring his latest project to the French Riviera for a special “work-in-progress” screening. The movie’s production had already achieved a mythic status as an example of Murphy’s Law made manifest, from last-minute actor replacements to monsoons to storylines being added, subtracted and rewritten on the fly. Coppola had sunk a lot of his own money into the project, since the studios had been reluctant to finance what seemed like a huge folly. The director had staked...
- 5/16/2024
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
French filmmaker Laurent Cantet, whose 2008 film The Class won the Palme d’Or in Cannes in 2008, died on April 25 at the age of 63.
The acclaimed filmmaker was planning to shoot his next film Enzo, co-written by Robin Campillo and produced by Anatomy Of A Fall producer Marie-Ange Luciani, later this year.
Cantet’s agent Isabelle de la Patellière confirmed to French media the filmmaker “died this morning in Paris from an illness.”
The Class is a Paris documentary-drama based on a semi-autobiographical book by François Bégaudeau set in a French classroom about a teacher in a tough Parisian neighbourhood that starred a mostly unprofessional cast.
The acclaimed filmmaker was planning to shoot his next film Enzo, co-written by Robin Campillo and produced by Anatomy Of A Fall producer Marie-Ange Luciani, later this year.
Cantet’s agent Isabelle de la Patellière confirmed to French media the filmmaker “died this morning in Paris from an illness.”
The Class is a Paris documentary-drama based on a semi-autobiographical book by François Bégaudeau set in a French classroom about a teacher in a tough Parisian neighbourhood that starred a mostly unprofessional cast.
- 4/25/2024
- ScreenDaily
Paolo Taviani, the iconic Italian director who helmed numerous films with his brother Vittorio, has died. He was 92.
Taviani died in a clinic in Rome after suffering from a short illness, according to media reports. His wife and two children were at his bedside, according to Anasa news agency.
Roberto Gualtieri, the Mayor of Rome, made the announcement on X.
“With Paolo Taviani, a great master of Italian cinema leaves us,” Gualtieri wrote in Italian. “Together with his brother Vittorio, he made unforgettable, profound, committed films, which have managed to enter the collective imagination and the history of cinema. An affectionate hug to the family.”
Born in 1931 in Tuscany, Taviani formed a formidable directing duo with his brother Vittorio, who died in 2018.
The pair made films together for more than 50 years. Their most prominent was Palme d’Or winner Padre Padrone, an adaptation of Gavino Ledda’s autobiographical novel about...
Taviani died in a clinic in Rome after suffering from a short illness, according to media reports. His wife and two children were at his bedside, according to Anasa news agency.
Roberto Gualtieri, the Mayor of Rome, made the announcement on X.
“With Paolo Taviani, a great master of Italian cinema leaves us,” Gualtieri wrote in Italian. “Together with his brother Vittorio, he made unforgettable, profound, committed films, which have managed to enter the collective imagination and the history of cinema. An affectionate hug to the family.”
Born in 1931 in Tuscany, Taviani formed a formidable directing duo with his brother Vittorio, who died in 2018.
The pair made films together for more than 50 years. Their most prominent was Palme d’Or winner Padre Padrone, an adaptation of Gavino Ledda’s autobiographical novel about...
- 3/1/2024
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Michel Ciment, the esteemed French film critic, historian, author, radio producer and editor of the influential film magazine Positif, has died. He was 85.
His death was reported Monday by the French radio channel France Inter, the home of his culture program Le Masque et la Plume since 1970.
Ciment was “perhaps the freest and most encyclopedic mind that film criticism has ever produced,” Le Masque et la Plume producer Jérome Garcin in a statement. He made what would be his last appearance on the show in September.
The Paris native also produced Projection privée on France Culture radio from 1990-2016. He was “an immense critic and historian who devoted his entire life to passing on, in words and in writing, his erudition and his passion for the seventh art,” a statement from the channel said.
Ciment joined Positif after sending in a story about the Orson Welles film The Trial in 1963 and would become its editor,...
His death was reported Monday by the French radio channel France Inter, the home of his culture program Le Masque et la Plume since 1970.
Ciment was “perhaps the freest and most encyclopedic mind that film criticism has ever produced,” Le Masque et la Plume producer Jérome Garcin in a statement. He made what would be his last appearance on the show in September.
The Paris native also produced Projection privée on France Culture radio from 1990-2016. He was “an immense critic and historian who devoted his entire life to passing on, in words and in writing, his erudition and his passion for the seventh art,” a statement from the channel said.
Ciment joined Positif after sending in a story about the Orson Welles film The Trial in 1963 and would become its editor,...
- 11/14/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
French critic, historian and author was loyal contributor to Screen’s Cannes jury grid.
Iconic French film critic and historian Michel Ciment has died, his entourage confirmed on Monday evening to French radio station France Inter, home to his world-renowned radio show Le Masque et la Plume since 1970. He was 85.
Born in 1938 in Paris, Ciment devoted his life to cinema and became a pillar of French film criticism and history for more than half a century.
He served as a juror at major festivals including Cannes, Venice, Berlin and Locarno and received numerous French civic honours including the Legion of Honour,...
Iconic French film critic and historian Michel Ciment has died, his entourage confirmed on Monday evening to French radio station France Inter, home to his world-renowned radio show Le Masque et la Plume since 1970. He was 85.
Born in 1938 in Paris, Ciment devoted his life to cinema and became a pillar of French film criticism and history for more than half a century.
He served as a juror at major festivals including Cannes, Venice, Berlin and Locarno and received numerous French civic honours including the Legion of Honour,...
- 11/13/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
French film critic and historian Michel Ciment, the long-time publishing director of film magazine Positif, has died Monday, French media reported. He was 85.
Ciment first started writing for the Lyon-based magazine in 1963, when he contributed a piece about the cinema of Orson Welles.
The magazine was launched in 1952 shortly after Les Cahiers du Cinéma by Bernard Chardère, who also died this year.
In a talk at Paris’s Forum Des Images in 2022, marking Positif’s 70th anniversary, Ciment recounted how he started reading the magazine in the 1950s as a teenager, while hanging around the Le Minotaure bookshop in the Paris quarter of Saint-Germain-des-Près.
“It was an amazing place where you’d bump into other cinephiles like Jean-Claude Romer, who went on to create [the cinema magazine] Midi Minuit Fantastique,” recounted Ciment.
“There were a lot of people from Les Cahiers and Positif… You couldn’t find the cinema revues in kiosks then.
Ciment first started writing for the Lyon-based magazine in 1963, when he contributed a piece about the cinema of Orson Welles.
The magazine was launched in 1952 shortly after Les Cahiers du Cinéma by Bernard Chardère, who also died this year.
In a talk at Paris’s Forum Des Images in 2022, marking Positif’s 70th anniversary, Ciment recounted how he started reading the magazine in the 1950s as a teenager, while hanging around the Le Minotaure bookshop in the Paris quarter of Saint-Germain-des-Près.
“It was an amazing place where you’d bump into other cinephiles like Jean-Claude Romer, who went on to create [the cinema magazine] Midi Minuit Fantastique,” recounted Ciment.
“There were a lot of people from Les Cahiers and Positif… You couldn’t find the cinema revues in kiosks then.
- 11/13/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
“The most beautiful gestures from my film came to mind at the kitchen in the Résidence when I was pressing oranges in the juice machine,” said Nadiv Lapid.
Six first or second-time international filmmakers are taking part in the Cannes Film Festival’s annual Résidence programme that kicked off on October 1 in Paris and will run through February 2024.
Belgian director Meltse Van Coillie, Czech-Vietnamese filmmaker Diana Cam Van Nguyen, Chinese director Zhao Hao, Haitian director Gessica Généus, Croatian filmmaker Andréa Slaviček, and Moroccan director Asmae El Moudi will all work on their upcoming features with advice from industry experts in writing and producing their films.
Six first or second-time international filmmakers are taking part in the Cannes Film Festival’s annual Résidence programme that kicked off on October 1 in Paris and will run through February 2024.
Belgian director Meltse Van Coillie, Czech-Vietnamese filmmaker Diana Cam Van Nguyen, Chinese director Zhao Hao, Haitian director Gessica Généus, Croatian filmmaker Andréa Slaviček, and Moroccan director Asmae El Moudi will all work on their upcoming features with advice from industry experts in writing and producing their films.
- 10/6/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
The Cannes Film Festival has admitted six filmmakers, five women and one man, to its 2024 residency program.
The list of filmmakers includes Morrocan director Asmae El Moudir, best known for her feature The Mother of All Lies, which shared last year’s the L’Oeil d’or (Golden Eye) prize for the best documentary with Four Daughters (Kaouther Ben Hania) at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
The other participants are Meltse Van Coillie, Diana Cam Van Nguyen, Zhao Hao, Gessica Généus, and Andréa Slaviček. The residency program runs over four and a half months, during which all participants will live in Paris and receive personalized support to aid the writing of their first or second feature film screenplay.
The Cannes residency program was created in 2000 by Pierre Viot and Gilles Jacob and was first headed by Sylvie Perras. It is now helmed by Stéphanie Lamome.
“This year, five female...
The list of filmmakers includes Morrocan director Asmae El Moudir, best known for her feature The Mother of All Lies, which shared last year’s the L’Oeil d’or (Golden Eye) prize for the best documentary with Four Daughters (Kaouther Ben Hania) at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
The other participants are Meltse Van Coillie, Diana Cam Van Nguyen, Zhao Hao, Gessica Généus, and Andréa Slaviček. The residency program runs over four and a half months, during which all participants will live in Paris and receive personalized support to aid the writing of their first or second feature film screenplay.
The Cannes residency program was created in 2000 by Pierre Viot and Gilles Jacob and was first headed by Sylvie Perras. It is now helmed by Stéphanie Lamome.
“This year, five female...
- 10/6/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Deauville American Film Festival will forge ahead with its honorary tributes to stars such as Natalie Portman, Jude Law, Peter Dinklage and Joseph Gordon-Levitt despite the fact that they won’t be in attendance due to the SAG-AFTRA strike.
The festival’s artistic director, Bruno Barde, told Variety ahead of the event’s press conference on Thursday that he empathized with actors and writers who are on strike to “protect themselves against the dangers of artificial intelligence.”
“AI has always existed in cinema and it’s now posing a threat to screenwriters, set designers, dubbers and, of course, to actors whom we’re using the image of. Cinema is an art that elevates humankind, and artificial intelligence does the exact opposite. It’s a danger,” Barde said.
And while he stands in solidarity with the strike, he has opted “to maintain all the tributes which will pay homage to careers...
The festival’s artistic director, Bruno Barde, told Variety ahead of the event’s press conference on Thursday that he empathized with actors and writers who are on strike to “protect themselves against the dangers of artificial intelligence.”
“AI has always existed in cinema and it’s now posing a threat to screenwriters, set designers, dubbers and, of course, to actors whom we’re using the image of. Cinema is an art that elevates humankind, and artificial intelligence does the exact opposite. It’s a danger,” Barde said.
And while he stands in solidarity with the strike, he has opted “to maintain all the tributes which will pay homage to careers...
- 8/17/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
UK director Molly Manning Walker’s first film How To Have Sex won the top prize in Cannes Un Certain Regard on Friday evening.
The tale of a group of teenagers on a rite of passage clubbing holiday was described by Deadline reviewer Damon Wise as “a visceral and sensory experience” and an “exceptional debut”. Read the review here and a Deadline interview with the director here.
The Jury Prize went to Moroccan filmmaker Kamal Lazraq’s Hounds about a father and son who find themselves caught up in a kidnapping plot that goes wrong.
Best Director went to Moroccan director Asmae El Moudir’s documentary The Mother Of All Lies about the bread riots that shook a working-class Casablanca neighborhood in 1981.
She follows in the footsteps of Alain Guiraudie, Kiyoshi Kurosawa and Sergei Loznitsa who also won the prize early in their careers.
In other awards, the Ensemble Prize...
The tale of a group of teenagers on a rite of passage clubbing holiday was described by Deadline reviewer Damon Wise as “a visceral and sensory experience” and an “exceptional debut”. Read the review here and a Deadline interview with the director here.
The Jury Prize went to Moroccan filmmaker Kamal Lazraq’s Hounds about a father and son who find themselves caught up in a kidnapping plot that goes wrong.
Best Director went to Moroccan director Asmae El Moudir’s documentary The Mother Of All Lies about the bread riots that shook a working-class Casablanca neighborhood in 1981.
She follows in the footsteps of Alain Guiraudie, Kiyoshi Kurosawa and Sergei Loznitsa who also won the prize early in their careers.
In other awards, the Ensemble Prize...
- 5/26/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
No book could ever fully capture the beautiful, ugly, inexplicable madness that is the Cannes Film Festival — but that hasn’t stopped a handful from trying. Here are THR’s executive editor (awards) and resident film-book bibliophile’s picks for the five best.
1. Two Weeks in the Midday Sun: A Cannes Notebook, by Roger Ebert (1987)
This thin travelogue by the Chicago Sun-Times’ longtime film critic, who won a Pulitzer Prize in 1975 and died in 2013, chronicles his experience covering the fest’s 1987 edition, having previously attended many times before. It breezily profiles true festival characters like the publicist Renee Furst, the schlock showman Menahem Golan and the gambler Billy “Silver Dollar” Baxter — all now gone — and charmingly illustrates how much some things have changed (journalists no longer file reports by telex when they can get around to it, but rather post multiple online dispatches daily) and others have not (the jetlag and lack of sleep,...
1. Two Weeks in the Midday Sun: A Cannes Notebook, by Roger Ebert (1987)
This thin travelogue by the Chicago Sun-Times’ longtime film critic, who won a Pulitzer Prize in 1975 and died in 2013, chronicles his experience covering the fest’s 1987 edition, having previously attended many times before. It breezily profiles true festival characters like the publicist Renee Furst, the schlock showman Menahem Golan and the gambler Billy “Silver Dollar” Baxter — all now gone — and charmingly illustrates how much some things have changed (journalists no longer file reports by telex when they can get around to it, but rather post multiple online dispatches daily) and others have not (the jetlag and lack of sleep,...
- 5/19/2023
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Nanni Moretti always dresses impeccably — whether tuxed-up for the Cannes red carpet for his eight competition appearances since 1978 (his ninth, for A Brighter Tomorrow, will come May 24) or walking the Croisette in the casual chic (cashmere sweaters and chinos with open-collar shirts in dark gray or plum) that appears to come naturally to Italian men of Moretti’s generation. But the mantle of elder statesman of Italian cinema seems to hang on the 69-year-old director more like an ill-fitting suit.
It’s hard to deny Moretti’s position as a successor to the great neorealists — Vittorio De Sica, Federico Fellini, Roberto Rossellini — and the generation of New Wave heroes of the 1960s like Michelangelo Antonioni, Bernardo Bertolucci and Lina Wertmüller who reclaimed and restored Italian cinema after the ravages of fascism. His list of awards and acclaims alone — the Palme d’Or for The Son’s Room in 2001, Cannes best director in 1994 for Dear Diary,...
It’s hard to deny Moretti’s position as a successor to the great neorealists — Vittorio De Sica, Federico Fellini, Roberto Rossellini — and the generation of New Wave heroes of the 1960s like Michelangelo Antonioni, Bernardo Bertolucci and Lina Wertmüller who reclaimed and restored Italian cinema after the ravages of fascism. His list of awards and acclaims alone — the Palme d’Or for The Son’s Room in 2001, Cannes best director in 1994 for Dear Diary,...
- 5/19/2023
- by Scott Roxborough and Concita De Gregorio
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Largest and biggest dedicated short film festival and market in the world faces “dangerous situation”.
The future of the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival hangs in the balance following a budget cut from its biggest funder.
The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regional council has reduced the festival’s annual funding from €210,000 to €100,000 for the 2023 financial year.
The decision comes amidst other significant cuts to the cultural sector across the region, with festivals such as Plein La Bobine, a popular local event dedicated to young film audiences, also receiving reduced subsidies.
According to Clermont-Ferrand, the €110,000 budget cut puts it in a “dangerous situation which could,...
The future of the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival hangs in the balance following a budget cut from its biggest funder.
The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regional council has reduced the festival’s annual funding from €210,000 to €100,000 for the 2023 financial year.
The decision comes amidst other significant cuts to the cultural sector across the region, with festivals such as Plein La Bobine, a popular local event dedicated to young film audiences, also receiving reduced subsidies.
According to Clermont-Ferrand, the €110,000 budget cut puts it in a “dangerous situation which could,...
- 5/16/2023
- by Laurence Boyce
- ScreenDaily
France’s Oscar submission nominated in best feature and birst first film categories.
French Oscar submission Saint Omer by Alice Diop has earned a double nomination for France’s prestigious Louis Delluc prize in both the best feature and best first film categories.
The film will vie against an eclectic blend of titles spanning political thriller, comedy and drama, many from female directors and mostly titles that have bowed at major festivals.
In the best French feature category, Saint Omer will compete against fellow Venice title Rebecca Zlotowski’s Other People’s Children, Cannes premieres Albert Serra’s Pacifiction, Louis Garrel’s The Innocent,...
French Oscar submission Saint Omer by Alice Diop has earned a double nomination for France’s prestigious Louis Delluc prize in both the best feature and best first film categories.
The film will vie against an eclectic blend of titles spanning political thriller, comedy and drama, many from female directors and mostly titles that have bowed at major festivals.
In the best French feature category, Saint Omer will compete against fellow Venice title Rebecca Zlotowski’s Other People’s Children, Cannes premieres Albert Serra’s Pacifiction, Louis Garrel’s The Innocent,...
- 11/11/2022
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
Tributes to Jean-Luc Godard, a pioneering and iconic leader of French cinema, began to flood in immediately after it was reported that the director died today, aged 91, with figures from the world of cinema, politics and beyond remembering the filmmaker for his powerful, singular work.
French President Emmanuel Macron was among the first to pay tribute to Godard with a short message on social media, saying France has lost a “national treasure” and calling the director the most “iconoclastic of New Wave filmmakers.”
Best known for his radical and politically driven work, Godard was among the most acclaimed directors of his generation with classic films such as Breathless (A bout de souffle), which catapulted him onto the world scene in 1960.
Speaking on France Info radio shortly after the news broke, Jack Lang, former Culture Minister of France, said Godard was “Unique, absolutely unique… He wasn’t just cinema, he was philosophy,...
French President Emmanuel Macron was among the first to pay tribute to Godard with a short message on social media, saying France has lost a “national treasure” and calling the director the most “iconoclastic of New Wave filmmakers.”
Best known for his radical and politically driven work, Godard was among the most acclaimed directors of his generation with classic films such as Breathless (A bout de souffle), which catapulted him onto the world scene in 1960.
Speaking on France Info radio shortly after the news broke, Jack Lang, former Culture Minister of France, said Godard was “Unique, absolutely unique… He wasn’t just cinema, he was philosophy,...
- 9/13/2022
- by Zac Ntim and Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Not long after attending my first Cannes Film Festival almost 35 years ago, I was still green and naïve enough to ask long-time Cannes attendees why the famed French fest held such a powerful place in the pecking order of international film gatherings. The late Richard Corliss, Time magazine’s peerless and beloved film critic, answered warmly and succinctly, with his own more worldly query: “Would you rather be in Germany in the winter or the South of France in the spring?”
Corliss had a point, but in the decades since I’ve tucked my own couple of dozen Cannes fests under my belt, I’ve compiled my own list of reasons why Cannes remains the one film festival that people who’ve never been to a film festival have heard about and wish they could go to, and know that if a film has scored there, it must be worth their time.
Corliss had a point, but in the decades since I’ve tucked my own couple of dozen Cannes fests under my belt, I’ve compiled my own list of reasons why Cannes remains the one film festival that people who’ve never been to a film festival have heard about and wish they could go to, and know that if a film has scored there, it must be worth their time.
- 5/11/2022
- by Steven Gaydos
- Variety Film + TV
French actor, director and producer Jacques Perrin, a fixture for decades in both French and Italian cinema — where he was best known for his role in Giuseppe Tornatore’s Oscar-winning “Cinema Paradiso” — has died. He was 80.
“The family has the immense sadness of informing you of the death of filmmaker Jacques Perrin, who died on Thursday, April 21 in Paris. He passed away peacefully,” Perrin’s family announced in a statement sent to news agency Agence France Press by his son, Mathieu Simonet. The cause of death was not specified.
Born in Paris on July 13, 1941, Perrin, starting in the 1950s, starred in more than 70 films and co-directed others, including the Oscar-nominated “Winged Migration” (2001), in tandem with Philippe Labro, about the voyage of migratory birds which used in-flight cameras and was a box office hit.
The soft-spoken thesp had landed his first leading role starring opposite Italy’s Claudia Cardinale in Valerio Zurlini...
“The family has the immense sadness of informing you of the death of filmmaker Jacques Perrin, who died on Thursday, April 21 in Paris. He passed away peacefully,” Perrin’s family announced in a statement sent to news agency Agence France Press by his son, Mathieu Simonet. The cause of death was not specified.
Born in Paris on July 13, 1941, Perrin, starting in the 1950s, starred in more than 70 films and co-directed others, including the Oscar-nominated “Winged Migration” (2001), in tandem with Philippe Labro, about the voyage of migratory birds which used in-flight cameras and was a box office hit.
The soft-spoken thesp had landed his first leading role starring opposite Italy’s Claudia Cardinale in Valerio Zurlini...
- 4/22/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Former WarnerMedia executive will take up the role at the beginning of 2023.
Former WarnerMedia top executive Iris Knobloch has been elected as Cannes Film Festival’s first-ever female president and will take up the role on July 1.
She will succeed Pierre Lescure, who was first elected to the role of festival president in 2014, replacing Gilles Jacob, and is now partway through a third three-year mandate running through to 2023.
Lescure has said previously he was open to stepping down early to accompany a transition period while a new president takes up the reins. He is not due to step down on June 30 of this year.
Former WarnerMedia top executive Iris Knobloch has been elected as Cannes Film Festival’s first-ever female president and will take up the role on July 1.
She will succeed Pierre Lescure, who was first elected to the role of festival president in 2014, replacing Gilles Jacob, and is now partway through a third three-year mandate running through to 2023.
Lescure has said previously he was open to stepping down early to accompany a transition period while a new president takes up the reins. He is not due to step down on June 30 of this year.
- 3/23/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
After several hours of heated debates, Iris Knobloch, the former boss of WarnerMedia France and Germany, has been chosen by the board of the Cannes Film Festival to become its first female president, as Variety has learned . Taking over on June 30, Knobloch will succeed Pierre Lescure, who was re-elected for a third term in June 2020 and is planning to step down after the upcoming edition.
The German-born, Paris-based executive was elected by the board of directors of the Association Française du Festival International du Film, which brings together public authorities and film industry professionals, amid much controversy in France.
Knobloch stepped down from WarnerMedia in June 2021 after a 25-year tenure in various leadership roles. Before leaving the company, she oversaw the strategy as well marketing activities for WarnerMedia France, Benelux, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Shortly after, she launched a $300-million European special purpose acquisition company with powerful backers, including the French billionaire businessman Francois-Henri Pinault,...
The German-born, Paris-based executive was elected by the board of directors of the Association Française du Festival International du Film, which brings together public authorities and film industry professionals, amid much controversy in France.
Knobloch stepped down from WarnerMedia in June 2021 after a 25-year tenure in various leadership roles. Before leaving the company, she oversaw the strategy as well marketing activities for WarnerMedia France, Benelux, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Shortly after, she launched a $300-million European special purpose acquisition company with powerful backers, including the French billionaire businessman Francois-Henri Pinault,...
- 3/23/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
The movie calendar can’t seem to find its old rhythm: Oscar season intersects with SXSW and “The Batman” is soaring in a period that was once a box-office dumping ground. But one element is returning to the scene right on schedule and it’s more than welcome in this column: Cannes hype!
While Covid case counts in Europe may be cause for concern, the world’s most glamorous celebration of the art form remains on track for its 75th edition as it returns to its usual May slot. Although the festival won’t announce its selections until April 14, the buzz machine has already begun with Tom Cruise expected to grace the Croisette with his pandemic-delayed “Tom Gun: Maverick” (a full two years after it was originally expected to land there), Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis,” and George Miller’s “Three Thousand Years of Longing.” Meanwhile, festival programmers have been combing...
While Covid case counts in Europe may be cause for concern, the world’s most glamorous celebration of the art form remains on track for its 75th edition as it returns to its usual May slot. Although the festival won’t announce its selections until April 14, the buzz machine has already begun with Tom Cruise expected to grace the Croisette with his pandemic-delayed “Tom Gun: Maverick” (a full two years after it was originally expected to land there), Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis,” and George Miller’s “Three Thousand Years of Longing.” Meanwhile, festival programmers have been combing...
- 3/19/2022
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Set to celebrate its 75th anniversary this year, the Cannes Film Festival will likely be presided over by a female executive for the first time ever. Variety has confirmed that Iris Knobloch, the former boss of WarnerMedia France, Germany, Benelux, Austria and Switzerland, is well-positioned to succeed Pierre Lescure who was re-elected for a third term in June 2020 and is planning to step down after the upcoming edition.
Knobloch has yet to be elected by the board of directors of the Association Française du Festival International du Film, which brings together public authorities and film industry professionals, but the German-born, Paris-based executive is being pushed forward by high-profile figures within the French government. Those include culture minister Roselyne Bachelot and Dominique Boutonnat, the president of the National Film Board who is still under a formal investigation for an alleged sexual assault, according to the French news website Satellifacts. The vote...
Knobloch has yet to be elected by the board of directors of the Association Française du Festival International du Film, which brings together public authorities and film industry professionals, but the German-born, Paris-based executive is being pushed forward by high-profile figures within the French government. Those include culture minister Roselyne Bachelot and Dominique Boutonnat, the president of the National Film Board who is still under a formal investigation for an alleged sexual assault, according to the French news website Satellifacts. The vote...
- 3/2/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Incumbent Cannes Film Festival president Pierre Lescure has said he could step down early from his current mandate running until 2023.
Former WarnerMedia top executive Iris Knobloch has been tipped as a potential candidate to succeed Pierre Lescure as Cannes Film Festival president, in a report by French satirical and political insider weekly Le Canard Enchainé on Wednesday (March 2).
Veteran journalist and television executive Lescure was first elected to the role of festival president in 2014, replacing Gilles Jacob, and is now partway through a third three-year mandate running through to 2023.
Lescure has said publicly that he could step down early to...
Former WarnerMedia top executive Iris Knobloch has been tipped as a potential candidate to succeed Pierre Lescure as Cannes Film Festival president, in a report by French satirical and political insider weekly Le Canard Enchainé on Wednesday (March 2).
Veteran journalist and television executive Lescure was first elected to the role of festival president in 2014, replacing Gilles Jacob, and is now partway through a third three-year mandate running through to 2023.
Lescure has said publicly that he could step down early to...
- 3/2/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Cannes delegate general touches on Netflix, diverse jury, Covid tests and succession.
“It’s a collective sigh of relief,” said Cannes Film Festival delegate general Thierry Frémaux as he met with the media on Monday on the eve of the opening of the festival’s first edition in two years, after it was cancelled in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We’re not organising this festival for ourselves but rather for cinema, the artists, professionals, press, and the city,” he said. “It’s the first event to take place in the Palais des Festivals since March 2020. It’s a joyful,...
“It’s a collective sigh of relief,” said Cannes Film Festival delegate general Thierry Frémaux as he met with the media on Monday on the eve of the opening of the festival’s first edition in two years, after it was cancelled in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We’re not organising this festival for ourselves but rather for cinema, the artists, professionals, press, and the city,” he said. “It’s the first event to take place in the Palais des Festivals since March 2020. It’s a joyful,...
- 7/5/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
For a certain generation of women, director Susan Seidelman’s second feature, “Desperately Seeking Susan,” is a formative text, an indelible record of New York in the ‘80s, from Madonna’s iconic hair bow to Rosanna Arquette’s spirited performance as the lead. With its cast of New York underground habitués, and fizzy pace set to the tune of Madonna’s “Into the Groove,” “Desperately Seeking Susan” was a fashion-forward change of pace from the teen comedies and slick action fare of the time.
Seidelman’s first feature, the scrappy microbudget “Smithereens,” shocked everyone when it was selected as one of the first American independent films to be accepted into official competition at the Cannes Film Festival. With a cast that included proto-punk rocker Richard Hell, the 1982 “Smithereens” captured the East Village in all its grungy, pre-gentrification glory, and has become a cult classic.
A die-hard New Yorker, Seidelman never felt comfortable in Hollywood.
Seidelman’s first feature, the scrappy microbudget “Smithereens,” shocked everyone when it was selected as one of the first American independent films to be accepted into official competition at the Cannes Film Festival. With a cast that included proto-punk rocker Richard Hell, the 1982 “Smithereens” captured the East Village in all its grungy, pre-gentrification glory, and has become a cult classic.
A die-hard New Yorker, Seidelman never felt comfortable in Hollywood.
- 3/16/2021
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
Sébastien Lifshitz’s documentary is named Best French Film 2020 while Josep by Aurel is crowned the winner in the first films category. Awarded by a jury composed of critics and key figures from the world of the 7th art and presided over by Gilles Jacob, the prestigious 2020 Louis-Delluc Award for the French film of the year has gone to Sébastien Lifshitz’s Adolescentes, which is the first documentary to have scooped this prize since 2008 (Modern Life by Raymond Depardon) and only the fourth in the award’s history (following the Louis-Dellucs won by Nicole Védrès in 1947 and Jean Rouch in 1958). Unveiled in Critics’ Week during the Locarno Film Festival of 2019, Adolescentes is the 4th documentary feature film by Sébastien Lifshitz after Les Invisibles, Bambi and Les vies de Thérèse. The director has...
Controversial director has “never intervened” in decisions of the academy.
Roman Polanski announced Friday that he would not participate in an upcoming general assembly for France’s Academy of Cinema Arts and Techniques following controversy over moves to invite him back as an unelected member.
“Despite holding a deep respect for the work of the Cesar Academy, Roman Polanski has never participated in the general assembly meetings and has no intention of doing so in the future,” read a statement sent to French news agency Afp by Polanski’s representatives.
It added that Polanski had “never intervened in any manner...
Roman Polanski announced Friday that he would not participate in an upcoming general assembly for France’s Academy of Cinema Arts and Techniques following controversy over moves to invite him back as an unelected member.
“Despite holding a deep respect for the work of the Cesar Academy, Roman Polanski has never participated in the general assembly meetings and has no intention of doing so in the future,” read a statement sent to French news agency Afp by Polanski’s representatives.
It added that Polanski had “never intervened in any manner...
- 9/25/2020
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Anger over return of old guard to revamped general assembly.
A promised reform drive by France’s troubled Academy of Cinema Arts and Techniques has gotten off to a rocky start after the body moved to allow historic members back into its revamped general assembly including disgraced director Roman Polanski.
The 4,313 members of the body, which oversees the prestigious national César awards, elected the new general assembly earlier this month. This assembly will now vote in a gender-balanced governing board on September 29 as well as male and female presidents who will work in tandem over a two-year period.
However it...
A promised reform drive by France’s troubled Academy of Cinema Arts and Techniques has gotten off to a rocky start after the body moved to allow historic members back into its revamped general assembly including disgraced director Roman Polanski.
The 4,313 members of the body, which oversees the prestigious national César awards, elected the new general assembly earlier this month. This assembly will now vote in a gender-balanced governing board on September 29 as well as male and female presidents who will work in tandem over a two-year period.
However it...
- 9/17/2020
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Editors’ Note: Todd McCarthy recently wrote about his layoff from The Hollywood Reporter. To commemorate the sense of collective loss we all feel for the 2020 Cannes Film Festival that would have started tomorrow but had to be scratched for safety reasons like everything else because of the Covid-19 pandemic, McCarthy writes about his long love affair for the singular event, and reveals what movies we would have seen and how, with theatrical moviegoing an uncertainty, some might wait to get their red carpet moment at the Palais in 2021 when Cannes comes roaring back.
I can feel it in my bones. When the pages of the year’s calendar fly off as in an old Hollywood montage to finally arrive at the beginning of May, I know it’s time to get ready for my annual date with the grande dame of all film festivals, the one that requires you—in...
I can feel it in my bones. When the pages of the year’s calendar fly off as in an old Hollywood montage to finally arrive at the beginning of May, I know it’s time to get ready for my annual date with the grande dame of all film festivals, the one that requires you—in...
- 5/11/2020
- by Todd McCarthy
- Deadline Film + TV
Lee’s Netflix-backed Da 5 Bloods had been due to premiere Out of Competition.
Following the unprecedented cancellation of the 73rd edition of Cannes Film Festival due to the Covid-19 pandemic, delegate general Thierry Frémaux opens up about how he is feeling on the eve of what should have been the opening week of the festival, originally scheduled for May 12-23.
Frémaux also talks about plans for the 2020 Official Selection, what the event plans to do to support cinema over the coming months, and his hopes that Spike Lee will make it for the 2021 edition to take up the...
Following the unprecedented cancellation of the 73rd edition of Cannes Film Festival due to the Covid-19 pandemic, delegate general Thierry Frémaux opens up about how he is feeling on the eve of what should have been the opening week of the festival, originally scheduled for May 12-23.
Frémaux also talks about plans for the 2020 Official Selection, what the event plans to do to support cinema over the coming months, and his hopes that Spike Lee will make it for the 2021 edition to take up the...
- 5/10/2020
- by 1100388¦Melanie Goodfellow¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
While the Cannes Film Festival is basking in the glory of having world premiered Bong Joon-Ho’s Oscar-winning “Parasite,” along with many other Oscar contenders, the fate of its presidency is up in the air.
Pierre Lescure, who took over from Gilles Jacob in 2015 as Cannes president, and is running for a third term, was perceived as a shoe-in for reelection considering his solid track record at the helm of the fest, alongside artistic director Thierry Fremaux. But rumors have been swirling in France about another candidate, Mercedes Erra, a top-ranking advertising executive, who is being pushed by the French government, according to the local magazine Paris Match.
Erra, who runs the Havas-owned French advertising agency Betc, is foreign to the world of cinema. However, she may be considered for this position by the culture minister as she’s a prominent advocate for diversity and gender parity, and the government...
Pierre Lescure, who took over from Gilles Jacob in 2015 as Cannes president, and is running for a third term, was perceived as a shoe-in for reelection considering his solid track record at the helm of the fest, alongside artistic director Thierry Fremaux. But rumors have been swirling in France about another candidate, Mercedes Erra, a top-ranking advertising executive, who is being pushed by the French government, according to the local magazine Paris Match.
Erra, who runs the Havas-owned French advertising agency Betc, is foreign to the world of cinema. However, she may be considered for this position by the culture minister as she’s a prominent advocate for diversity and gender parity, and the government...
- 2/22/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
The bombshell news about the resignation of the governing board of the Cesar Academy, which distributes France’s equivalent of the Oscars, was greeted with relief within the French film world on Friday.
On the heels of an industry-wide backlash, the 21-member board of the Association for the Promotion of Cinema – the organization overseeing the Cesar Academy – revealed on Thursday evening that it will resign following the Cesar Awards ceremony on Feb. 28.
Among those resigning is Alain Terzian, a French producer who presides over both the Cesar Academy and the Association for the Promotion of Cinema, as well as former Cannes president Gilles Jacob.
“Their resignation is going to give us the opportunity to rewrite the status of the Cesar’s, which appear to be completely outdated,” “Polisse” actor Marina Fois told the French radio France Info on Friday. Fois is one of 400 film figures who signed a petition calling...
On the heels of an industry-wide backlash, the 21-member board of the Association for the Promotion of Cinema – the organization overseeing the Cesar Academy – revealed on Thursday evening that it will resign following the Cesar Awards ceremony on Feb. 28.
Among those resigning is Alain Terzian, a French producer who presides over both the Cesar Academy and the Association for the Promotion of Cinema, as well as former Cannes president Gilles Jacob.
“Their resignation is going to give us the opportunity to rewrite the status of the Cesar’s, which appear to be completely outdated,” “Polisse” actor Marina Fois told the French radio France Info on Friday. Fois is one of 400 film figures who signed a petition calling...
- 2/14/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Collective resignation comes amid intense criticism of 45-year-old organisation over gender parity, diversity and transparency.
The entire governing board of France’s Academy of Cinema Arts and Techniques, which organises the country’s César awards, resigned on Thursday evening (Feb 13) following weeks of criticism about the way the body is run.
“To honour those who made films in 2019, and to re-establish some calm and ensure that party for cinema remains a party, the board of the Association for the Promotion of Cinema (Apc) has taken the unanimous decision to resign,” the board announced in a statement put out by the César Academy on Thursday.
The entire governing board of France’s Academy of Cinema Arts and Techniques, which organises the country’s César awards, resigned on Thursday evening (Feb 13) following weeks of criticism about the way the body is run.
“To honour those who made films in 2019, and to re-establish some calm and ensure that party for cinema remains a party, the board of the Association for the Promotion of Cinema (Apc) has taken the unanimous decision to resign,” the board announced in a statement put out by the César Academy on Thursday.
- 2/13/2020
- by 1100388¦Melanie Goodfellow¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
Bruno Dumont’s “Joan of Arc (“Jeanne”), a semi-musical period drama that world premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and won a special mention in the Un Certain Regard section, has received the Louis Delluc prize from French Critics.
The jury of the Louis Delluc prize is headed by Gilles Jacob, the former president of the Cannes Film Festival.
Dumont’s film follows the journey of the young Joan (Lise Leplat Prudhomme), who believes that God has chosen her and leads the king of France’s army in the 15th century as both France and England fight for the French throne. When she is captured, the church sends her for trial on charges of heresy.
“Joan of Arc,” which is a follow-up to Dumont’s 2017 film “Jeannette, the Childhood of Joan of Arc,” beat out Alain Cavalier’s “Living and Knowing You’re Alive,” Francois Ozon’s “By the Grace of God,...
The jury of the Louis Delluc prize is headed by Gilles Jacob, the former president of the Cannes Film Festival.
Dumont’s film follows the journey of the young Joan (Lise Leplat Prudhomme), who believes that God has chosen her and leads the king of France’s army in the 15th century as both France and England fight for the French throne. When she is captured, the church sends her for trial on charges of heresy.
“Joan of Arc,” which is a follow-up to Dumont’s 2017 film “Jeannette, the Childhood of Joan of Arc,” beat out Alain Cavalier’s “Living and Knowing You’re Alive,” Francois Ozon’s “By the Grace of God,...
- 12/9/2019
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
The feature by Bruno Dumont has been crowned Best French Film of the Year, while Stéphane Batut’s Burning Ghost has come out on top in the Best First Film category. Handed out by a jury of critics and film-industry personalities, and presided over by Gilles Jacob, the prestigious 2019 Louis-Delluc Award for Best French Film of the Year has gone to Joan of Arc by Bruno Dumont. The winner of a Special Mention from the Un Certain Regard jury at the Cannes Film Festival, this feature, starring Lise Leplat Prudhomme in the main role and inspired by Charles Péguy’s stage play The Mystery of the Charity of Joan of Arc, is the sequel to Jeannette, the Childhood of Joan of Arc (premiered in 2017), but adopts quite a different tone. It is the ninth feature-length fiction film by the director, who is due to wrap the shoot for his new.
Beta Cinema has acquired Mahnaz Mohammadi’s Toronto Film Festival entry “Son-Mother” (Pesar-Madar). The Iranian-Czech co-production will have its world premiere at the festival in the Discovery section on Sept. 7.
Mohammadi has made a name for herself with documentaries on social issues such as “Women Without Shadows” and “Travelogue,” in which she interviewed passengers on a train from Tehran to Ankara about the reasons why they decided to flee Iran. Mohammadi has been repeatedly imprisoned and banned from filmmaking and traveling abroad. In 2014, the French directors’ guild launched a petition supported her signed by Costa Gavras and Gilles Jacob, among many others.
“Son-Mother” marks her first fiction feature film and addresses the impact of tradition on the lives of women in present-day Iran, when a young widow is faced with the choice to either abandon her son or succumb to poverty and social degradation.
Leila is a single working mom of two,...
Mohammadi has made a name for herself with documentaries on social issues such as “Women Without Shadows” and “Travelogue,” in which she interviewed passengers on a train from Tehran to Ankara about the reasons why they decided to flee Iran. Mohammadi has been repeatedly imprisoned and banned from filmmaking and traveling abroad. In 2014, the French directors’ guild launched a petition supported her signed by Costa Gavras and Gilles Jacob, among many others.
“Son-Mother” marks her first fiction feature film and addresses the impact of tradition on the lives of women in present-day Iran, when a young widow is faced with the choice to either abandon her son or succumb to poverty and social degradation.
Leila is a single working mom of two,...
- 8/29/2019
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
One day after announcing the Official Selection for the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, Cannes artistic director Thierry Fremaux still had 25 movies left to watch. It was the same old story: The flashiest international cinephile gathering is always a rush to the finish line, as Cannes digs through the latest work from A-list auteurs and potential discoveries to assemble a lineup scrutinized around the world. “I really want to pay attention to anything sent in,” Fremaux said during a phone conversation as he rode to another screening. “We want to respect them by watching them all.”
The festival is expected to add more films in the days ahead, but the May gathering is already a lot to take in: New work from Terrence Malick, Jim Jarmusch, Xavier Dolan, and the Dardenne brothers are joined by Competition newcomers like Mati Diop and Céline Sciamma. Fremaux spoke to IndieWire about the range of issues facing the festival this year,...
The festival is expected to add more films in the days ahead, but the May gathering is already a lot to take in: New work from Terrence Malick, Jim Jarmusch, Xavier Dolan, and the Dardenne brothers are joined by Competition newcomers like Mati Diop and Céline Sciamma. Fremaux spoke to IndieWire about the range of issues facing the festival this year,...
- 4/20/2019
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
High Life director Claire Denis will head up this year's Cinefondation and short films jury.
The French filmmaker has had four films in Cannes, including 1988's Chocolat and 2013's Bastards. Her Let the Sunshine In, starring Juliette Binoche, ran in the Directors' Fortnight in 2017.
The Cinefondation selects 15–20 short and student films each year for its competition. The section was launched in 2000 by past president Gilles Jacob, who still heads up the selection, and focuses on seeking out new talent from film schools around the world.
Last year, Saint Laurent director Bertrand Bonello served as head of the ...
The French filmmaker has had four films in Cannes, including 1988's Chocolat and 2013's Bastards. Her Let the Sunshine In, starring Juliette Binoche, ran in the Directors' Fortnight in 2017.
The Cinefondation selects 15–20 short and student films each year for its competition. The section was launched in 2000 by past president Gilles Jacob, who still heads up the selection, and focuses on seeking out new talent from film schools around the world.
Last year, Saint Laurent director Bertrand Bonello served as head of the ...
High Life director Claire Denis will head up this year's Cinefondation and short films jury.
The French filmmaker has had four films in Cannes, including 1988's Chocolat and 2013's Bastards. Her Let the Sunshine In, starring Juliette Binoche, ran in the Directors' Fortnight in 2017.
The Cinefondation selects 15–20 short and student films each year for its competition. The section was launched in 2000 by past president Gilles Jacob, who still heads up the selection, and focuses on seeking out new talent from film schools around the world.
Last year, Saint Laurent director Bertrand Bonello served as head of the ...
The French filmmaker has had four films in Cannes, including 1988's Chocolat and 2013's Bastards. Her Let the Sunshine In, starring Juliette Binoche, ran in the Directors' Fortnight in 2017.
The Cinefondation selects 15–20 short and student films each year for its competition. The section was launched in 2000 by past president Gilles Jacob, who still heads up the selection, and focuses on seeking out new talent from film schools around the world.
Last year, Saint Laurent director Bertrand Bonello served as head of the ...
The death of Agnes Varda, a French New Wave icon who was loved and revered around the world, has triggered an outpouring of heartfelt tributes paying homage to her legacy, pioneering work and generous personality.
“Immense sadness. For almost 65 years, Agnès Varda’s eyes and voice embodied cinema with endless inventiveness,” the Cannes Film Festival tweeted. “The place she occupied is irreplaceable. Agnès loved images, words and people. She’s one of those whose youth will never fade.”
Immense sadness. For almost 65 years, Agnès Varda’s eyes and voice embodied cinema with endless inventiveness. The place she occupied is irreplaceable. Agnès loved images, words and people. She’s one of those whose youth will never fade. pic.twitter.com/cpquJXJtwK
— Festival de Cannes (@Festival_Cannes) March 29, 2019
Jr, the French artist and humanitarian who was a close collaborator of Varda and notably teamed with her on her critically-acclaimed documentary “Faces, Places,...
“Immense sadness. For almost 65 years, Agnès Varda’s eyes and voice embodied cinema with endless inventiveness,” the Cannes Film Festival tweeted. “The place she occupied is irreplaceable. Agnès loved images, words and people. She’s one of those whose youth will never fade.”
Immense sadness. For almost 65 years, Agnès Varda’s eyes and voice embodied cinema with endless inventiveness. The place she occupied is irreplaceable. Agnès loved images, words and people. She’s one of those whose youth will never fade. pic.twitter.com/cpquJXJtwK
— Festival de Cannes (@Festival_Cannes) March 29, 2019
Jr, the French artist and humanitarian who was a close collaborator of Varda and notably teamed with her on her critically-acclaimed documentary “Faces, Places,...
- 3/29/2019
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Agnès Varda, the French New Wave director and filmmaking icon behind such films as “Cleo From 5 to 7” and “Vagabond,” has died at age 90. Varda passed away from breast cancer at her home in Paris early March 29. The death was confirmed by Varda’s family, who issued a statement saying Varda was “surrounded by her family and friends” at the time of her passing. The family described the filmmaker as a “joyful feminist” and “passionate artist.” Varda’s funeral is expected to take place in Paris on Tuesday.
Varda got her start as a still photographer before making the jump to feature filmmaking with the 1955 drama “La Pointe Courte.” The film, starring Silvia Monfort and Philippe Noiret, is widely considered to be one of the forerunners of the French New Wave.
Varda’s second feature, “Cleo From 5 to 7,” was entered into the Cannes Film Festival and earned her international acclaim.
Varda got her start as a still photographer before making the jump to feature filmmaking with the 1955 drama “La Pointe Courte.” The film, starring Silvia Monfort and Philippe Noiret, is widely considered to be one of the forerunners of the French New Wave.
Varda’s second feature, “Cleo From 5 to 7,” was entered into the Cannes Film Festival and earned her international acclaim.
- 3/29/2019
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
Agnes Varda, a leading light of the French New Wave who directed such films as “Cléo From 5 to 7,” “Vagabond” and “Faces Places,” has died. She was 90.
Varda’s death from breast cancer at her Paris home was confirmed Friday by her family. “The filmmaker and artist Agnes Varda died from a cancer at her home in the night of March 29, 2019, surrounded by her family and friends,” the family’s statement said, describing her as a “joyful feminist” and “passionate artist.”
The funeral is expected to take place in Paris on Tuesday.
Just last month, the diminutive director presented her latest film, “Varda by Agnes,” at the Berlin Film Festival and received the honorary Berlinale Camera award. She had films in competition at the festival four times, winning the Grand Jury Prize in 1965 with “Le Bonheur.” But as ill health overtook her in recent weeks, Varda canceled the masterclass she was...
Varda’s death from breast cancer at her Paris home was confirmed Friday by her family. “The filmmaker and artist Agnes Varda died from a cancer at her home in the night of March 29, 2019, surrounded by her family and friends,” the family’s statement said, describing her as a “joyful feminist” and “passionate artist.”
The funeral is expected to take place in Paris on Tuesday.
Just last month, the diminutive director presented her latest film, “Varda by Agnes,” at the Berlin Film Festival and received the honorary Berlinale Camera award. She had films in competition at the festival four times, winning the Grand Jury Prize in 1965 with “Le Bonheur.” But as ill health overtook her in recent weeks, Varda canceled the masterclass she was...
- 3/29/2019
- by Henry Chu
- Variety Film + TV
Bodard worked with iconic directors Jacques Demy, Agnès Varda, Robert Bresson, Jean-Luc Godard, Maurice Pialat, Alain Resnais and Claude Miller.
Legendary French producer Mag Bodard, who worked with iconic directors Jacques Demy, Agnès Varda, Robert Bresson, Jean-Luc Godard, Maurice Pialat, Alain Resnais and Claude Miller, has died at the age of 103-years-old.
Bodard, whose heyday was in the 1960s and 70s, got her first producer credit in 1962 on Norbert Carbonnaux’s comedy The Dance, featuring Françoise Dorléac in her first starring role opposite Jean-Pierre Cassel.
The crew featured production designer Jacques Saulnier, who would go on to work closely with Resnais,...
Legendary French producer Mag Bodard, who worked with iconic directors Jacques Demy, Agnès Varda, Robert Bresson, Jean-Luc Godard, Maurice Pialat, Alain Resnais and Claude Miller, has died at the age of 103-years-old.
Bodard, whose heyday was in the 1960s and 70s, got her first producer credit in 1962 on Norbert Carbonnaux’s comedy The Dance, featuring Françoise Dorléac in her first starring role opposite Jean-Pierre Cassel.
The crew featured production designer Jacques Saulnier, who would go on to work closely with Resnais,...
- 3/1/2019
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
It is not a secret that Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinemas is a result of love for Asian countries, Asian culture, Asian films, and of romantic love. “This festival that was created by a couple – my wife and I celebrates its silver wedding anniversary, its 25 years of marriage. So the theme of couples is imperative.” explained Jean-Marc Thérouanne, founder and managing director of the festival to the Afp (Agence France Press).
Since its first edition in 1995, Viff of Asian Cinemas has welcomed more than half a million audience members, with 32.000 coming to the festival screenings in 2018 and “Women Speak” as its thematic setting.
“We have started in a phone booth, with 12 films and 1500 visitors. Now, we have become a festival with international recognition. In October 2018, we have had the honour to receive the Korean Cinema Awards, an accolade previously presented to the figures of the cinema industry such...
Since its first edition in 1995, Viff of Asian Cinemas has welcomed more than half a million audience members, with 32.000 coming to the festival screenings in 2018 and “Women Speak” as its thematic setting.
“We have started in a phone booth, with 12 films and 1500 visitors. Now, we have become a festival with international recognition. In October 2018, we have had the honour to receive the Korean Cinema Awards, an accolade previously presented to the figures of the cinema industry such...
- 2/7/2019
- by Anomalilly
- AsianMoviePulse
Michel Legrand, composer of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Yentl and The Thomas Crown Affair, died Saturday at the age of 86.
Legrand’s death was first reported by Agence France-Presse. The songwriter’s publicist also confirmed Legrand’s death to Variety, adding that he died early Saturday at his Paris home with his wife, French actress Macha Meril, by his side. His cause of death has not yet been revealed.
Former and current presidents of the Cannes Film Festival Gilles Jacob and Pierre Lescure expressed their condolences to the Paris-born legend on Twitter.
Legrand’s death was first reported by Agence France-Presse. The songwriter’s publicist also confirmed Legrand’s death to Variety, adding that he died early Saturday at his Paris home with his wife, French actress Macha Meril, by his side. His cause of death has not yet been revealed.
Former and current presidents of the Cannes Film Festival Gilles Jacob and Pierre Lescure expressed their condolences to the Paris-born legend on Twitter.
- 1/26/2019
- by Ilana Kaplan
- Rollingstone.com
Tributes have begun pouring in for Michel Legrand, the three-time Oscar-winning composer of “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg,” “Yentl” and “The Young Girls of Rochefort,” who died at his home early Saturday in Paris at the age of 86.
Gilles Jacob, the former president of the Cannes Film Festival, said that Legrand’s “notes were soft as caress, his umbrellas made us cry. By leaving us on the sly, Michel Legrand commits his first false note. Music, Maestro, please.”
On le fredonnait partout. Ses notes étaient douces comme des caresses, ses parapluies nous faisaient pleurer. En nous quittant en catimini, Michel Legrand commet sa première fausse note. Musique, maestro, please.
— gilles jacob (@jajacobbi) January 26, 2019
Pierre Lescure, the current president of the Cannes Film Festival, tweeted: “Michel Legrand composed cult songs. And some little fantasies, full of his pretty fierce irony. I remember this title ‘1964’ where a father tells the Yéyés to his children.
Gilles Jacob, the former president of the Cannes Film Festival, said that Legrand’s “notes were soft as caress, his umbrellas made us cry. By leaving us on the sly, Michel Legrand commits his first false note. Music, Maestro, please.”
On le fredonnait partout. Ses notes étaient douces comme des caresses, ses parapluies nous faisaient pleurer. En nous quittant en catimini, Michel Legrand commet sa première fausse note. Musique, maestro, please.
— gilles jacob (@jajacobbi) January 26, 2019
Pierre Lescure, the current president of the Cannes Film Festival, tweeted: “Michel Legrand composed cult songs. And some little fantasies, full of his pretty fierce irony. I remember this title ‘1964’ where a father tells the Yéyés to his children.
- 1/26/2019
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
France's awards season is off to a start, with the selection of Christophe Honore's Sorry Angel for the prestigious Louis Delluc prize.
The Cannes competition entry was picked by a jury of 14 film critics headed by former Cannes president Gilles Jacob from a shortlist of 13 films, taking France's oldest cinema honor. Angel, starring Vincent Lacoste and Pierre Deladonchamps, is a bittersweet love story set against the backdrop of AIDS in the 1990s.
France's foreign-language Oscar submission Memoir of War by Emmanuel Finkiel, Jacques Audiard's English-language Western The Sisters Brothers, starring Joaquin Phoenix and John C. Reilly,...
The Cannes competition entry was picked by a jury of 14 film critics headed by former Cannes president Gilles Jacob from a shortlist of 13 films, taking France's oldest cinema honor. Angel, starring Vincent Lacoste and Pierre Deladonchamps, is a bittersweet love story set against the backdrop of AIDS in the 1990s.
France's foreign-language Oscar submission Memoir of War by Emmanuel Finkiel, Jacques Audiard's English-language Western The Sisters Brothers, starring Joaquin Phoenix and John C. Reilly,...
- 12/12/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
France's awards season is off to a start, with the selection of Christophe Honore's Sorry Angel for the prestigious Louis Delluc prize.
The Cannes competition entry was picked by a jury of 14 film critics headed by former Cannes president Gilles Jacob from a shortlist of 13 films, taking France's oldest cinema honor. Angel, starring Vincent Lacoste and Pierre Deladonchamps, is a bittersweet love story set against the backdrop of AIDS in the 1990s.
France's foreign-language Oscar submission Memoir of War by Emmanuel Finkiel, Jacques Audiard's English-language Western The Sisters Brothers, starring Joaquin Phoenix and John C. Reilly,...
The Cannes competition entry was picked by a jury of 14 film critics headed by former Cannes president Gilles Jacob from a shortlist of 13 films, taking France's oldest cinema honor. Angel, starring Vincent Lacoste and Pierre Deladonchamps, is a bittersweet love story set against the backdrop of AIDS in the 1990s.
France's foreign-language Oscar submission Memoir of War by Emmanuel Finkiel, Jacques Audiard's English-language Western The Sisters Brothers, starring Joaquin Phoenix and John C. Reilly,...
- 12/12/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Arguably the most scrutinized festival director of his time, Thierry Frémaux began working for the Cannes film festival in 2001 before taking on the role of festival director in 2014 when Gilles Jacob stood down. During that period he has had to attempt to rewire Cannes in the wake of radical changes in how we watch and talk about movies. He also faces continuous criticism for the ongoing lack of gender equality in the movies that are programmed.
We met Frémaux at the Marrakech film festival recently and found him in an affable mood, happy to discuss how his job has changed in those tumultuous years and also about his directorship of the Lumière institute and their annual festival of restored films in Lyon.
How did the idea behind the Lumière festival come about?
Well, Lyon is the native town of cinematograph Lumière. We celebrated the centennial in 1995 at the Lumière institute,...
We met Frémaux at the Marrakech film festival recently and found him in an affable mood, happy to discuss how his job has changed in those tumultuous years and also about his directorship of the Lumière institute and their annual festival of restored films in Lyon.
How did the idea behind the Lumière festival come about?
Well, Lyon is the native town of cinematograph Lumière. We celebrated the centennial in 1995 at the Lumière institute,...
- 12/7/2018
- by Rory O'Connor
- The Film Stage
Members of the French film industry have been paying warm tribute to Samuel Hadida, the co-founder of Metropolitan FilmExport, who died suddenly in Los Angeles on Monday.
Hadida was not only one of France’s most respected and successful distributors; he was also loved by the independent film community and boasted strong relationships with major film groups such as Lionsgate, DreamWorks, Nu Image, Constantin Film and FilmNation.
“What a shock!” tweeted Stephane Celerier, a fellow French distributor who founded of Mars Films. “I just learned of the sudden demise of Samuel Hadida. Huge movie man. Great enthusiast. Infinite respect for this life out of the ordinary.”
Quel choc ! Je viens d’apprendre la disparition soudaine de Samuel Hadida. Immense homme de cinéma. Formidable passionné. Infini respect pour cette vie hors du commun. pic.twitter.com/8PCCuMX1XX
— Stephane Celerier (@stephanecel) November 27, 2018
Born in Morocco, Hadida and his brother Victor have...
Hadida was not only one of France’s most respected and successful distributors; he was also loved by the independent film community and boasted strong relationships with major film groups such as Lionsgate, DreamWorks, Nu Image, Constantin Film and FilmNation.
“What a shock!” tweeted Stephane Celerier, a fellow French distributor who founded of Mars Films. “I just learned of the sudden demise of Samuel Hadida. Huge movie man. Great enthusiast. Infinite respect for this life out of the ordinary.”
Quel choc ! Je viens d’apprendre la disparition soudaine de Samuel Hadida. Immense homme de cinéma. Formidable passionné. Infini respect pour cette vie hors du commun. pic.twitter.com/8PCCuMX1XX
— Stephane Celerier (@stephanecel) November 27, 2018
Born in Morocco, Hadida and his brother Victor have...
- 11/28/2018
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
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