May 19, 2008

Cannes, 5/19.

Cannes "This is how it always happens," writes Michael Tully at Hammer to Nail. "Benny Safdie, an undergraduate film school student at Boston University, picks up his degree and proceeds to fly directly to Cannes, where his most recent short film, The Acquaintances of a Lonely John [site], is selected to precede the closing night film in 2008's prestigious Director's Fortnight program.

"Oh, yes, the closing night film just so happens to be the only American feature selected that year. And, oh, yes, of course, we mustn't forget. That feature, The Pleasure of Being Robbed, was directed by Benny's older brother, Josh, who is only 23 years old. You see, friends, when it comes to the wide-open world of independent filmmaking, this is how it happens. Just like this. To all of you aspiring filmmakers out there, don't worry. Your break is just around the corner. Really."

The New York Times' AO Scott and Manohla Dargis turn in a mid-festival report and podcast. Scott hits the Vanity Fair party - "What a lark! (What a mistake.)" - and Dargis notes, "What's curious about seeing a movie like Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in close proximity with 24 City as one tends to do here, are their points of convergence and divergence."

Chaz Hammelsmith-Ebert is blogging: "To Roger from Cannes."

"Metal god, actor, novelist, swordsman, pilot, DJ - and now screenwriter. Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson is a man of many parts, and this weekend he showed up in Cannes to show off a new film called Chemical Wedding." A review from the Guardian's Andrew Pulver.

"IFC Films has announced a deal for all North American rights to The Chaser, continuing a very busy Cannes with the recent acquisitions of A Christmas Tale, Summer Hours, The Pleasure of Being Robbed and Mermaid," reports IndieWIRE.

"While most conventional festivals lump shorts together in a few programs or screen them before features, the Cannes Film Festival has a wide variety of practical venues for practitioners of the form." Eric Kohn reports for Stream.

Notes: Todd Brown (Twitch) and Karina Longworth (SpoutBlog; also: Karaoke Night).

Photos: IFC.

Posted by dwhudson at May 19, 2008 3:28 PM