FESTIVAL DE CANNES 2008 CLOSING CEREMONY

The official Jury of this 61st Festival de Cannes, presided over by Sean Penn, revealed this evening the Prize winners during the closing Ceremony.  Édouard Baer hosted Robert de Niro on the stage of the Grand Théâtre Lumière to award the Palme d’or to the best film among the 22 in Competition. Barry Levinson’s closing film What Just Happened? starring Robert De Niro, Sean Penn and Bruce Willis, was screened at the end of the ceremony.

CINEMA MASTERCLASS BY QUENTIN TARANTINO

THE MYSTERY OF THE FESTIVAL POSTER UNVEILED 

NO SUBTITLES NECESSARY BY JAMES CHRESSANTHIS AT CANNES CLASSICS

For the 5th year in a row, the Festival uses Cannes Classics to place the spotlight on rediscovered or restored masterworks from the past, or ones that have been re-released in theatres or on DVD. This programme is presented in the Palais des Festivals (in either the Buñuel theatres or Soixantième theatre) as well as at the Cinéma de la Plage and in the La Licorne Theater.

Cannes Classics 2008 is placed under the sign of Manoel de Oliveira to whom the Festival pays the most lively of tributes for his 100th birthday, by screening the first of his films DOURO, FAINA FLUVIAL (1931, 18’, Portugal) in the main Lumière theatre, and with Wong Kar Wai presenting ASHES OF TIME REDUX (1994, 120’, Hong-Kong) in the Debussy theatre.

Main event: LOLA MONTÈS by Max Ophüls

The Technicolor restoration of LOLA MONTÈS, directed by Max Ophüls in 1955, is to have its world premier, presented by the Cinémathèque française, on Saturday May 17th. Inspired by the scandalous life of Countess Landsfeld, known as Lola Montès, the film was Max Ophüls’ last work and his only film in colour.

Under Marcel Ophuls’ watchful eye, and benefiting from the technical expertise of François Ede – and thanks to theTechnicolor Lab., the Cinémathèque française set about restoring LOLA MONTÈS in its original version, giving back its colour, sound and original format, and thus providing this cult film with the possibility of amazing a younger audience as well as once again seducing all the people whose hearts it has already conquered. The presentation of the restored print is our way of paying homage to Max Ophüls who died in 1957, shortly after the film was released.

Documentaries about cinema

NO SUBTITLES NECESSARY: LASZLO & VILMOS (2008,105’, USA) by James Chressanthis. A documentary that tells of the journey and friendship of Laszlo Kovacs and Vilmos Zsigmond, the famous directors of photography from Hungary, who contributed to the golden age of Hollywood in the 70’s and 80’s.

THE CINEMA CINEMAS COLLECTION (104’, France, 1980-1990) by Claude Ventura. Two episodes chosen from the many hours of programmes filmed in the ‘80s.

“YOU MUST REMEMBER THIS": A HISTORY OF WARNER BROS” (120’, 2008, United States). Warner Bros. celebrates 85 years of film with this documentary by Richard Schickel, YOU MUST REMEMBER THIS, about the studio’s history. The programme will be accompanied by a "Warner screening" every night at the Cinéma de la Plage, including a one-off “Looney Tunes” event which will show off the Burbank company at its cartoon best.
 

 "Changeling"

by Clint Eastwood

Five years after premiering Mystic River at the Festival de Cannes, Clint Eastwood returns to Competition with Changeling, a thriller which takes place in the late 1920s in a working-class suburb of Los Angeles. Angelina Jolie stars as Christine Collins, a mother whose son Walter mysteriously disappears one day. After an intensive search effort lasting several months, a nine-year-old boy who says he is Walter is returned to her. Unfortunately, the boy is not her son. Christine, accused of being delusional and irresponsible, allies herself with a minister (played by John Malkovich). Together, they continue investigating the matter, eventually implicating the city's legal officials.
Based on a true story, the screenplay written by Joe Michael Straczynski immediately grabbed the attention of producers Brian Grazer and Ron Howard, as well as that of director Clint Eastwood. "I took it with me on a trip to Berlin," recalls Eastwood. "On the way back on the plane, I read it and I liked it a lot. As soon as I got in, I called Brian and Ron and said, 'Yeah, I'll do this.' And they said, 'Angelina Jolie liked the script and wants to do this.' I said, 'She'd be great. I like her work a lot.' And that's how it came about - very quick and simple." Clint Eastwood remarked, "Angelina Jolie is unique. She reminds me of a lot of the actresses from the Golden Age of movies in the 40s - Katherine Hepburn, Ingrid Bergman, Bette Davis, Susan Hayward, all of them. They were all very distinctive, and they all had a lot of presence. She's a tremendous actress."

Out of Competition: "Maradona by Kusturica" by Emir Kusturica

Actors in Cannes

Sean Pean

American boxer Mike Tyson, center, arrives with American director James Toback, left, for the premiere of the film "Tyson"

American actor Adrien Brody, left, and Spanish actress Elsa Pataky   

Linda Evangelista, Afef JwifenBilly Zane  Kelly Brook

"Vicky Cristina Barcelona"

by Woody Allen

This 61st Cannes Festival is marked by Woody Allen's return to the Croisette to present his latest film, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, starring Scarlett Johansson, Penelope Cruz, and Javier Bardem, out of Competition. The quintessential Manhattan director is a veteran of the official selection, with Match Point (2005), Hollywood Ending (2002), New York Stories (1989), Radio Days (1987), Hannah and her Sisters (1986), The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), Broadway Danny Rose (1984), Bonjour Monsieur Lewis (1982), and Manhattan (1979).
As its title indicates, the story is set in the sizzling Catalonian capital. Vicky and Cristina, two young Americans with different attitudes towards love, have come to spend the summer in the Spanish sunshine. They find themselves swept up in a surprising series of sexual adventures with a charismatic artist, Juan Antonio, who is still bound to his ex-wife, the impetuous Maria Elena...
"When I began writing the script," recalls Allen, "I had no other intention than to write a story in which Barcelona would be a key character. I wanted to spotlight a city I love a lot. In addition to its fabulous beauty, it is imbued with a very romantic atmosphere. Places like Paris or Barcelona are the only ones where a story like this one could be conceived."
Regarding the casting, Woody Allen explained: "From time to time, in my professional life, I meet an actress whose qualities inspire me. Scarlett is very intelligent, sexy, and gifted, and she can play a wide range of parts. She also has a sharp wit, and comes up with verbal inventions that dazzle me. As for Penelope, she is a force of nature, like Maria Elena. She's beautiful, and incredibly sexy in a way that is hers alone. And, of course, she's an amazing actress. Obviously, I had everything I wanted."

"Kung Fu Panda"

by John Stevenson and Mark Osborne

The fourth animated feature produced by DreamWorks and presented in Cannes, following Shrek and Shrek 2 (in Competition in 2001 and 2004) and Over the Hedge (Out of Competition 2006), Kung Fu Panda is about the adventures of Po, a panda who dreams of becoming a Kung Fu master. While Po is still just a rank beginner in the martial arts, he is forced to battle Tai Lung, an evil and cunning snow leopard driven by a desire for vengeance.
Directed by John Stevenson and Mark Osborne, the film brings together a brilliant cast of voices which includes Jack Black – who lends his voice to our engaging hero – Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Ian McShane (the voice of villainous Tai Lung), Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu, and David Cross.
"With Kung Fu Panda, we wanted to create a timeless film," explains co-director John Stevenson. "We were really aiming to craft a film that had a timelessness to it - while the story is set in our version of ancient China, the tale doesn't only apply to those characters at that time. The greatest stories are timeless."
Mark Osborne added: "It was important to all of us, from the start, that Kung Fu Panda would have a theme, a positive message that we really believed in. We wanted it to be a fun experience loaded with comedy and great action."

"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"

by Steven Spielberg

 

Competition: "Gomorrah" by Matteo Garrone

The section Cannes Classics is dedicated to the discovery and re-discovery of works from the past. At 10:15pm tonight, a completely new copy of The Savage Eye will be presented, a film by Ben Maddow, Sidney Meyers, and Joseph Strick made in 1960. As the story goes, Judith McGuire is a young woman who recently divorced and is trying to make a new life for herself in Los Angeles. Via an inner masculine voice that assails her with questions, it is the solitude of a woman speaking to her, and the horrible feelings she holds against the chimera that America of the 50s has become. Accompanying this feature is the 22-minute My Lai Veterans in which director Joseph Strick looks at the trauma of the Vietnam War.

TRIBUTE TO MANOEL DE OLIVEIRA - May, 19th, 4 pm, Grand Theatre Lumière

ASHES OF TIME REDUX BY WONG KAR WAI - May, 18th, 10pm, Debussy Theatre 

61st  CANNES FESTIVAL , 14-25 MAY

THE PANEL

THE OFFICIAL SELECTION

Other competitions

Shorts

Special selection

The President's selection