While most Americans regard the Academy Awards as the pinnacle of cinematic awards, the Cannes Film Festival is the grand prize of movie-making around the world.
More like Sundance, the Cannes Film Festival awards prestige to outstanding filmmakers, yet the cinematographers compete on an international level.
The festival, which will take place in Cannes, France the week of May 12-23, consists of feature films spaced among three categories: competing films, which are the films vying for the “palme d’or” or gold palm — the equivalent of an Oscar statuette, non-competing films, which showcase an artist’s work but is not juried, and “Un Certain Regard.”
According to Thierry Fremaux, Artistic Director of the festival, “Un Certain Regard” combines movies that tell a story showing cultural perspective — one that will challenge viewers to see another country’s point of view.
“Diversity is the main objective of this section,” Fremaux said on the Cannes Web site. “We intend to present films from the five continents and especially countries whose cinema is rarely seen elsewhere.”
This year, the festival-goers will see films from Hungary, Switzerland, Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina, China, Thailand, Bosnia and more.
Other categories include the short film competition, film school competition and a new section, Cannes Classics, which groups together the films that create our cinema heritage.
Fremaux stated there are 56 feature films being presented with 46 world premieres in both long and short sections. However, this number was narrowed from 3,562, the number of films submitted, including both feature-length and short films.
Fremaux is also proud that the festival has become more inclusive, allowing more artists to present their movies.
“Nine film directors will present a film at the festival for the first time,” Fremaux said. “Twelve are presenting in the competition selection for the first time.”
Most of these directors are new filmmakers that Fremaux believes will have an impact on the world with their works. Being selected for the Cannes Festival will surely boost their chances of future success.
“The Festival is also betting on young filmmakers this year and hopes to impose some new faces on the world map,” Fremaux said. “The competition has been revitalized with 12 filmmakers presenting for the first time, many who have only made two or three films to date. Their names are for the most part unknown to general audiences, and it comes as a surprise that they should even attain such a level this early in the game.”
Jennifer Jalabert, a political science major and exchange student from St. Martin, a French-owned island in the Caribbean, knows well the significance and hype behind the festival.
“It’s important not only in France, it’s international,” Jalabert said. “You can come see international film stars. A lot of people [go] to Cannes to see things and people you can’t normally see.”
Jalabert and friends back home follow the festival the same way Americans become intrigued by the Academy Awards.
America always sends high-quality films to the festival, and this year the entries may seem odd, but promise to incite emotion from the visitors and jury.
This year the states plan on sending “Shrek 2,” The Coen’s “The Ladykillers,” and “Fahrenheit 9-11” by Michael Moore in the competing films category.
Non-competing films include “Dawn of the Dead,” “De-Lovely,” “Troy,” “Kill Bill: Vol. 2,” “Mondovino,” and “Bad Santa.”
Jalabert believes it is prestigious for American pictures to get selected for the competition.
“If you are in France, it’s easier to get into the festival than if you are an American,” Jalabert said. “It’s an honor.”
Many may wonder what Cannes have included animation and documentaries among world-class motion pictures, but Fremaux feels they have earned their place in the competition.
“It seemed essential to instill the audacity that the films themselves impose upon us,” Fremaux said. “That explains the competition’s double-surprise: two animated features and two documentaries. In addition to ‘Shrek 2,’ which hopes to provoke the same impact as the first, ‘Innocence’ from Japanese filmmaker Oshii brings the manga to the Cannes Festival. Michael Moore is presenting ‘Fahrenheit 9-11’ which is … very different from ‘Bowling for Columbine’ presented in 2002.”
Moore’s competing entry, “Fahrenheit 9-11” is the story of what happened to the United States after Sept. 11 attacks.
Sandra Couet, Press Assistant for the Cannes publicity department, confirms that the festival entries follow some themes. These themes include comedic, love, political and genre films.
Just like its American cousin, Cannes will buzz with celebrities and fans flocking to catch a glimpse of the stars.
Confirmed by Fremaux, “star-gazers” can expect to see many American stars, including Charlize Theron, Ashley Judd, Kevin Kline, Nick Nolte, Cameron Diaz, Naomi Watts, Uma Thurman, Brad Pitt, Tom Hanks, Eddie Murphy, Sean Penn and John Leguizamo.
Jalabert only wishes she could be in Cannes when the awards come to town.
“Every year throughout the week there are parties at actresses’ houses,” Jalabert said. “Everybody who went to the fest is there and it is really hard to get in.”
The Cannes Film Festival will take place on May 12 and will be aired on select European television channels, although satellite owners subscribing to French channels may catch it in the states.