From ‘The Substance’ to ‘Titane’ Genre Films Grab Solid Ground at Top Festivals and at the Box Office

variety.com:

Ben Croll Directors Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani didn’t expect to wind up in competition at Berlin. The duo behind Golden Bear contender “Reflections in a Dead Diamond” are avowed cult filmmakers, having spent the past decade honing a giallo-influenced style to the delight of a loyal, niche audience.

Only, as fate would have it, Cattet and Forzani’s artistic ambitions have evolved in lockstep with wider industry trends — creating heretofore-unseen opportunities for outré auteurs. “Genre was often seen as limiting,” Forzani said. “Before, we were usually boxed into midnight sections, and now we can more fully embrace that title.

At the moment, working in genre feels like more of an advantage than a limitation.” Indeed, in the time since Cattet and Forzani’s prior effort, “Let the Corpses Tan,” Jordan Peele emerged as a brand-name auteur, Julia Ducournau claimed a Palme d’Or for “Titane” and Coralie Fargeat bowed at Cannes with “The Substance,” which is a contender for a few Oscars.

And that rising tide has swelled alongside the streaming economy, affording genre filmmakers — and with them the reliable audiences they draw — an intoxicating allure for sales companies and distributors looking for surefire theatrical propositions. “These are film festivals, not just content markets,” said Forzani. “That distinction matters because it gives our films a real chance to exist in cinemas.