The Cannes
Film Festival is always a busy time, but the 2018 edition was so dense
with developments that it feels like it started months ago. From its
showdown with Netflix prior to the festival to the controversies
surrounding the number of women directors in competition and the
decision to screen a movie by Lars von Trier, Cannes has been debated
and scrutinized from every possible angle, and that’s to say nothing of
the many high-quality films actually worth writing home about.
As their time in Cannes came to an end, IndieWire’s Eric Kohn and Anne
Thompson convened at the American Pavilion for a live recording of
Screen Talk, where they dug through the news cycle from the festival,
argued about their favorite films, and analyzed the market. Then they
answered several questions from the audience on a range of issues facing
the film industry today.
Variety exclusively revealed that psychological thriller “Everybody Knows” starring Javier Barden, Penelope Cruz,
and Ricardo Darin will open the festival. The film is directed by
two-time Oscar winner Asghar Farhadi. This will mark only the second
time that a Spanish-language film will open Cannes.
Fans of the film competition should not expect to see any Netflix movies on the list. Following the announcement that the festival now bans films that lack theatrical distribution, Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s chief content officer, confirmed in an exclusive interview with Variety
that the streaming platform does not have “any reason” to bring films
that won’t be considered in the competition. Last year, Netflix films
“Okja” and “The Meyerowitz Stories” were shown at the festival.
Prior to the official lineup announcement, the Cannes Film Festival released its official poster
for the event on Wednesday with an image from Jean-Luc Godard’s 1965
film “Pierrot le Fou.” The film follows two lovers who are on the run
and travel to the French Riviera, which is where the festival occurs.
