France: Cannes Film Festival Opening Night: French Star Power - by Pete Hammond

The 68th Cannes Film Festival officially opened last night 14 May with the red carpet premiere of Standing Tall (Le tete haute), a stirring drama about the juvenile justice system as seen through the experiences of one kid from age 6 to 18. French legend Catherine Deneuve co-stars and ascended the Palais steps with the rest of cast including knockout newcomer Rod Paradot as the boy and Benoit Magimel. The director of the film, which might be called the darker side of Boyhood, is a woman. Now that might not sound so astounding, but Emmanuelle Bercot is only the second woman to stroll those famous steps as the helmer of the glamorous Cannes opening-night attraction. Initially the fest announced she would be the first but quickly were reminded Diane Kurys had the honor in 1987.

In recent years the festival has been criticized for not having more female directors as part of its Official Selection, so it seems that Cannes and fest honcho Thierry Fremaux are bending over backward to rectify that situation. Not only was Bercot invited to open the party (in an out of competition slot), there are two other female directors — Maiwenn and Valerie Donzelli — with films that are competing for the prized Palme d’Or this year in what often is an all-boys club. Last year’s Jury President, Jane Campion, was the only previous female winner of that top award for 1993’s The Piano. Add to that four other female directors competing in the companion selection, Un Certain Regard, as well as debuting director Natalie Portman with another out of competition entry, A Tale Of Love And Darkness, and you have a pretty impressive Cannes lineup for women — finally. Let’s hope it is the start of a trend and not just an abberation.

Read more: Cannes Film Festival Opening Night: French Star Power | Deadline

France: Cannes Film Festival hit by $1 million jewellery theft

Jewels worth $1 million in total were stolen from a hotel room in Cannes during the southern French city's famous film festival, French police said on Friday. The jewels were to be lent to movie stars.

Read more: : Cannes Film Festival hit by $1 million jewellery theft - FRANCE - FRANCE 24

Movie Industry - France: As Cannes 2013 raised its curtain, a question: is the selection too French or too what?

Yesterday's  lift-off  of the 2013 Cannes Film Festival on the French Riviera shows much promise and spirits are high.

Wednesday night was the gala screening of the opening film, Baz Luhrmann’s star-studded, 3D adaptation of “The Great Gatsby”; tourists are swarming the Croisette, snapping photos and revelling in the giddy, pre-party vibe; and critics fresh off the plane from various corners of the globe are shrugging off jet lag and greeting each other as if it’s the first day of school after summer vacation (in other words: hugs, kisses, and the occasional snarky remark about a rival).

Meanwhile, the sun is shining bright, inspiring some festival-goers to head for a dip in the turquoise Mediterranean waters before 4 days of anticipated -- and already much-cursed -- rain.

The atmosphere and players at Cannes don’t change much from year to year. It’s always an odd mix of glamour and grit, work and play, with leggy model types tipsy from too much champagne strutting amid journalists jittery from too much coffee, while publicists bark orders at terrified-looking interns and stern security guards reliably step in to prevent you from getting to where you want to go. In the background, inevitably, is the endless thump-thump of generic Euro-techno emanating from cars and night clubs temporarily set up on the beach.

Read more: As Cannes 2013 raises curtain, a question: is the selection too French? | Les blogs

Syrian filmmaker speaks out at Cannes Festival

"Everything was decided very quickly," commented the renowned Syrian filmmaker Osama Mohammed, on his arrival at the Cannes Film Festival, where his movie has been invited to participate within the Fortnight sidebar. The director also headed the panel discussion entitled, "Making films in a dictatorship."

Born in 1954, Osama Mohammed has made only two feature films: Stars in Broad Daylight (1988) presented at Directors' Fortnight, and Sacrifices (2002), shown in the selection called Un Certain Regard (A Certain Glance or A Particular Outlook), a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection ).

During the discussion the filmmaker said that: "Today, we look at another film that deals with death and tragedy, but also of hope. For fifty years Syrians have not defended their rights."

For more: Syrian filmmaker speaks out at Cannes Festival - Film - Arts & Culture - Ahram Online

Culture: Cannes Film Festival - Life's become one big reality show - by Toby Young

For the complete report from The Independent click on this link

Cannes Film Festival - Life's become one big reality show - by Toby Young

What film is likely to be the next Slumdog Millionaire? There are several British titles vying for this honour at the Cannes Film Festival (which starts on 13 May), but I'm putting my money on Sounds Like Teen Spirit, a documentary about the Eurovision Song Contest, which is released on Friday. To be strictly accurate, it's about the junior version of that competition, which is restricted to those aged 10 to 15. We follow various takes as they jump over a series of hurdles to qualify for the contest, then watch them compete in the final. Needless to say, there are plenty of tears before bedtime. The film that Sounds Like Teen Spirit most closely resembles is Spellbound, the documentary about an American spelling bee that was nominated for an Oscar in 2003. The reason it works so well, apart from the skill of the director Jamie Jay Johnson, is that it has the same structure as a conventional Hollywood film. Like Spellbound, it follows a sequence of events in which all the building blocks of a text-book screenplay are in place: an unlikely hero plucked from obscurity; a cocksure antagonist; a series of increasingly difficult challenges; a dash of romance; and a thrilling climax in which the hero triumphs against all odds.

Bloomberg.com: France's Laurent Cantet Wins Palme d'Or at Cannes - by Farah Nayeri

For the complete report from Bloomberg.com click on this link

France's Laurent Cantet Wins Palme d'Or at Cannes - by Farah Nayeri

Entre les Murs,'' a classroom drama directed by Frenchman Laurent Cantet, won the Cannes Film Festival's Palme d'Or award for best picture at a red-carpet gala today, giving France its first Cannes victory in 21 years. The verdict came as a surprise. Cantet's two-hour movie (titled ``The Class'' in English and among the last to be screened), shows a high-school teacher challenged by his students in a troubled suburb of Paris, and is based on an autobiographical book by Francois Begaudeau, who plays himself.

Metro.Co.UK: Cannes: The year of the underdog

For the complete report from Metro.co.uk click on this link

Cannes: The year of the underdog

As the Cannes Film Festival draws to a close for another year, a host of relative unknowns will be going home with the festival's most coveted prizes. Romanian director Cristian Mungiu triumphed against stiff competition from Cannes veterans Quentin Tarantino, the Coen brothers and Gus Van Sant to win the prestigious Palme d'Or for 4 Months, 3 Weeks And 2 Days, his tale of illegal abortion.

"At the end of the day, nationality shouldn't matter - this isn't the Olympics. The general feeling was that this was a better Cannes than we've seen in a few years, so that's got to be good news for everyone," she adds. As for the US, the Coens' No Country For Old Men and Michael Moore's Sicko were probably the most talked about films of the Festival.

EU-Digest comment: What a great and classy festival this year in Cannes. A "smorgesbrot" of world-wide quality films. It certainly beats the US corporate controlled Oscars "bonanza" hands-down. Lets hear it for Europe!

The Korean Times: Cannes’- Jeon Do-youn’ Best Actress

Jeon Do-youn wins best actress award Cannes

For the complete report from The Korea Times click on this link

Cannes’- Jeon Do-youn’ Best Actress

Jeon Do-youn’s best actress award at Cannes could hardly come at a better moment for herself and many others. It was the first top acting award given to a Korean at a major film festival in 20 years, reconfirming Korean actors’ ability and endeavors. Unlike in 1987, the film ``Secret Sunshine’’ didn’t take an Oriental but a Western theme of salvation as its motif, demonstrating homegrown movies’ potential for global appeal. Most importantly, it came when the film industry is taking a serious downturn.

Korea is one of a handful of countries in the world, along with India, Japan and some European countries, that compete with Hollywood. The government’s policy support may be strongest only next to France except for its effect and expertise. It has more than 1,000 film production firms, the largest in the world. Young audiences, which constitute the bulk of moviegoers, have even more ``Koreanized’’ tastes than older fans. Provincial cities are active participants, playing host to film festivals.

The Denver Post - Romanian film takes top Cannes prize - Angela Doland

For the complete report in The Denver Post click on this link

Romanian film takes top Cannes prize - Angela Doland

A harrowing film about illegal abortion in Communist-era Romania beat 21 movies by well-known directors such as Quentin Tarantino, Ethan and Joel Coen, and Wong Kar-wai to win the Cannes Film Festival's top prize today. Romanian director Cristian Mungiu's low-budget film, "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days," depicts the horrors a student goes through to ensure her friend can have a secret abortion.

Several high-profile movies that screened at Cannes were not in the running for prizes, including Michael Moore's "Sicko"; "Ocean's Thirteen," starring George Clooney and Matt Damon; and "A Mighty Heart," featuring Angelina Jolie as the widow of slain journalist Daniel Pearl.German writer and director Fatih Akin's "The Edge of Heaven," a German-Turkish crosscultural tale of loss, mourning and forgiveness, won the prize for best screenplay.