Email:

Password:

Forget Your Password? | Not a Member? Join FilmCatcher

About Festival


Bigger, messier, and glitzier than its Venice and Berlin counterparts, the legendary Festival du Cannes (founded in 1946) is a holy grail of sorts for industry professionals and cinema pilgrims who have the opportunity to attend. But it is also a notoriously surreal, media-choked affair for the oceanfront resort town of 70,000, which swells with tens of thousands of visitors and eccentric hangers-on during the twelve-day event. All eyes are on the high-wattage red carpet, the exclusive events at the Palais du Festival, and of course the crowds—oh, the crowds!—promenading along the Boulevard de la Croisette. But for movie lovers, it's the films that really take center stage.

This year's competitors for the prestigious Palme D'Or include a who's who of top-class imagemakers debuting new work for a jury headed by Into the Wild director Sean Penn. Among them are Clint Eastwood, Atom Egoyan, Walter Salles, Lucretia Martel, the Dardenne Brothers, Arnaud Desplechin, Steven Soderbergh, and Wim Wenders. Two additional sections of the fest, International Critics' Week and the Director's Fortnight (which was born in the heat of the May '68 student protests and is celebrating its 40th anniversary), showcase exciting new films by up-and-coming talent. Perhaps the best place to make new discoveries, though, is in the Un Certain Regard sidebar, which has in the past bestowed its top prize to Jafar Panahi, Ousmane Sembene, and Cristi Puiu.

But enough with history! The 61st Festival du Cannes takes place May 14 to 25, and FilmCatcher will be posting exclusive interviews with select filmmakers in the days to come.

Watching While Black

Not For Friends and Family- 7 Things To Think About When You Are Ready To Sell Your Movie.

>view all

Cristina Garza wraps up her Cannes Film Festival coverage in this free-ranging conversation with directors Walter Salles and Daniela Thomas (Foreign Land) about their second feature collaboration, LINHA DE PASSE, a social drama set in the heart of São Paulo. Salles directed the acclaimed Che Guevara biopic The Motorcycle Diaries, which was nominated for the Palme d'Or in 2004.

Select a Clip

Un Certain Regard is a sidebar running parallel to the official competition for the Palme d'Or. This section features a myriad of films with a variety of visions and styles and gives these eclectic pieces an opportunity for international exposure. Today Cristina sat down with two entrants from this prestigious competition. First up was James Toback, who talked about TYSON, his intimate docu-portrait of legendary heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson. She also spoke with Andreas Dresen, director of the late-in-life romantic film WOLKE 9, which chronicles the passionate affair between two lovers past their prime.

Select a Clip

Our Cannes Film Festival coverage continues with two interviews from the Directors' Fortnight, an independent parallel section created in response to the events of May '68. On the occasion of its 40th anniversary, FilmCatcher's Cristina Garza sat down with Belgian director Bouli Lanners to discuss his oddball road-trip film, ELDORADO. Later she caught up with Saman Salour to talk about his new film LONELY TUNE OF TEHRAN, a touching, off-kilter buddy movie and the sole Iranian entry at this year's festival.

Select a Clip

Cristina's coverage of the Cannes Film Festival continues today as she speaks with Jeff Vespa about his silent short, NOSEBLEED, starring David Arquette as a man with a gory leak that won't be plugged. Later she caught up with Fernando Eimbcke to talk about his second feature, LAKE TAHOE, which received the "Revelation of the Year" award from The International Federation of Film Critics. 

Select a Clip

FilmCatcher's Cristina Garza is on the ground at the Cannes Film Festival and has been busy chatting up filmmakers about their entries. Today she sat down with Emily Atef, director of THE STRANGER IN ME, a haunting drama about post-natal depression. Cristina rounded out the day talking with Christophe Van Rompaey about his working-class Flemish romantic comedy, MOSCOW, BELGIUM.

Select a Clip