Tres Bon

The line-up for the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. The most prestigious film festival in the world runs May 15-26. This years jury is headed by Sean Penn. Other jury members this year are Natalie Portman, Alfonso Cuaron, Rachid Bauchareb, Sergio Castellitto, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, and Alexandra Maria Lara.

IN COMPETITION:

24 City (China)- Jia Zhangke
Adoration (Canada)- Atom Egoyan- Egoyan returns to Cannes this year with his newest film starring Scott Speedman and Rachel Blanchard. His grand The Sweet Hereafter won the Grand Jury Prize at the 1997 festival, and returned in 2004 with the Kevin Bacon-Colin Firth chiller Where the Truth Lies. Excitement over Egoyan's work has chilled in the last decade, but maybe this will bring him back.
The Changeling (US)- Clint Eastwood- Eastwood's latest is set to premiere in competition, giving Angelina Jolie an opportunity to strut up the Croisitte. This period mystery (the synopsis reminds me very much of the Julianne Moore dud The Forgotten- something about a missing child, sounds very genre-y) also stars John Malkovich, Jeffrey Donovan, and Amy Ryan. Eastwood returns to Cannes for the sixth time, most recent being Mystic River.
Che (The Argentine, Guerrilla) (US\Spain)- Steven Soderbergh- Here's a big one, word is that the film is being split up for American consumption, this biopic of Che Guevara starring Benicio del Toro. Will the films be split or combined in Cannes? Soderbergh was once a Cannes regular, winner of the Golden Palm for sex, lies, and videotape.
Un Conte de Noel (France)- Arnaud Desplechin-- Desplechin had an international hit a few years ago with Kings & Queen. His latest stars venerable actors Catherine Deneuve, Mathieu Almaric (The Diving Bell & the Butterfly), and Emmanuelle Devos.
Daydreams (Turkey)- Nuri Bilge Ceylan- The latest film from Ceylan, a Cannes favorite and winner of the 2004 Golden Palm for Distant.
Delta (Germany\Hungary)- Kornel Mundrouczo
Divo, Il (Italy)- Paolo Sorrentino
Gomorra (Italy)- Matteo Garrone
La Frontiere de L'aube (France)- Phillipe Garrel-- Garrel is the father of actor Louis Garrel, who seems to be appearing in every French movie that makes it over to the states-- seriously Ma Mere, Love Songs, etc.
Leonera (Argentina\South Korea)- Pablo Trapera
Linha de Passe (Brazil)- Walter Salles- Famed director Salles (The Motorcycle Diaries, Central Station) returns to the Croisette. The IMDB tag line says his latest film is about "four brothers from a poor family who need to fight to follow their dreams." Except this to be one of the more higher profile Cannes premieres, figuring Salles esteem in the international film community.
La Mujer sin Cabeza (Argentina)- Lucrecia Martel-- Martel had some success stateside with The Holy Girl in 2004.
My Magic (Singapore)- Eric Khoo
The Palermo Shooting (Germany)- Wim Wenders-- Wenders' latest oddity is set to premiere in Cannes. A regular at the film festival, Wenders won the Golden Palm for Paris, Texas, and last was present for the Sam Shepherd-Jessica Lange Don't Come Knocking. His newest film stars Milla Jovovich and Dennis Hopper and features Lou Reed and Patti Smith reportedly playing themselves.
Serbis (Phillipines)- Brillante Mendoza
Le Silence de Lorna (United Kingdom\France)- Jean-Pierre Dardenne & Luc Dardenne-- The brothers Dardenne have a huge following and history with Cannes. Winners of the Golden Palm twice with Rosetta and L'Enfant, and winner of Ecumenical Prize for The Son. Their latest (probable) award winning film stars Jeremie Renier, also one of the stars of L'Enfant. The Dardenne ouvre more often than not at least gets limited art run plays in the states, with L'Enfant being their biggest success here.
Synecodeche, New York (US)- Charlie Kaufman- I'm personally most excited (and oddly nervous) about this one. Famed screenwriter and my personal hero Charlie Kaufman makes his directorial debut (and Cannes debut) centered around a theater director (played by Philip Seymour Hoffman) and the women in his life. Those women will be played by Michelle Williams, Catherine Keener, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Samantha Morton, Hope Davis, Dianne Wiest and Emily Watson. Kaufman writes wonderful parts for women (thinking: Clementine- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind; Susan Orlean- Adaptation.; Maxine- Being John Malkovich) and this cast makes me salivate, so I hope it gets a rave. Whew!
Waltz with Bashir (Israel)- Ari Folma


OUT OF COMPETITION:

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (US)- Steven Speilberg- A small little movie opening next month, hope it works out for this one being such a small scaled independently financed film.
Kung Fu Panda (US) Mark Osbourne & John Stevenson- Another excuse for Angelina Jolie to walk down the Croisette.
The Good, the Bad, & the Weird (South Korea)- Ji-woon Kim
Vicky Christina Barcelona (US\Spain)- Woody Allen- Allen's latest stars Scarlett Johansson, Penelope Cruz, Patricia Clarkson and Javier Bardem and is set in Spain. Will this be a Match Point or a Scoop on terms of modern Woodyman?


MIDNIGHT SCREENINGS:

Maradona (Spain\France)- Emir Kusturica
Surveillance (US)- Jennifer Lynch-- A new film from David Lynch's daughter
The Chaser (South Korea)- Na Hong-jin


SPECIAL SCREENINGS:

Ashes of the Time Redux (China)- Wong Kar Wai
Of Time and the City (UK)- Terence Davies-- Davies directed the acclaimed The House of Mirth with Gillian Anderson in 2000.
Roman Polanski: Wanted & Desire (UK\US)- Marina Zenovich- was one of the hot ticket items at the Sundance this year, where it won the documentary film editing award.
Sangue Pazzo (Italy\France)- Marco Tullio Giordanna


UN CERTAIN REGARD:

A Festa da Menina Morta (Brazil)- Matheus Nachtergaele
Afterschool (US)- Antonio Campos
De Ofrivilliga (Sweden)- Ruben Ostlund
Je Veux Voir (France)- Joana Hadjithomas, Khalil Joreige
Johnny Mad Dog (France)- Jean-Stephane Sauvaire
La Vie Moderne (France)- Raymond Depardon
Los Bastardos (Mexico)- Amat Escalante
Milh Handha al-Bahr (Palestine)- Annemarie Jacir
O’ Horten (Norway\Germany)- Bent Hamer
Soi Cowboy (UK)- Thomas Clay
Tin Chi (Taiwan)- Chung Mong-Hong
Tokyo! (France\Japan)- Bong Joon-ho, Michel Gondry, Leos Carax
Tokyo Sonata (Japan)- Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Tulpan (Germany)- Sergey Dvortsevoy
Tyson (US)- James Toback
Versailles (France)- Pierre Schoeller
Wendy and Lucy (US)- Kelly Reichardt
Wolke 9 (Germany)- Andreas Dresen
Yi Ban Haishui, Yi Ban Huoyan (China)- Fendou Liu

None of the films featured in the Un Certain Regard make an impression on me, but Michel Gondry and James Toback, to good and very different filmmakers are premiering new work, so we shall see.