It’s hard to determine what to make of Lars von Trier and the way his mind works. He’s a filmmaker like no other, oozing intrigue and always leaving a trail of controversy in his wake. At this year’s Cannes film festival, von Trier’s ill-conceived comments regarding Adolf Hitler have caused a bigger stir than his apocalyptic feature Melancholia, a film that doesn’t quite match the explosive sentiment of his [...]

Alongside the films in Official Selection, Cannes provides numerous initiatives to promote up-and-coming film-makers in both professional and amateur worlds. Village International and Marche du Film run alongside the festival for industry professionals to network and new film-makers to gain crucial contacts. The Short Film Corner also falls into this, with films in and out of Official Competition gaining critical exposure.

The Cinefondation Selection program looks towards promoting the work of [...]

Naomi Kawase, a Cannes Film Festival darling, won the Camera d’Or in 1997 with her debut feature Moe no suzaku and has since been a regular presence in Official Competition, winning the Grand Prix in 2007 for Mogari no Mori. With that in mind, you would presume there’s strong hope for her latest entry, Hanezu (Hanezu no tsuki). But despite her best intentions, Kawase’s latest falls short of creating a [...]

Since Cannes is on the home stretch for another year, many festival-goers remain baffled as screenings of films within the Official Selection deliver mixed reactions. The biggest head-scratcher is why certain films are in certain areas; what differentiates films in Official Competition from those in Un Certain Regard? Do the powers that be view films different to the press and then differently again to the public?

The Festival de Cannes website [...]

An initiative starting in Cannes 2011 to welcome a guest country has brought very poignant beginnings for the festival. A tribute to Egypt with special events and screenings throughout Wednesday climaxed with the world premiere of 18 Days [Tamantashar Yom], a collection of shorts focused on the 18 days following the January 25 Revolution.

A packed Salle du Soixantieme was filled with film-makers, press and invitees who welcomed the filmmakers into [...]

Racial, religious and political tensions are one of many concurrent themes at Cannes 2011 (as with film in general), with a new initiative fittingly portraying the recent turbulence in the Middle East through the eyes of  in the film Where Do We Go Now? After her debut Caramel (2007), Lebanese film-maker Nadine Labaki has a very strong take on her home country and its own cultural issues, where she blends [...]