Julia Ducournau: Last News

There’s nothing like a bit of controversy to kick off this year’s Cannes Film Festival. And this year, it comes from the mouth of Viggo Mortensen, star of David Cronenberg‘s “Crimes Of The Future,” which has its world premiere in competition next week for the Palme d’Or.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterNeon has promoted Jeff Deutchman to president of acquisitions and production.Deutchman previously served as Neon’s executive VP of acquisitions and production. Under his leadership, the studio has grown its recent production slate with director Tilman Singer’s “Cuckoo,” starring Hunter Schafer; Joshua Oppenheimer’s “The End,” a golden-age musical with Tilda Swinton; Brandon Cronenberg’s “Infinity Pool” featuring Alexander Skarsgård.

Final Cut,” directed by Michel Hazanavicius on opening night. This year’s Cannes is also the biggest film event to be hosted since the start of the pandemic, bringing together the festival and market crowds.

In the wake of the Cannes Palme d’Or and Oscar winning success of Bong Joon-Ho’s Parasite, NEON is re-teaming with CJ ENM to pick up the North American distribution rights to Broker, from writer-director Kore-eda Hirokazu ahead of the pic’s global premiere at Cannes.

Carson Burton The Women in Motion program from Kering will return to Cannes for its seventh year to once again celebrate the lives and accomplishments of powerful women in cinema. The program aims to further the cause of recognizing women in the film industry at a time that seems to be a turning point for female representation in the sector.Women in Motion launched in 2015, aims to shine a light on women’s contribution to the motion picture arts both in front of and behind the camera.

Claudia Eller Co-Editor-in-ChiefIt’s beyond distressing how women directors continue to get short shrift at Cannes.How could it be that this year only three movies helmed by females will be contenders in the main competition of the world’s most prestigious film festival?It’s horribly disappointing, but far from shocking, given that last year only four out of 21 competition titles were directed by females and considering Cannes’ poor track record when it comes to recognizing women filmmakers competing throughout its 75-year history. After all, just two movies by women directors, Jane Campion’s “The Piano” and Julia Ducournau’s “Titane,” have ever won the coveted Palme d’Or.Of course, I’m thrilled for director Kelly Reichardt (“Showing Up”), Valeria Bruni Tedeschi (“Forever Young”) and Claire Denis (“Stars at Noon”), but nonetheless their movies represent a meager portion of the 18 titles in competition at Cannes.

Crimes Of The Future, starring Lea Seydoux, Kristen Stewart and Viggo Mortensen. It takes place in the not-so-distant future where humankind has evolved and is “learning to adapt to its synthetic surroundings”.Other films in the running for the festival’s top prize include new outings from filmmakers Claire Denis, Kelly Reichardt, Arnaud Desplechin, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, James Gray and Hirokazu Kore-eda.Top Gun: Maverick and Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis Presley biopic were previously announced for the festival, although they’ll be played out of competition.

The number of female filmmakers selected for Cannes Film Festival’s Competition program dipped this year, with three of the 18 titles unveiled this morning helmed by women. However, because the selection is smaller this time, the percentage remained consistent.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentSND is teaming up with Easy Riders Films to develop a premium limited series loosely based on “The Family,” Suzanne Privat’s best-selling investigative book on a French cult which has existed for more than 200 years.“The Family” is penned by rising French screenwriter Clémence Madeleine-Perdrillat, whose recent credits include “Nona and Her Daughters,” as well as the Amazon Original show “Mixte.” She led the writing team for season 2 of “In Treatment.”Set in Paris’s underworld, the thriller series will shed right on the rites and customs of this enigmatic religious sect from diverse perspectives, focusing on the experiences of those inside and outside the community. The book, whose French title is “La Famille, itinéraires d’un secret,” was published by Les Avrils editions in 2021.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentCedric Jimenez’s action thriller “The Stronghold” won the Cesar Award which was voted on by nearly 2,000 students from French high schools in France, the U.K., Mayotte and Japan. The Studiocanal film, which was produced by Hugo Sélignac at Chi-Fou-Mi Productions, a Mediawan company, was nominated for seven Cesar Awards, including best film and two actor nods.

Cate Blanchett and Adam Driver step out on the red carpet while attending the 2022 Cesar Awards on Friday (February 25) at L’Olympia in Paris, France.

Refresh for latest…: The César Awards, France’s equivalent to the Oscars, are just getting under way at an in-person ceremony at Paris’ Olympia concert hall with screenwriter/director Danièle Thompson presiding over the proceedings and Antoine de Caunes as host, the latter marking his tenth time as emcee.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentFrance’s equivalent to the Oscars, the Cesar Awards, are taking place this evening in Paris. Among the nominees, and in attendance, are “Annette” star Adam Driver and Cate Blanchett, who will receive the Honorary Cesar Award.The in-person ceremony is being hosted at the Olympia theater in Paris under tight COVID restrictions, as all guests have to wear a mask, be vaccinated and present a test dating from less than 24 hours.Driver is up for best actor for his performance as a tormented comedian opposite Marion Cotillard in Leos Carax’s drama musical “Annette.” Only two other American actors have been previously nominated at the Cesar Awards — Kristen Stewart for Olivier Assayas’ “Clouds of Sils Maria” and Adrien Brody for Roman Polanski’s Oscar-winning “The Pianist.” Both actors won, in 2015 and 2003, respectively.

Jamie Lang After a banner 2021 for high-end genre films, industry vets are hopeful that the fantastic can resurrect the corpse of pre-COVID theatrical distribution.As bolts of lightning reanimated the body of Frankenstein’s monster, Julia Ducournau’s “Titane,” which turned heads when it took the Palme d’Or at Cannes, and Sundance Grand Jury prize-winner “Nanny,” a supernatural tale from director Nikyatu Jusu, have revitalized the festival scene.While “Nanny” may have been the jewel in the genre crown at Sundance, the influence that genre cinema held over 2022’s first major festival was wide-ranging and undeniable. Chloe Okuno’s psychological thriller “Watcher” impressed — segueing into several sales deals — as did Hanna Bergholm’s psycho-horror feature “Hatching,” sold by Wild Bunch and Charades-sold Spanish standout “Piggy,” the follow-up to Carlota Pereda’s 2019 Spanish Academy Award-winner “Cerdita.” Among genre titles at Berlin this year are Dario Argento’s serial killer thriller “Dark Glasses” in the Berlinale Special section, while Bertrand Bonello’s subconscious voyage “Coma” and Peter Strickland’s gory “Flux Gourmet” (pictured above) feature in Encounters.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentJuliette Binoche (“The English Patient”) and Vincent Lindon (“Titane”) who starred for the first time together in Claire Denis’s “Both Sides of the Blade” said the experience was emotionally draining at the Berlinale press conference. The highly anticipated film, which was acquired by IFC Films ahead of the festival, is world premiering in competition on Saturday evening.

Tim Gray Senior Vice PresidentAfter Oscar nominations were announced Feb. 8, the buzz seems equally centered on who was nominated and who wasn’t.There’s an impressive roster of work in both categories.

EXCLUSIVE: Growing theatrical distributor and streamer MUBI has picked up all rights from The Match Factory to Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Oscar breakout Drive My Car for Latin America, India, Malaysia, Africa (excluding French language Pay-TV rights) and the Middle East (excluding Israel and Turkey).

 British Academy Film Awards have kicked things off by announcing the highly-anticipated nominations list for the 2022 ceremony. MORE: 9 movies to catch in the cinema in February 2022: Death on the Nile, The Duke, Marry Me and moreThis year's ceremony is set to take place on Sunday 13 March at the Royal Albert Hall and will be hosted by Australian actress Rebel Wilson.

bullying and abuse. Clarke denied accusations of sexual misconduct and the award finally had to be suspended. But this year’s list is very lively: the best director section is not lacking in inclusivity and good taste: Aleem Khan, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Audrey Diwan, Paul Thomas Anderson, Jane Campion and Julia Ducournau.

The BAFTA Film Awards nominations announced this afternoon in London offer up a diverse crop, and the highest number of female nominees on record; they’re also notable for a strong British presence and Will Smith’s first-ever mention.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentXavier Giannoli’s sprawling period piece “Lost Illusions,” Valerie Lemercier’s Celine Dion biopic “Aline” and Leos Carax’s musical romance “Annette” with Marion Cotillard and Adam Driver are leading the race at France’s 47th Cesar Awards, France’s equivalent to the Oscars. Other top Cesar contenders include Cedric Jimenez’s action-packed cop drama “Bac Nord,” Catherine Corsini’s social drama “La fracture,” Yann Gozlan’s thriller Boite noire,” Jacques Audiard’s contemporary love drama “Paris, 13th District” and Arthur Harari’s WW2-set “Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle.” Audrey Diwan’s Venice Golden Lion-winning “Happening” and Julia Ducournau’s Cannes’ Palme d’Or-winning “Titane” earned four nods each.