- Festivals
Cannes 2016: A Place of Freedom
When 69th Cannes International Film Festival opens tomorrow with the gala premiere of Woody Allen’s latest, the period comedy Café Society, it will follow closely a tradition that began with its very first edition: its deep connection with the world at large, beyond the Croisette and beyond cinema itself.
In 1946, when the project of an international film festival, proposed 15 years earlier by France's Minister of National Education, finally came into being, Cannes emerged from the shadows of the Second World War, offering art as succor for a deeply wounded world. In 1968, when the streets raged from Paris to San Francisco, Jean Luc Godard and Claude Lelouche led a revolt “in solidarity with the workers and students" that stopped the festival on its tracks halfway through its run (from the ambers of this fireball the Directors Fortnight was born).
This year, Cannes will take place a mere six months after the terror attacks in Paris, and France is still in a state of emergency. Security is at all-time high in Cannes, with authorities promising a “safety bubble” around the Palais, which concentrates the official screenings, press conferences and photo calls, in addition to the always busy Film Market. Last month, police staged a security exercise with armed assailants storming the Palais – a glaring contrast with the aura of glamour that is the festival’s signature. Speaking to the Associated Press, festival president Pierre Lescure has said that this year "the maximum" has been done to enhance security and ensure "that the festival remains a place of freedom."
Vigilance is high in Cannes this year; the plan is to create a "security bubble" around the Palais.
Getty/Loic Venance
Freedom, individual choices and responsibilities abound in this year’s generous selection – a record-breaking total of 21 titles in the main competition, including the last-minute addition of Asghar Farhadi’s The Salesman, a very personal take on the Arthur Miller play Death of a Salesman.
The competition slate included Brillante Mendoza’s Ma’RosaThe HandmaidenAmerican Honey, starring Shia LaBeouf and Sasha Lane; actress/director and Croisette veteran Nicole Garcia’s From the Land of the Moon, starring Marion Cotillard; Germany’s Maren Ade, making her first entry in the competition with Toni Erdmann
Other first-time Cannes competitors include Brazil’s Kleber Mendonça Filho (Neighboring Sounds) with his most recent work, AquariusStranger by the Lake) with Staying Vertical (Rester VerticalThe Death of Mr. Lazarescu) with Sieranevada, one of three entries from the country in the main competition.
The US has a massive presence this year in Cannes, both in and out of competition, with a slate of highly anticipated, awards-inclined titles. In the main competitive selection there’s Jeff Nichols’ Loving, starring Joel Edgerton, Michael Shannon and Ruth Negga; Sean Penn’s The Last Face, starring Charlize Theron and Javier Bardem; and Jim Jarmusch’s Paterson, with Adam Driver and Golshifteh Farahani. In a special tribute to Robert DeNiro Cannes has also planned a special screening of director Jonathan Jakubowicz Hands of Stone, the biopic of extraordinary boxer Roberto Duran (Edgar Ramirez) and his trainer, Ray Arcel (Robert DeNiro).