Kino International will distribute Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Dogtooth,” now screening at the Toronto International Film Festival and winner of the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard section.

Dogtooth sees a father, mother and their three kids live in a house at the outskirts of a city. There is a tall fence surrounding the house. The kids have never left the house. They are being educated, entertained, bored and exercised in the manner that their parents deem appropriate, without any influence from the outside world. They believe that the airplanes flying over are toys and that zombies are small yellow flowers. The only person allowed to enter the house is Christina. She works as a security guard at the father’s business. The father arranges her visits to the house in order to appease the sexual urges of the son. The whole family is fond of her, especially the eldest daughter. One day Christina gives her as a present a headband that has stones that glow in the dark and asks for something in return. source

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The Australian documentary film Samson & Delilah will have its US premiere at  Telluride Film Festival this weekend. The film premiered at the Adelaide Film Festival earlier this year and won the Camera d’Or First Film prize at Cannes Film Festival.

In the film Samson, a cheeky 15-year-old boy, and Delilah live in an isolated Aboriginal community in the Central Australian desert. In amongst a tiny collection of houses, everything here happens in a cycle. Day in and day out – nothing changes, everything stays the same and no one seems to care.

The two teenagers soon discover that life outside the community can be cruel. Though hungry and rejected Samson and Delilah fall in love. It is all they have. It is real. And when tragedy strikes they turn their backs on home and embark on a journey of survival. Lost, unwanted and alone they discover that life isn’t always fair, but love never judges.  The film is reportedly marked by long silences, and what little is spoken is mostly in the Central Australian language Warlpiri.

Director Warwick Thornton and his wife, documentary-maker Beck Cole, producer Kath Shelper, and stars Marissa Gibson and Rowan McNamara  flew to Telluride, Colorado, this week to attend the festival.

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Oscilloscope Pictures, a company co-founded by Beastie Boys member Adam “MCA” Yauch, will distribute director Michel Gondry’s documentary,  “The Thorn in the Heart,” which premiered last week at Cannes Film Festival.

The documentary focuses on the “Green Hornet” and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” director’s own family members, following his aunt, schoolteacher Suzette Gondry, and her son. Over the course of the film, he delves into the family’s secrets and their life in rural France.

Suzette, Michel Gondry’s aunt, was a school teacher from 1952 to 1986 and she tells Michel how it was to be a teacher by then in a rural and isolated part of France. But little by little, Michel discovers some family stories he was totally unaware of and uses his camera to explore it in a subtle but very emotionnal way. [Cannes Film Festival]

[via]

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The Cannes International Critics’ Week prizes were awarded to the following:

FEATURE FILMS AWARDS

Critics’ Week Grand Prix
“Adieu Gary”by Nassim Amaouche (France)

SACD awards
“Lost Persons Area” by Caroline Strubbe (Belgium / Netherlands / Hungary)

ACID/CCAS Support Award
“Sirta La Gal Ba” (Whisper With The Wind) by Shahram Alidi (Iraq)

OFAJ/TV5MONDE (VERY) Young Critic Award
“Sirta La Gal Ba” (Whisper With The Wind) by Shahram Alidi (Iraq)

SHORT FILMS AWARDS

Canal+ Award for Best Short Film
“Slitage” (Seeds of the Fall) de Patrik Eklund (Suède)

Kodak Discovery Award for Best Short Film
“Logorama” by François Alaux, Hervé de Crécy, Ludovic Houplain (H5)

OTHER PRIZES

Prize Regard Jeune
“Sirta La Gal Ba” (Whisper With The Wind) de Shahram Alidi (Iraq)

Jury : 7 Young European invited by the Ministry in charge of Youth Affairs

For more film festival news, visit the Film Festival Ticker

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Sony Pictures Classics will distribute “A Prophet,” now screening in competition at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. “A Prophet” has topped various critics polls, making it a favorite to win the coveted Palme d’Or trophy.

The French-Arabic-Corsican-language thriller, directed by Jacques Audiard is set in a prison, where 19-year-old inmate Malik (played by Tahar Rahim) is tested by a Corsican gang and learns to survive.

Condemned to six years in prison, Malik El Djebena cannot read nor write. Arriving at the jail entirely alone, he appears younger and more fragile than the other convicts. He is 19 years old. Cornered by the leader of the Corsican gang who rules the prison, he is given a number of “missions” to carry out, toughening him up and gaining the gang leader’s confidence in the process.  But Malik is brave and a fast learner, daring to secretly develop his own plans…

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“Looking for Eric”

IFC Films has picked up Ken Loach’s “Looking for Eric” and the controversial Lars Von Trier’s “Antichrist” from this year’s Cannes Film Festival for distribution in the U.S.  Looking for Eric is a British comedy about a postman who gets life lessons from footballing legend Eric Cantona and “Antichrist” is a controversial erotic thriller. Both films have been receiving lots of attention at the festival.

“Tales From The Golden Age”

Last week IFC also picked up the Romanian film “Tales From the Golden Age.” “Tales from the Golden Age” is composed of five short stories of an unconventional personal history of the late communist period in Romania.

[via]

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Penelope Cruz is feeling better – she attended the Cannes premiere of “Broken Embraces” director Pedro Almodovar.

See more images via: celebrity-gossip.net

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Aishwarya Rai arrives for the screening of the movie Chun Feng Chen Zui De Ye Wan (Spring Fever) in competition at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival on May 14, 2009.

For more photos, click here

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May 13^th, 2009 – The hustle and bustle of cinephiles everywhere. The sight of the film industry’s finest suited up in tuxedos and luxurious gowns on the red carpet. The noisy click of flashes going off within thousands of cameras. All of these elements combined with the soft ocean breeze of the French Riviera in the background can only equate to one thing: the worlds most popular and infamous film festival.

Today marks the opening of the 62^nd Annual Cannes Film Festival.

The official selection for this year’s lineup brings about various components of both old and new for audiences. Commencement of Cannes begins with a surprising and considerably out of the ordinary choice. The festival opens up with a screening of Disney-Pixar’s new animated 3-D film “Up,” marking the first time an animated or 3-D film has ever opened up the illustrious festival. However, “Up” will not be included in Cannes’ main competition.

Of the 20 films set to contend for the Palme d’Or, this year’s selection lineup unveils an ever-expanding global and cultural hybridity showcased by the film industry’s leading auteurs. Internationally, 2009 Cannes’ competing films hail from such countries as Austria, Spain, Hong Kong, Italy, France, and Belgium (to name a few). Another engaging aspect of this year’s festival is the myriad of top directors behind the films vying for the Palme d’Or – four of which happen to be previous winners of the prestigious award. The 62^nd edition of Cannes brings forth many seasoned veterans and frequent regulars of the festival to candidacy. Former winner Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction) enters this year’s competition with his WWII epic “Inglourious Basterds,” while recent 2006 winner Ken Loach exhibits his football film “Looking for Eric” in the main competition. Other films that are confirmed for contention include Pedro Almodóvar’s Spanish drama “Los Abrazos Rotos,” Ang Lee’s “Taking Woodstock,” Michael Haneke’s “Das Weisse Band,” and many other gems from leading directors within the realm of independent cinema.

Featured out of competition is a melting-pot of films also from new and old talents. Highlighted to premiere in the Special Screening category are such films as: Anne Aghion’s human rights documentary “My Neighbor, My Killer,” French actress Fanny Ardant’s first directorial feature film, entitled “Cendres et Sang,” and Michel Gondry’s new documentary film “L’epine Dans le Coeur,” focusing on Gondry’s own personal experiences and revelations with his family. Meanwhile, the category of Un Certain Regard holds such films as Russian director Nikolay Khomeriki’s drama “Tale In The Darkness,” and “Nang Mai,” a new production hailing from Thailand by director Pen-Ek Ratanaruang.

From Korean director Park Chan-Wook’s supernatural thriller “Thirst” to Pierre-William Glenn’s motorcycle racing film “Portrait de Groupe Avec Enfants et Motocyclettes,” 2009’s competing selections present a hodgepodge of impeccable talent and cosmopolitan culture within the festival.

This year’s festival also features many global talents in its 2009 jury. French actress Isabelle Huppert (known for her award-winning role in La Cérémonie) acts as President of the Jury for Cannes’ 62^nd anniversary. She is joined by Asia Argento, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Lee Chang-Dong, James Gray, Hanif Kureishi, Shu Qi, Robin Wright Penn, and Sharmila Tagore as the official jury for Cannes’ 2009 international feature film competition.

The 2009 Cannes Film Festival will be held from Wednesday May 13^th until Sunday May 24^th.

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Spring Fever via: Cannes Film Festival

Chinese director Lou Ye is at it again. Lou will defy the Chinese government by debuting his new film in competition at this year’s Cannes film festival despite a five-year state ban reports UK Guardian.

Spring Fever via: Cannes Film Festival

Spring Fever, which centers on a woman’s efforts to spy on her husband’s affair with another man, is likely to cause controversy in China with its depiction of a homosexual relationship – still a taboo subject in the country. It was shot on the fly in Nanjing, eastern China, using a handheld camera and a small cast of five actors in spring 2008.

Chinese director Lou Ye

Lou, 44, was banned from making films in 2006 by China’s State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television (SARFT) after bringing his film Summer Palace, a love story set against the backdrop of the 1989 pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square, to Cannes.

This year’s Cannes film festival opens tomorrow thru 24 May.

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