The 66th Cannes Film Festival runs Wednesday thru May 26.
The world’s top cinema event opens on Cote d’Azur, Wednesday, May 15, as usual, with the opening gala screening of “The Great Gatsby” directed by Baz Lurhmann, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby. The Romanian cinematography is represented in the youth-dedicated sections of the festival, but also in the jury membership, as film director Cristian Mungiu, a Palme d’Or for “4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days” (2007) is part of the jury chaired by American film director and Cannes laureate Steven Spielberg. We focus our interest on Radu Jude, one of the highest rated young film directors belonging to the second (chronologically speaking) wave of young film directors, whose short film entitled „Shadow of a Cloud” has been included among the 9 entries to the Quinzaine des Realisateurs Program. The film features some of the actors who performed in his previous films, Serban Pavlu, Mihaela Sarbu and Gabriel Spahiu. Reputed stage director Alexandru Dabija will play a special part in the film. “In the Fish Tank” a 20 minute film made by Tudor Cristian Jurgiu, will be shown in Cinefondation, the section dedicated to short films, Friday, May 17. A string of shorts will be projected in the Short Film Corner, where Romania participates with several titles.
The shorts and films to be projected in the Cinefondation section will be assessed by a jury chaired by Jane Campion. Well-known French actress Agnes Varda was invited to chair the jury to pick this year’s Camera D’Or winner. As usual, the festival is hosting several events inspired by the history of world cinema. The festival poster features the late Paul Newman and his wife, actress Joanne Woodword. Kim Novak, one of Hitchcock’s favorite actresses, was invited to honor the screening of a revised copy of „Vertigo” by Alfred Hitchcock, a film included in the “Cinema Clasic” section. Marcel Ophuls (86) and Alejandro Jodorovsky (84), two major world cinema figures also benefit from ample portraits in the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs Section. India, the country with one of the largest number of film productions worldwide, is the guest country at Cannes 2013.Predictions are being made about the Palme d’Or winner, although the festival is yet to begin. While it is quite difficult to forecast which film will win the Palme d’Or this year, there are six potential candidates nonetheless, among whom the Cohen Brothers (Ethan and Joel) and Jim Jarmusch, not to forget this year’s broad French film selection.
You can never tell who’s to win, so that each entry should be watched with utmost attention.
