Russian auteur Kirill Serebrennikov (“Leto,” “Petrov’s Flu,” “Tchaikovsky’s Wife”) is back in the Cannes competition with “Limonov,” an epic about Russian punk poet Eduard Limonov that the director describes as “probably the most complicated project in my life.”
Based on the best-selling book by Emmanuelle Carrere, “Limonov” delves into the story of its titular character who lived many lives. He was an underground writer in the Soviet Union who escaped to the U.S. where he became a punk-poet and also a butler to a millionaire in Manhattan. “Eddie” then became a literary sensation in Paris before returning to Russia where he morphed into a charismatic dissident party leader with rock star status, only to be incarcerated by Vladimir Putin.
Serebrennikov was shooting “Limonov” in Moscow on Feb. 24, 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine. The director – who himself has had troubles with Putin – was able to leave the country and eventually complete...
Based on the best-selling book by Emmanuelle Carrere, “Limonov” delves into the story of its titular character who lived many lives. He was an underground writer in the Soviet Union who escaped to the U.S. where he became a punk-poet and also a butler to a millionaire in Manhattan. “Eddie” then became a literary sensation in Paris before returning to Russia where he morphed into a charismatic dissident party leader with rock star status, only to be incarcerated by Vladimir Putin.
Serebrennikov was shooting “Limonov” in Moscow on Feb. 24, 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine. The director – who himself has had troubles with Putin – was able to leave the country and eventually complete...
- 5/19/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Reviews will have to wait till the Cannes Film Festival kicks off on May 14, but it’s not too early for a critic to weigh in on this year’s lineup — or how it looks on paper, at least, and what the selection might say about the state of things.
At the top of the press conference, festival director Thierry Frémaux noted that last year would be a tough edition to top. The two big winners of the 2023 competition, “Anatomy of a Fall” and “Zone of Interest,” went on to score Oscar best picture nominations, alongside Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon.” The festival made strides toward gender parity, with nearly a third of the films in competition directed by women. And to complicate matters, Hollywood has since been hit by two production-stopping guild strikes, delaying films the studios might have sent to Cannes.
Judging by the titles unveiled today,...
At the top of the press conference, festival director Thierry Frémaux noted that last year would be a tough edition to top. The two big winners of the 2023 competition, “Anatomy of a Fall” and “Zone of Interest,” went on to score Oscar best picture nominations, alongside Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon.” The festival made strides toward gender parity, with nearly a third of the films in competition directed by women. And to complicate matters, Hollywood has since been hit by two production-stopping guild strikes, delaying films the studios might have sent to Cannes.
Judging by the titles unveiled today,...
- 4/12/2024
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Acclaimed auteurs Francis Ford Coppola, Yorgos Lanthimos, Paolo Sorrentino and Andrea Arnold are among the filmmakers set to compete for the coveted Palme d’Or at the 77th Cannes Film Festival.
A total of 19 features were revealed today (April 11) that will play in Competition at the festival, set to run May 14-25.
Rarely a festival to veer far from familiar names, the Competition line-up is dominated by directors who have been selected multiple times for Cannes.
They include US filmmaker Coppola with sci-fi epic Megalopolis, which stars Adam Driver and is set in a future version of New York City following a disaster.
A total of 19 features were revealed today (April 11) that will play in Competition at the festival, set to run May 14-25.
Rarely a festival to veer far from familiar names, the Competition line-up is dominated by directors who have been selected multiple times for Cannes.
They include US filmmaker Coppola with sci-fi epic Megalopolis, which stars Adam Driver and is set in a future version of New York City following a disaster.
- 4/11/2024
- ScreenDaily
Warner Bros.’ “Wonka” enjoyed a barnstorming second weekend at the U.K. and Ireland box office with £6.3 million ($8.09 million), according to numbers released by Comscore.
After two weekends at the top, the Timothée Chalamet starrer now has a mighty total of £18.4 million. In the process, the film staved off the challenge of Anime Ltd’s “Godzilla Minus One,” which debuted in second place with £816,891. That total was enough to make “Godzilla Minus One” the highest-grossing Japanese live-action film in U.K. and Ireland box office history.
In third place, in its fifth weekend, Lionsgate’s “The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes” collected £612,656 for a total of £15.8 million.
In fourth place, in its fourth weekend, Disney’s “Wish” earned £587,619 for a total of £6.6 million. Rounding off the top five was Sony’s “Napoleon” with £499,388 in its fourth weekend for a total of £12.4 million.
Warner Bros.’ “Saltburn” continued displaying...
After two weekends at the top, the Timothée Chalamet starrer now has a mighty total of £18.4 million. In the process, the film staved off the challenge of Anime Ltd’s “Godzilla Minus One,” which debuted in second place with £816,891. That total was enough to make “Godzilla Minus One” the highest-grossing Japanese live-action film in U.K. and Ireland box office history.
In third place, in its fifth weekend, Lionsgate’s “The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes” collected £612,656 for a total of £15.8 million.
In fourth place, in its fourth weekend, Disney’s “Wish” earned £587,619 for a total of £6.6 million. Rounding off the top five was Sony’s “Napoleon” with £499,388 in its fourth weekend for a total of £12.4 million.
Warner Bros.’ “Saltburn” continued displaying...
- 12/19/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Kirill Serebrennikov, the celebrated Russian playwright and director whose last three films competed at Cannes, is set to create and direct a sensual, gothic TV adaptation of “The Phantom of the Opera,” Gaston Leroux’s 19th century novel.
Serebrennikov’s TV debut, the subversive six-part miniseries will be shot in English and is being produced by Aude Albano at Pathé, in association with Ilya Stewart at Hype Studios. The latter has collaborated with Serebrennikov on his critically acclaimed movies, including “Leto,” “Petrov’s Flu” and “Tchaikovsky’s Wife,” all of which have played at Cannes.
Described as a “riveting psychological thriller with horrific undertones” by the production team, the story of “The Phantom of the Opera” revolves around an up-and-coming artist, Christine Daaé, who becomes the obsession of a disfigured musical genius, a monster haunting the Paris Opera House. Known as the Phantom of the Opera, the maleficent figure is a controlling,...
Serebrennikov’s TV debut, the subversive six-part miniseries will be shot in English and is being produced by Aude Albano at Pathé, in association with Ilya Stewart at Hype Studios. The latter has collaborated with Serebrennikov on his critically acclaimed movies, including “Leto,” “Petrov’s Flu” and “Tchaikovsky’s Wife,” all of which have played at Cannes.
Described as a “riveting psychological thriller with horrific undertones” by the production team, the story of “The Phantom of the Opera” revolves around an up-and-coming artist, Christine Daaé, who becomes the obsession of a disfigured musical genius, a monster haunting the Paris Opera House. Known as the Phantom of the Opera, the maleficent figure is a controlling,...
- 9/6/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Kinology has come on board the highly anticipated next film of Russian filmmaker Kirill Serebrennikov, “The Disappearance of Josef Mengele,” based on Olivier Guez’s bestselling novel. Kinology is at Cannes to present the project to buyers.
Set to start shooting in a few weeks, the film is being produced by Charles Gillibert at CG Cinema (“Annette”) and Ilya Stewart at Hype Studios (“Tchaikovsky’s Wife”), Felix von Boem at Lupa Films, Arte France Cinéma, Mélanie Biessy with Scala Films, Forma Pro Films and Cimarron coproduce the film with Piano. Bac Films does French distribution and Dcm german distribution.
It stars August Diehl as Mengele, the notorious Nazi doctor who found refuge in South America at the end of WWII and was never captured. Mengele died in Brazil in 1979 without having been judged for his crimes. The movie will focus on Mengele’s fugitive years in South America, and will be...
Set to start shooting in a few weeks, the film is being produced by Charles Gillibert at CG Cinema (“Annette”) and Ilya Stewart at Hype Studios (“Tchaikovsky’s Wife”), Felix von Boem at Lupa Films, Arte France Cinéma, Mélanie Biessy with Scala Films, Forma Pro Films and Cimarron coproduce the film with Piano. Bac Films does French distribution and Dcm german distribution.
It stars August Diehl as Mengele, the notorious Nazi doctor who found refuge in South America at the end of WWII and was never captured. Mengele died in Brazil in 1979 without having been judged for his crimes. The movie will focus on Mengele’s fugitive years in South America, and will be...
- 5/18/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
First-time writer-director Malika Musaeva is set to make history at this year’s Berlin International Film Festival, where her female-centered coming-of-age drama “The Cage is Looking for a Bird” is the first Chechen-language film ever selected by the venerable German fest.
Musaeva’s debut, which world premieres Feb. 22 in the festival’s competitive Encounters section, focuses on a group of Chechen women living in a remote rural village, where they must defend their freedom and the right to live their own lives.
At the film’s heart is a friendship between two teenage girls, played by first-time actors Khadizha Bataeva and Madina Akkieva. On the precipice of adulthood, the duo seeks refuge in each other as they navigate difficult decisions about their futures.
“The Cage is Looking for a Bird” is produced by Hype Studios, the recently launched outfit of producer Ilya Stewart, whose upcoming slate includes new features from...
Musaeva’s debut, which world premieres Feb. 22 in the festival’s competitive Encounters section, focuses on a group of Chechen women living in a remote rural village, where they must defend their freedom and the right to live their own lives.
At the film’s heart is a friendship between two teenage girls, played by first-time actors Khadizha Bataeva and Madina Akkieva. On the precipice of adulthood, the duo seeks refuge in each other as they navigate difficult decisions about their futures.
“The Cage is Looking for a Bird” is produced by Hype Studios, the recently launched outfit of producer Ilya Stewart, whose upcoming slate includes new features from...
- 2/21/2023
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Producer Ilya Stewart has launched an independent studio based in Europe that will operate on a global scale, working with international talent and focusing on English-language feature films and television series, Variety can exclusively reveal.
Hype Studios is the new venture from Stewart, the formerly Moscow-based producer who in recent years has been a fixture at the Cannes Film Festival, where his collaborations with Russian auteur Kirill Serebrennikov, including “Petrov’s Flu” and “Tchaikovsky’s Wife,” have premiered in competition.
Among the co-productions with American and European partners currently on Hype Studios’ slate is Zach Wigon’s “Sanctuary,” starring Margaret Qualley and Christopher Abbott, which premieres as a Special Presentation next month at the Toronto International Film Festival and was produced with Rumble Films and Mosaic Films, along with Charades. Also on the slate is Pietro Marcello’s French-language “Scarlet,” produced in partnership with CG Cinéma’s Charles Gillibert, which opened this...
Hype Studios is the new venture from Stewart, the formerly Moscow-based producer who in recent years has been a fixture at the Cannes Film Festival, where his collaborations with Russian auteur Kirill Serebrennikov, including “Petrov’s Flu” and “Tchaikovsky’s Wife,” have premiered in competition.
Among the co-productions with American and European partners currently on Hype Studios’ slate is Zach Wigon’s “Sanctuary,” starring Margaret Qualley and Christopher Abbott, which premieres as a Special Presentation next month at the Toronto International Film Festival and was produced with Rumble Films and Mosaic Films, along with Charades. Also on the slate is Pietro Marcello’s French-language “Scarlet,” produced in partnership with CG Cinéma’s Charles Gillibert, which opened this...
- 8/25/2022
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
"Is it okay that we kidnapped a corpse?" Strand Releasing has unveiled an official US trailer for the Russian dark drama Petrov's Flu, described as a "deadpan, hallucinatory romp through post-Soviet Russia." This originally premiered at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival last year, and has been on hold for release due to the war in Ukraine. But Cannes brought back Serebrennikov this year to show his next new film (Tchaikovsky's Wife) so that sort of cleared his name (despite his connection to oligarchs) and now they're going to release Petrov's Flu finally starting in the end of September at a few select art house cinemas. The film follows a day in the life of a comic book artist and his family in post-Soviet Russia. While suffering from the flu, Petrov is carried by his friend Igor on a long walk, drifting in and out of fantasy and reality. Very trippy. This stars Semyon Serzin,...
- 8/5/2022
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Russian cinemas have responded to international sanctions over the war in Ukraine by going pirate.
After Russian President Vladimir Putin unleashed a brutal assault on Ukraine on Feb. 24 — a war officially dubbed a “special military operation” — hundreds of major western corporations, including the Hollywood majors, withdrew from the Russian market.
More than three months into the war, reports are surfacing about illicit screenings of Hollywood movies at Russian cinemas, with initial reports naming “The Batman,” “Red Notice,” Disney animation “Turning Red” and Michael Bay crime actioner “Ambulance.”
According to the Russian edition of Esquire, “The Batman” has been screened at Moscow’s Wip theater, as well as at Greenwich Cinema in the Urlas city of Yekaterinburg and at regional theaters in the Far East of Russia.
The latest reports indicate that pirate screenings are becoming more sophisticated in order to evade detection: a movie theater in Vladivostok, in Russia’s Far East,...
After Russian President Vladimir Putin unleashed a brutal assault on Ukraine on Feb. 24 — a war officially dubbed a “special military operation” — hundreds of major western corporations, including the Hollywood majors, withdrew from the Russian market.
More than three months into the war, reports are surfacing about illicit screenings of Hollywood movies at Russian cinemas, with initial reports naming “The Batman,” “Red Notice,” Disney animation “Turning Red” and Michael Bay crime actioner “Ambulance.”
According to the Russian edition of Esquire, “The Batman” has been screened at Moscow’s Wip theater, as well as at Greenwich Cinema in the Urlas city of Yekaterinburg and at regional theaters in the Far East of Russia.
The latest reports indicate that pirate screenings are becoming more sophisticated in order to evade detection: a movie theater in Vladivostok, in Russia’s Far East,...
- 6/6/2022
- by Nick Holdsworth and Vladimir Kozlov
- Variety Film + TV
Paris-based sales company Charades has closed a raft of deals on “Forever Young,” Valeria Bruni Tedeschi’s film which competed at Cannes and earned a warm critical welcome.
“Forever Young” opens at the end of the 1980s in Paris and follows a young troupe of comedians who have just have been admitted to Les Amandiers, the prestigious theater school headed by Patrice Chéreau. Bruni Tedeschi wrote the script alongside Agnès De Sacy and regular collaborator Noémie Lvovsky. “Forever Young” stars Nadia Tereszkiewicz, Sofiane Bennacer and Louis Garrel, among others.
The movie was acquired Filmin (Spain), Kismet (Australia), Belas Artes (Brazil) Lev (Israel), Cineart (Benelux), Panda (Austria), Weird Wave (Greece), Leopardo Filmes (Portugal), Cinemanse (Finland), Triart (Sweden), Megacom (Adriatics), Russian World Vision (Russia) and Skeye (Airlines).
“Forever Young” will be distributed by Lucky Red in Italy and Ad Vitam in France. Charades is in talks to close Germany. It’s produced by Ad Vitam,...
“Forever Young” opens at the end of the 1980s in Paris and follows a young troupe of comedians who have just have been admitted to Les Amandiers, the prestigious theater school headed by Patrice Chéreau. Bruni Tedeschi wrote the script alongside Agnès De Sacy and regular collaborator Noémie Lvovsky. “Forever Young” stars Nadia Tereszkiewicz, Sofiane Bennacer and Louis Garrel, among others.
The movie was acquired Filmin (Spain), Kismet (Australia), Belas Artes (Brazil) Lev (Israel), Cineart (Benelux), Panda (Austria), Weird Wave (Greece), Leopardo Filmes (Portugal), Cinemanse (Finland), Triart (Sweden), Megacom (Adriatics), Russian World Vision (Russia) and Skeye (Airlines).
“Forever Young” will be distributed by Lucky Red in Italy and Ad Vitam in France. Charades is in talks to close Germany. It’s produced by Ad Vitam,...
- 6/3/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Returning to its standard May slot for the first time in two years, the 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival has now concluded, with a familiar Swede taking home top honors. While our coverage will continue over the next week or so—and far beyond as we provide updates on the journey of these selections—we’ve asked our contributors on the ground to share favorites.
See their picks below, and explore all of our coverage here.
Leonardo Goi (@LeonardoGoi)
1. Pacifiction (Albert Serra)
2. Showing Up (Kelly Reichardt)
3. One Fine Morning (Mia Hansen-Løve)
4. Enys Men (Mark Jenkin)
5. Decision to Leave (Park Chan-wook)
6. The Fabric of the Human Body (Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel)
7. Eo (Jerzy Skolimowski)
8. Triangle of Sadness (Ruben Östlund)
9. Scarlet (Pietro Marcello)
10. Funny Pages (Owen Kline)
Luke Hicks (@lou_hicks)
1. Moonage Daydream (Brett Morgen)
2. Pacifiction (Albert Serra)
3. Eo (Jerzy Skolimowski)
4. Triangle of Sadness (Ruben Östlund)
5. Aftersun (Charlotte Wells...
See their picks below, and explore all of our coverage here.
Leonardo Goi (@LeonardoGoi)
1. Pacifiction (Albert Serra)
2. Showing Up (Kelly Reichardt)
3. One Fine Morning (Mia Hansen-Løve)
4. Enys Men (Mark Jenkin)
5. Decision to Leave (Park Chan-wook)
6. The Fabric of the Human Body (Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel)
7. Eo (Jerzy Skolimowski)
8. Triangle of Sadness (Ruben Östlund)
9. Scarlet (Pietro Marcello)
10. Funny Pages (Owen Kline)
Luke Hicks (@lou_hicks)
1. Moonage Daydream (Brett Morgen)
2. Pacifiction (Albert Serra)
3. Eo (Jerzy Skolimowski)
4. Triangle of Sadness (Ruben Östlund)
5. Aftersun (Charlotte Wells...
- 5/31/2022
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Ruben Ostlund’s raucous film wins top prize, with Grand Prix shared by Lukas Dhont’s “Close” and Claire Denis’ “Stars at Noon”
The film, an uproarious three-part comedy about fashion models, social-media influencers, class divides and projectile vomiting, is the second Palme win in five years for Swedish director Ostlund, who won for “The Square” in 2017. It is also the third consecutive win for U.S. distributor Neon, which took the top prize for “Titane” last year and “Parasite” in 2019. (There was no festival in 2020.)
The runner-up prize, the Grand Prix, was a tie between young Belgian director Lukas Dhont’s “Close” and veteran French filmmaker Claire Denis’ “Stars at Noon.”
Also Read:
‘Triangle of Sadness’ Film Review: Gross-Out Comedy Is Overlong and Understuffed
Park Chan-Wook was named the festival’s best director for “Decision to Leave,” his elegant cross between a murder mystery and a romance.
The best...
The film, an uproarious three-part comedy about fashion models, social-media influencers, class divides and projectile vomiting, is the second Palme win in five years for Swedish director Ostlund, who won for “The Square” in 2017. It is also the third consecutive win for U.S. distributor Neon, which took the top prize for “Titane” last year and “Parasite” in 2019. (There was no festival in 2020.)
The runner-up prize, the Grand Prix, was a tie between young Belgian director Lukas Dhont’s “Close” and veteran French filmmaker Claire Denis’ “Stars at Noon.”
Also Read:
‘Triangle of Sadness’ Film Review: Gross-Out Comedy Is Overlong and Understuffed
Park Chan-Wook was named the festival’s best director for “Decision to Leave,” his elegant cross between a murder mystery and a romance.
The best...
- 5/28/2022
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
In Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk’s Cannes title “Pamfir,” marking his feature debut, the carnival is fast approaching. His protagonist (Oleksandr Yatsentyuk) finally returns home, ready to do better this time. But when his child runs into trouble and there is no money, as always, there is no way but back.
With Indie Sales on board and produced by Bosonfilm, “Pamfir” is a co-production between Les Films d’Ici (France), Madants (Poland), Quijote Films (Chile), Mainstream Pictures (Ukraine), Wady Films (Luxembourg), Moderator Inwestycje (Poland), Studio Orlando (France) and Soilfilms (Germany).
“This carnival, malanka, is specific to western Ukraine. It’s like a game – there are rules,” says Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk.
While people sing, dance and fight, they also stage plays, returning to the concept of holy sacrifice.
“When it comes to this celebration, there is a sense of loss. You lose something and then later, it rises again. A bit like in Christianity or a bit like with our character.
With Indie Sales on board and produced by Bosonfilm, “Pamfir” is a co-production between Les Films d’Ici (France), Madants (Poland), Quijote Films (Chile), Mainstream Pictures (Ukraine), Wady Films (Luxembourg), Moderator Inwestycje (Poland), Studio Orlando (France) and Soilfilms (Germany).
“This carnival, malanka, is specific to western Ukraine. It’s like a game – there are rules,” says Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk.
While people sing, dance and fight, they also stage plays, returning to the concept of holy sacrifice.
“When it comes to this celebration, there is a sense of loss. You lose something and then later, it rises again. A bit like in Christianity or a bit like with our character.
- 5/28/2022
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
When Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began, director Maksym Nakonechnyi – whose debut feature “Butterfly Vision” world premiered in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard – was developing his next film – a comedy about flat-Earth conspiracy under the working title “The Earth Is Flat – I Flew Around It and Saw It.” But he is putting it on the backburner now, he tells Variety, because “this war has already changed everything.”
“I wanted to make something that wouldn’t be directly influenced by the war, but then I understood it would be anyway. When we studied Ukrainian literature back at school, we used to complain about all these depressing, tragic stories. Now, we are bitterly joking that our life is like this 24/7,” he says.
Instead, Nakonechnyi is shooting a documentary for dance music platform Resident Advisor about Ukrainian electronic scene, called “Ukraine Underground,” and developing a short documentary set in the Kyiv Zoo.
“Butterfly Vision...
“I wanted to make something that wouldn’t be directly influenced by the war, but then I understood it would be anyway. When we studied Ukrainian literature back at school, we used to complain about all these depressing, tragic stories. Now, we are bitterly joking that our life is like this 24/7,” he says.
Instead, Nakonechnyi is shooting a documentary for dance music platform Resident Advisor about Ukrainian electronic scene, called “Ukraine Underground,” and developing a short documentary set in the Kyiv Zoo.
“Butterfly Vision...
- 5/26/2022
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
In what is now the third protest to hit the Cannes red carpet during the festival, a group of Ukrainian filmmakers called out the Russian “genocide” in their country and challenged the world to not look away.
Filmmakers from the movie “Butterfly Vision” on Wednesday on the steps of the Grand Palais theater held a banner that read, “Russians kill Ukrainians. Do you find it offensive and disturbing to talk about this genocide?” Those involved also held up transparent squares in front of their faces that showed the online symbol of an eye with a slash through it, which on social media or the web generally warns of disturbing content that you must opt in to see. The filmmakers also wore T-shirts with the same message during their photocall ahead of the film.
“Butterfly Vision,” which premiered on Wednesday in the Un Certain Regard section and is directed by Maksym Nakonechnyi,...
Filmmakers from the movie “Butterfly Vision” on Wednesday on the steps of the Grand Palais theater held a banner that read, “Russians kill Ukrainians. Do you find it offensive and disturbing to talk about this genocide?” Those involved also held up transparent squares in front of their faces that showed the online symbol of an eye with a slash through it, which on social media or the web generally warns of disturbing content that you must opt in to see. The filmmakers also wore T-shirts with the same message during their photocall ahead of the film.
“Butterfly Vision,” which premiered on Wednesday in the Un Certain Regard section and is directed by Maksym Nakonechnyi,...
- 5/25/2022
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
The Cannes Film Festival has had its third red carpet protest in the space of a week.
On Wednesday, a group of Ukrainian filmmakers from the film Butterfly Vision took part in a demonstration by holding a banner that read: “Russians kill Ukrainians. Do you find it offensive or disturbing to talk about this genocide?”
The participants covered their faces with transparent squares depicting the crossed eye as seen in social media when content is deemed sensitive or disturbing.
The demonstration took place on the steps of the red carpet outside the Palais and follows two other demonstrations in the past week: one against sexual violence towards women in Ukraine, and another against domestic violence in France.
Hard-hitting Ukrainian film Butterfly Vision follows a female soldier who returns home from the front line after being held captive for two months to discover that she is pregnant after being raped by her warden.
On Wednesday, a group of Ukrainian filmmakers from the film Butterfly Vision took part in a demonstration by holding a banner that read: “Russians kill Ukrainians. Do you find it offensive or disturbing to talk about this genocide?”
The participants covered their faces with transparent squares depicting the crossed eye as seen in social media when content is deemed sensitive or disturbing.
The demonstration took place on the steps of the red carpet outside the Palais and follows two other demonstrations in the past week: one against sexual violence towards women in Ukraine, and another against domestic violence in France.
Hard-hitting Ukrainian film Butterfly Vision follows a female soldier who returns home from the front line after being held captive for two months to discover that she is pregnant after being raped by her warden.
- 5/25/2022
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
With the Cannes Film Festival abuzz ahead of the world premiere of Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis,” a mournful air raid siren sounded over the Croisette on Wednesday afternoon, serving as a somber reminder that the war in Ukraine has entered its fourth brutal month.
In a solemn protest outside the Salle Debussy, just steps from where Tom Hanks, Austin Butler and other stars of the “King of Rock” biopic were set to hit the red carpet at the Grand Théâtre Lumière, the Ukrainian filmmaking team behind Un Certain Regard player “Butterfly Vision” made an impassioned plea that the world remember their country’s suffering.
Standing on the steps of the Palais as the siren wailed – a nod toward the warnings that sound across Ukraine when a Russian attack is imminent – director Maksym Nakonechnyi, producers Darya Bassel and Yelizaveta Smit, and lead actress Rita Burkovska stood side by side with nearly...
In a solemn protest outside the Salle Debussy, just steps from where Tom Hanks, Austin Butler and other stars of the “King of Rock” biopic were set to hit the red carpet at the Grand Théâtre Lumière, the Ukrainian filmmaking team behind Un Certain Regard player “Butterfly Vision” made an impassioned plea that the world remember their country’s suffering.
Standing on the steps of the Palais as the siren wailed – a nod toward the warnings that sound across Ukraine when a Russian attack is imminent – director Maksym Nakonechnyi, producers Darya Bassel and Yelizaveta Smit, and lead actress Rita Burkovska stood side by side with nearly...
- 5/25/2022
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Russia may have been cut off from much of the international film community, but here at Cannes, members of the country’s media business are quietly trying to line up deals.
Nearly three months into the war in Ukraine, the leadership of the film festival has spent its opening week fielding questions about its stance on Russia. Festival chief Thierry Frémaux, for instance, was grilled over the inclusion of competition title “Tchaikovsky’s Wife,” a movie with financial ties to Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich. At the same time, Ukrainian filmmakers on the Croisette called for a total boycott of Russian film.
Despite the festival’s public posturing — Cannes has decided to ban state delegations and any Russians with ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin while allowing individual filmmakers to attend — Russian buyers are meeting with top sales agents at the Marché du Film. Their numbers are substantially down, but there’s...
Nearly three months into the war in Ukraine, the leadership of the film festival has spent its opening week fielding questions about its stance on Russia. Festival chief Thierry Frémaux, for instance, was grilled over the inclusion of competition title “Tchaikovsky’s Wife,” a movie with financial ties to Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich. At the same time, Ukrainian filmmakers on the Croisette called for a total boycott of Russian film.
Despite the festival’s public posturing — Cannes has decided to ban state delegations and any Russians with ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin while allowing individual filmmakers to attend — Russian buyers are meeting with top sales agents at the Marché du Film. Their numbers are substantially down, but there’s...
- 5/22/2022
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
George Miller’s gonzo and fanciful “Three Thousand Years of Longing” premiered at Cannes on Friday night has quickly become one of the more talked about films out of the festival thus far. And Miller and his stars Tilda Swinton and Idris Elba in a press conference Saturday encouraged the journalists in the room, as well as Hollywood at large, to continue telling unique, diverse stories.
Swinton in particular warned of the danger of only being exposed to one type of story. A question that began about the state of superhero movies led to an answer that evolved to have as much to do with Russian propaganda, as Swinton explained how “Three Thousand Years of Longing” — despite its fantastical premise — is so important.
“The thing that’s dangerous is when you have only one story. It’s when people can’t hear any other stories that things go down the tubes very fast.
Swinton in particular warned of the danger of only being exposed to one type of story. A question that began about the state of superhero movies led to an answer that evolved to have as much to do with Russian propaganda, as Swinton explained how “Three Thousand Years of Longing” — despite its fantastical premise — is so important.
“The thing that’s dangerous is when you have only one story. It’s when people can’t hear any other stories that things go down the tubes very fast.
- 5/21/2022
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
European Film Academy president Agnieszka Holland has criticized the Cannes Film Festival for welcoming a Russian movie to the main competition.
The Polish-born director – who fled to France in 1981 when Communist authorities imposed martial law – said now was the time to stand up to Russian aggression in Ukraine.
That demanded a total ban on Russian cultural products in Europe, she said in Cannes on Saturday.
The Academy Award-nominated filmmaker slammed the festival’s inclusion of Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov’s “Tchaikovsky’s Wife.”
“If it were up to me, I would not include Russian films in the official program of the festival – even if Kirill Serebrennikov is such a talented artist,” the 73 year old filmmaker said.
Speaking in Cannes at an industry roundtable on supporting the Ukrainian film industry at a time of war, Holland added: “Unfortunately my bad feelings were confirmed by his words. He used [the film’s festival press conference] to praise a Russian...
The Polish-born director – who fled to France in 1981 when Communist authorities imposed martial law – said now was the time to stand up to Russian aggression in Ukraine.
That demanded a total ban on Russian cultural products in Europe, she said in Cannes on Saturday.
The Academy Award-nominated filmmaker slammed the festival’s inclusion of Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov’s “Tchaikovsky’s Wife.”
“If it were up to me, I would not include Russian films in the official program of the festival – even if Kirill Serebrennikov is such a talented artist,” the 73 year old filmmaker said.
Speaking in Cannes at an industry roundtable on supporting the Ukrainian film industry at a time of war, Holland added: “Unfortunately my bad feelings were confirmed by his words. He used [the film’s festival press conference] to praise a Russian...
- 5/21/2022
- by Nick Holdsworth
- Variety Film + TV
Russian filmmaker Kirill Serebrennikov has premiered three films in Cannes competition, but walked the red carpet at the festival for the first time this week. In 2017, Serebrennikov was convicted by Russian authorities of an embezzlement scheme associated with his theater company and banned from leaving the country, a decision that angered human rights groups who alleged the charges were fake. When the sentence was lifted at the start of this year, Serebrennikov resettled in Germany while finishing his new drama, “Tchaikovsky’s Wife,” just in time for the film to play at Cannes.
Sitting on a balcony at the festival the day after his premiere, Serebrennikov said that even though leaving Russia meant that he had to abandon his 90-year-old father, Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine expedited the filmmaker’s decision to move away as soon as the law allowed for it. “If you live inside the war, and you...
Sitting on a balcony at the festival the day after his premiere, Serebrennikov said that even though leaving Russia meant that he had to abandon his 90-year-old father, Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine expedited the filmmaker’s decision to move away as soon as the law allowed for it. “If you live inside the war, and you...
- 5/20/2022
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Hello and welcome back to Deadline’s International Insider. If you’re not in Cannes enjoying the sun-soaked days and balmy evenings along the Croisette, allow us to provide you with everything you need to know, plus provide the lowdown on another big week in international entertainment.
Cannesdemonium
A matter of principle: Diana Lodderhose here reporting from Cannes. The 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival is well underway and the sun is shining on international delegates for what feels like a return to pre-pandemic days. Deadline kicked off the week with a bang with Andreas’ exclusive about Cannes demanding copy approval as a condition for interviews with its chief Thierry Frémaux. After sitting down with the festival head in Paris last month, our International Editor was asked by the Cannes press department to water down and remove certain quotes, including comments about Roman Polanski and a lack of female directors.
Cannesdemonium
A matter of principle: Diana Lodderhose here reporting from Cannes. The 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival is well underway and the sun is shining on international delegates for what feels like a return to pre-pandemic days. Deadline kicked off the week with a bang with Andreas’ exclusive about Cannes demanding copy approval as a condition for interviews with its chief Thierry Frémaux. After sitting down with the festival head in Paris last month, our International Editor was asked by the Cannes press department to water down and remove certain quotes, including comments about Roman Polanski and a lack of female directors.
- 5/20/2022
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Ukrainian industry players gathered in Cannes are determined to show they can provide a variety of new content, as well as stories that look beyond the current Russian invasion.
“I have been repeating this since 2014 — it’s a trap to be only associated with war,” says producer Julia Sinkevych, now behind Marysia Nikitiuk’s upcoming feature “Lucky Girl.”
Presented at the Cannes Market as part of the Ukrainian Features Preview, it shows a successful TV star who has everything, until she is diagnosed with cancer.
As noted by Ukrainian Institute’s Natalie Movshovych, several projects focus on the 1990s, including “When We Were 15” — awarded at Meeting Point Vilnius in April — “Do You Love Me?” by Tonia Noyabriova, Philip Sotnychenko’s “Lapalissade” and “Rock. Paper. Grenade” by Iryna Tsilyk, also behind festival favorite “The Earth Is Blue as an Orange.”
“We have to show as much range as we can now.
“I have been repeating this since 2014 — it’s a trap to be only associated with war,” says producer Julia Sinkevych, now behind Marysia Nikitiuk’s upcoming feature “Lucky Girl.”
Presented at the Cannes Market as part of the Ukrainian Features Preview, it shows a successful TV star who has everything, until she is diagnosed with cancer.
As noted by Ukrainian Institute’s Natalie Movshovych, several projects focus on the 1990s, including “When We Were 15” — awarded at Meeting Point Vilnius in April — “Do You Love Me?” by Tonia Noyabriova, Philip Sotnychenko’s “Lapalissade” and “Rock. Paper. Grenade” by Iryna Tsilyk, also behind festival favorite “The Earth Is Blue as an Orange.”
“We have to show as much range as we can now.
- 5/20/2022
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
One day after dissident Russian filmmaker Kirill Serebrennikov’s “Tchaikovsky’s Wife” premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, members of the Ukrainian film industry took to the Croisette to call for a total boycott of Russian movie. Meanwhile, just steps away in the Palais des Festivals, the director’s long-awaited return to cinema’s grandest stage was overshadowed by questions about the festival’s controversial selection and over the film’s financial ties to Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.
Speaking at a politically charged press conference on Thursday, Serebrennikov described Russia’s war in Ukraine as a “total catastrophe” but rejected calls for a boycott of Russian film. “I fully understand people who are calling for boycotts. I understand them because they’re so pained, so hurt by what is happening in the country,” he said.
But efforts to ban a nation’s culture, he added, were an “impossible” feat: “I believe we shouldn’t boycott language,...
Speaking at a politically charged press conference on Thursday, Serebrennikov described Russia’s war in Ukraine as a “total catastrophe” but rejected calls for a boycott of Russian film. “I fully understand people who are calling for boycotts. I understand them because they’re so pained, so hurt by what is happening in the country,” he said.
But efforts to ban a nation’s culture, he added, were an “impossible” feat: “I believe we shouldn’t boycott language,...
- 5/19/2022
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
“I don’t want to be a symbol,” Kirill Serebrennikov told the New York Times earlier this year. Good luck with that. When Leto was selected for the Cannes Film Festival in 2018 the famed dissident director of stage and screen was still under house arrest in Moscow. He was absent again last year for Petrov’s Flu, owing to ongoing legal issues (dubiously charged with embezzling funds from his own theatre company); then in January, all of a sudden, he was free. Granted leave to direct a play in Hamburg, the Russian artist has stayed there since.
After all those galas in absentia, Serebrennikov is finally here, traveling to Cannes this week with Tchaikovsky’s Wife, a film that throws a sidelong glance at the challenges Russian artists have always had to accept. It was pointedly chosen as the first competition film to screen this year, premiering one day after...
After all those galas in absentia, Serebrennikov is finally here, traveling to Cannes this week with Tchaikovsky’s Wife, a film that throws a sidelong glance at the challenges Russian artists have always had to accept. It was pointedly chosen as the first competition film to screen this year, premiering one day after...
- 5/19/2022
- by Rory O'Connor
- The Film Stage
Like the burst of a roaring drag race, Lola Quivoron’s first feature “Rodeo” will shake you out of your seat with its angry, kinetic force as it follows a young woman who forces her way into a street gang that rides motorbikes (hard), steals and lives on the edge.
Playing in the “Un Certain Regard” section of the Cannes Film Festival, the film premiered to a lengthy standing ovation on Thursday, with the jury joined by a sprawling cast made up mostly of the men of the “B-More” crew who fix, steal and ride bikes as a full-time obsession.
The French director moves her camera right up close into the face of her protagonist, newcomer Julie Ledru (“Julia”), a wild child with a face of world-worn injury and unruly hair to match. In the opening scene. she is like an uncaged animal, racing along the hallways of her rundown public housing building,...
Playing in the “Un Certain Regard” section of the Cannes Film Festival, the film premiered to a lengthy standing ovation on Thursday, with the jury joined by a sprawling cast made up mostly of the men of the “B-More” crew who fix, steal and ride bikes as a full-time obsession.
The French director moves her camera right up close into the face of her protagonist, newcomer Julie Ledru (“Julia”), a wild child with a face of world-worn injury and unruly hair to match. In the opening scene. she is like an uncaged animal, racing along the hallways of her rundown public housing building,...
- 5/19/2022
- by Sharon Waxman
- The Wrap
Bleecker Street has acquired the U.S. rights to Alice Troughton’s “The Tutor,” an upcoming drama and thriller that has Julie Delpy, Richard E. Grant and Daryl McCormack attached to star.
Troughton (“Baghdad Central”) will make her feature directorial debut on “The Tutor,” and the film plans to start shooting in Hamburg, Germany, on June 13, with Bleecker Street planning a 2023 theatrical release for the film.
“The Tutor” follows an aspiring young author, hungry for recognition and success, who takes a tutoring position at a legendary writer’s estate. Soon the young tutor realizes he is engulfed in his hero’s complicated family legacy which holds a deadly past and threatens his own future. The film is a high-class thriller, examining class, ambition and the lengths people will go to achieve – and cling to – social status.
Alex MacKeith wrote the screenplay.
Also Read:
Cannes Film Market Seeks a New Normal...
Troughton (“Baghdad Central”) will make her feature directorial debut on “The Tutor,” and the film plans to start shooting in Hamburg, Germany, on June 13, with Bleecker Street planning a 2023 theatrical release for the film.
“The Tutor” follows an aspiring young author, hungry for recognition and success, who takes a tutoring position at a legendary writer’s estate. Soon the young tutor realizes he is engulfed in his hero’s complicated family legacy which holds a deadly past and threatens his own future. The film is a high-class thriller, examining class, ambition and the lengths people will go to achieve – and cling to – social status.
Alex MacKeith wrote the screenplay.
Also Read:
Cannes Film Market Seeks a New Normal...
- 5/19/2022
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Kirill Serebrennikov, the director of Cannes competition title “Tchaikovsky’s Wife” and the only Russian director with a film in this year’s official festival, on Thursday called for world governments to lift sanctions on a Russian oligarch and film financier who has been reported to be helping the Ukraine war effort.
The oligarch is Roman Abramovich, who is behind the film fund Kinoprime that helped to finance both “Tchaikovsky’s Wife” and Serebrennikov’s prior film “Petrov’s Flu,” among other Russian art-house films. Serebrennikov, who said he did not receive money from the state to make “Tchaikovsky’s Wife,” defended Abramovich’s work as saying that the films he funds are not propaganda movies but are “rather the contrary.”
“We have to lift the sanctions against Abramovich,” the director said during his Cannes press conference. “He helps modern art, and he has for a long time now. He’s a real patron...
The oligarch is Roman Abramovich, who is behind the film fund Kinoprime that helped to finance both “Tchaikovsky’s Wife” and Serebrennikov’s prior film “Petrov’s Flu,” among other Russian art-house films. Serebrennikov, who said he did not receive money from the state to make “Tchaikovsky’s Wife,” defended Abramovich’s work as saying that the films he funds are not propaganda movies but are “rather the contrary.”
“We have to lift the sanctions against Abramovich,” the director said during his Cannes press conference. “He helps modern art, and he has for a long time now. He’s a real patron...
- 5/19/2022
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Russian filmmaker Kirill Serebrennikov, whose film ‘Tchaikovsky’s Wife’ was screened at the 75th Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday evening, came out against Russia’s war on Ukraine. “No to the war,” Serebrennikov, who’s seen as a critic of Russia President Vladimir :Putin, said in Russian as he received a standing ovation for his drama, which is […]...
- 5/19/2022
- by Glamsham Bureau
- GlamSham
Dissident Russian film-maker Kirill Serebrennikov, whose film Tchaikovsky’s Wife received backing from the oligarch, has called for sanctions to be lifted
The dissident Russian film director Kirill Serebrennikov is calling for the lifting of sanctions on Roman Abramovich, one of the investors behind his latest film. The Russian oligarch, now trying to sell Chelsea football club because of financial restrictions imposed on on him by the British government, was a valuable patron of the arts, said the director.
Abramovich’s record as a sponsor of important cinema should be taken into account, Serebrennikov added, speaking at the Cannes film festival. “We have to lift the sanctions against Abramovich. He has been a real patron of the arts and in Russia this has always been appreciated,” the director said after Wednesday night’s premiere of his film Tchaikovsky’s Wife, which is in competition for the festival’s coveted Palme d’Or prize.
The dissident Russian film director Kirill Serebrennikov is calling for the lifting of sanctions on Roman Abramovich, one of the investors behind his latest film. The Russian oligarch, now trying to sell Chelsea football club because of financial restrictions imposed on on him by the British government, was a valuable patron of the arts, said the director.
Abramovich’s record as a sponsor of important cinema should be taken into account, Serebrennikov added, speaking at the Cannes film festival. “We have to lift the sanctions against Abramovich. He has been a real patron of the arts and in Russia this has always been appreciated,” the director said after Wednesday night’s premiere of his film Tchaikovsky’s Wife, which is in competition for the festival’s coveted Palme d’Or prize.
- 5/19/2022
- by Vanessa Thorpe
- The Guardian - Film News
‘Tchaikovsky’s Wife’ director defended receiving funding from Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.
Dissident Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov came out defiantly against a boycott of Russian culture at a Cannes press conference today promoting his Competition title, Tchaikovsky’s Wife, describing the boycott as “unbearable” and calling for an end to the sanctions on Roman Abramovich.
“Boycotting Russian culture strikes me as unbearable – Russian culture has always promoted human values, the fragility of man, the compassion one can have,” said Serebrennikov.
“Russian culture has always been anti-militaristic and anti-war, because war seeks to underdo what I have just listed. People who...
Dissident Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov came out defiantly against a boycott of Russian culture at a Cannes press conference today promoting his Competition title, Tchaikovsky’s Wife, describing the boycott as “unbearable” and calling for an end to the sanctions on Roman Abramovich.
“Boycotting Russian culture strikes me as unbearable – Russian culture has always promoted human values, the fragility of man, the compassion one can have,” said Serebrennikov.
“Russian culture has always been anti-militaristic and anti-war, because war seeks to underdo what I have just listed. People who...
- 5/19/2022
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
Production slated for September start in New Jersey.
Luke Evans will star in the upcoming crime thriller 5lbs Of Pressure which 13 Films has introduced to Cannes buyers this week.
Additional casting is underway ahead of an anticipated September production start in New Jersey on the story of a man on a quest for redemption who returns to his old neighbourhood to put his inner demons to rest while the brother of the man he killed seeks revenge.
Phil Allocco will direct from his screenplay and the producers are Zac Weinstein of Paint Night Productions and Tempest, Isen Robbins, Aimee Schoof of Intrinsic Value Film & TV,...
Luke Evans will star in the upcoming crime thriller 5lbs Of Pressure which 13 Films has introduced to Cannes buyers this week.
Additional casting is underway ahead of an anticipated September production start in New Jersey on the story of a man on a quest for redemption who returns to his old neighbourhood to put his inner demons to rest while the brother of the man he killed seeks revenge.
Phil Allocco will direct from his screenplay and the producers are Zac Weinstein of Paint Night Productions and Tempest, Isen Robbins, Aimee Schoof of Intrinsic Value Film & TV,...
- 5/19/2022
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Production slated for September start in New Jersey.
Luke Evans will star in the upcoming crime thriller 5lbs Of Pressure which 13 Films has introduced to Cannes buyers this week.
Additional casting is underway ahead of an anticipated September production start in New Jersey on the story of a man on a quest for redemption who returns to his old neighbourhood to put his inner demons to rest while the brother of the man he killed seeks revenge.
Phil Allocco will direct from his screenplay and the producers are Zac Weinstein of Paint Night Productions and Tempest, Isen Robbins, Aimee Schoof of Intrinsic Value Film & TV,...
Luke Evans will star in the upcoming crime thriller 5lbs Of Pressure which 13 Films has introduced to Cannes buyers this week.
Additional casting is underway ahead of an anticipated September production start in New Jersey on the story of a man on a quest for redemption who returns to his old neighbourhood to put his inner demons to rest while the brother of the man he killed seeks revenge.
Phil Allocco will direct from his screenplay and the producers are Zac Weinstein of Paint Night Productions and Tempest, Isen Robbins, Aimee Schoof of Intrinsic Value Film & TV,...
- 5/19/2022
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Kirill Serebrennikov’s biographical drama received an average of 2.3.
Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov’s Tchaikovsky’s Wife is the first title to take its place on Screen’s 2022 Cannes jury grid, dividing our critics.
The 19th-century biographical drama following the explosive relationship of Pyotr Tchaikovsky and his wife Antonina Miliukova received an average of 2.3 (with two reviews still outstanding), with five critics awarding it two (average).
Postif’s Michel Ciment awarded the film top marks with four stars (excellent) but The Telegraph critics Tim Robey and Robbie Collin gave it one star (poor).
Serebrennikov’s previous film Petrov’s Flu scored 2.3 on the 2021 Cannes jury grid,...
Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov’s Tchaikovsky’s Wife is the first title to take its place on Screen’s 2022 Cannes jury grid, dividing our critics.
The 19th-century biographical drama following the explosive relationship of Pyotr Tchaikovsky and his wife Antonina Miliukova received an average of 2.3 (with two reviews still outstanding), with five critics awarding it two (average).
Postif’s Michel Ciment awarded the film top marks with four stars (excellent) but The Telegraph critics Tim Robey and Robbie Collin gave it one star (poor).
Serebrennikov’s previous film Petrov’s Flu scored 2.3 on the 2021 Cannes jury grid,...
- 5/19/2022
- by Melissa Kasule
- ScreenDaily
Kirill Serebrennikov’s biographical drama received an average of 2.3.
Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov’s Tchaikovsky’s Wife is the first title to take its place on Screen’s 2022 Cannes jury grid, dividing our critics.
The 19th-century biographical drama following the explosive relationship of Pyotr Tchaikovsky and his wife Antonina Miliukova received an average of 2.3 (with two reviews still outstanding), with five critics awarding it two (average).
Postif’s Michel Ciment awarded the film top marks with four stars (excellent) but The Telegraph critics Tim Robey and Robbie Collin gave it one star (poor).
Serebrennikov’s previous film Petrov’s Flu scored 2.3 on the 2021 Cannes jury grid,...
Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov’s Tchaikovsky’s Wife is the first title to take its place on Screen’s 2022 Cannes jury grid, dividing our critics.
The 19th-century biographical drama following the explosive relationship of Pyotr Tchaikovsky and his wife Antonina Miliukova received an average of 2.3 (with two reviews still outstanding), with five critics awarding it two (average).
Postif’s Michel Ciment awarded the film top marks with four stars (excellent) but The Telegraph critics Tim Robey and Robbie Collin gave it one star (poor).
Serebrennikov’s previous film Petrov’s Flu scored 2.3 on the 2021 Cannes jury grid,...
- 5/19/2022
- by Melissa Kasule
- ScreenDaily
Returning to Cannes a year after his feverish drama “Petrov’s Flu” hit the Croisette, Kirill Serebrennikov can finally attend the festival in person after recently being free from years of house arrest. Debuting in competition, his latest offering, “Tchaikovsky’s Wife,” is a slow-burn historical drama that never manages to escape from being a bore despite its seemingly intriguing premise.
As opposed to channeling all of his energy into making a project entirely focused on the life and career of famed 19th-century Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky — “The Music Lovers” already exists for that — Serebrennikov instead, as the title suggests, puts all the attention on Antonina Miliukova, a music student who becomes fully consumed with her affections for Tchaikovsky and eventually marries him.
Continue reading ‘Tchaikovsky’s Wife’ Review: Kirill Serebrennikov’s Historical Melodrama Is a Repetitive Tale Of A Toxic Marriage [Cannes] at The Playlist.
As opposed to channeling all of his energy into making a project entirely focused on the life and career of famed 19th-century Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky — “The Music Lovers” already exists for that — Serebrennikov instead, as the title suggests, puts all the attention on Antonina Miliukova, a music student who becomes fully consumed with her affections for Tchaikovsky and eventually marries him.
Continue reading ‘Tchaikovsky’s Wife’ Review: Kirill Serebrennikov’s Historical Melodrama Is a Repetitive Tale Of A Toxic Marriage [Cannes] at The Playlist.
- 5/18/2022
- by Jihane Bousfiha
- The Playlist
By the time Tom Cruise arrived at the Cannes Film Festival for “Top Gun: Maverick,” a movie originally supposed to play at the festival two years ago, he had the seventh “Mission: Impossible” in the bag. Opening night entry “Final Cut” may be the first film from “The Artist” director Michel Hazanavicius since the pandemic hit, but it won’t be the last, as he’s already in post-production on the animated Holocaust drama “The Most Precious of Cargoes.” Russian filmmaker Kirill Serebrennikov finally arrived in Cannes following years of house arrest in the country to premiere “Tchaikovsky’s Wife,” but he’s already halfway through a new production about a Russian exile starring Ben Whishaw.
Seemingly everywhere at this year’s festival are reminders of a global film industry clawing its way back after two horrible pandemic years. Projects started ramping up in recent months, with Cannes arriving right as...
Seemingly everywhere at this year’s festival are reminders of a global film industry clawing its way back after two horrible pandemic years. Projects started ramping up in recent months, with Cannes arriving right as...
- 5/18/2022
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
When Tom Cruise landed his first starring role in 1981’s “Taps” opposite George C. Scott, he told the crowd at Cannes on Wednesday that he remembers thinking, “Please, if I could just do this for the rest of my life, I will never take it for granted.”
Over 40 years later, Cruise hasn’t stopped running, on screen or head-first into every public appearance to celebrate how much he loves the movies. And he found a good audience when he was given a career retrospective on Wednesday ahead of the Cannes premiere of “Top Gun: Maverick,” taking the moment to champion the theatrical experience and explain what makes a movie that can only be seen on the big screen.
When Cruise was asked if he ever considered moving “Maverick” to streaming after it was delayed for nearly two years during the pandemic, he replied, “Never gonna happen.” And he further boasted...
Over 40 years later, Cruise hasn’t stopped running, on screen or head-first into every public appearance to celebrate how much he loves the movies. And he found a good audience when he was given a career retrospective on Wednesday ahead of the Cannes premiere of “Top Gun: Maverick,” taking the moment to champion the theatrical experience and explain what makes a movie that can only be seen on the big screen.
When Cruise was asked if he ever considered moving “Maverick” to streaming after it was delayed for nearly two years during the pandemic, he replied, “Never gonna happen.” And he further boasted...
- 5/18/2022
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
The Cannes Film Festival has been careful to steer clear of Russian participation this year, barring “official Russian delegations” and “anyone linked to the Russian government” and also declining to credential many Russian journalists. That puts a clear focus on director Kirill Serebrennikov, whose “Tchaikovsky’s Wife” is the only Russian film in the festival’s official selection.
And when you consider that Serebrennikov had publicly criticized Vladimir Putin’s government in the past and had been placed under house arrest on what some say were trumped-up fraud charges, you’d figure that his presence in the festival probably means that he’s bringing a film that wags a finger at the country where he no longer lives.
But instead, “Tchaikovsky’s Wife,” which premiered on Wednesday as part of the festival’s Main Competition, is set in the late 19th century, toward the end of a different Russian empire, which means...
And when you consider that Serebrennikov had publicly criticized Vladimir Putin’s government in the past and had been placed under house arrest on what some say were trumped-up fraud charges, you’d figure that his presence in the festival probably means that he’s bringing a film that wags a finger at the country where he no longer lives.
But instead, “Tchaikovsky’s Wife,” which premiered on Wednesday as part of the festival’s Main Competition, is set in the late 19th century, toward the end of a different Russian empire, which means...
- 5/18/2022
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
With Ken Russell’s madly over-the-top The Music Lovers reassuringly tucked in dusty attic corners after 52 years, a fresh and notably inspired take on Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s fraught marriage arrives in the churningly emotional and visually rich Tchaikovsky’s Wife.
Director Kirill Serebrennikov, whose most recent films were Leto and Petrov’s Flu, is currently in exile from his homeland following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Additional ill will at home surrounding the prominent theater and opera director’s new work stems from its exploration of the composer’s gay leanings, an officially taboo subject locally but one that will stir interest among significant audiences internationally.
By all accounts, Tchaikovsky’s intimate life was fraught, complicated and likely rooted in a need to at least appear to adhere to convention. Almost at once, the film pulls you into to swirl of musically driven movement, emotional instability and highly focused desire...
Director Kirill Serebrennikov, whose most recent films were Leto and Petrov’s Flu, is currently in exile from his homeland following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Additional ill will at home surrounding the prominent theater and opera director’s new work stems from its exploration of the composer’s gay leanings, an officially taboo subject locally but one that will stir interest among significant audiences internationally.
By all accounts, Tchaikovsky’s intimate life was fraught, complicated and likely rooted in a need to at least appear to adhere to convention. Almost at once, the film pulls you into to swirl of musically driven movement, emotional instability and highly focused desire...
- 5/18/2022
- by Todd McCarthy
- Deadline Film + TV
Back when art-house movies played full-time in art houses, “Tchaikovsky’s Wife,” at least on paper, might have seemed a film of middlebrow commercial hooks — the sort of movie that would have slipped into the Lincoln Plaza Cinemas in New York and played there comfortably for a month or so. The first hook, of course, is Tchaikovsky himself, the Russian composer who created works of such timeless and popular beauty that he is always in danger, in an odd way, of being underrated, like the Spielberg of longhairs. Tchaikovsky’s short-lived marriage, to Antonina Miliukova, was both a disaster and a semi-scandal, but the time now feels ripe for a rediscovery of this tragic episode, which hinged on Tchaikovsky’s homosexuality and the fact that he agreed to marry as a desperate closeted strategic ploy. That the late 19th century was a time when even an artist of his magnitude could not live openly,...
- 5/18/2022
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Since co-founding Moscow-based production house Hype Film in 2011, Ilya Stewart and partner Murad Osmann – Variety Producers to Watch in 2018 – have grown the company from an award-winning commercial and music video producer into one of the most successful film production outfits in the country, thanks in no small part to their partnership with arthouse director and provocateur Kirill Serebrennikov.
After collaborating on his 2016 Un Certain Regard prize winner “The Student,” Serebrennikov and Stewart teamed up again on “Leto,” a rock drama which played in competition on the Croisette in 2018. Last year they competed again with “Petrov’s Flu,” a hallucinatory romp through a post-Soviet Russia in the grips of a mysterious flu pandemic.
Serebrennikov, however, was forced to sit out both premieres in the wake of his house arrest – and a subsequent travel ban – stemming from a 2017 charge of embezzlement that his supporters say was fabricated. Walking the red carpet ahead of the “Petrov’s Flu” debut,...
After collaborating on his 2016 Un Certain Regard prize winner “The Student,” Serebrennikov and Stewart teamed up again on “Leto,” a rock drama which played in competition on the Croisette in 2018. Last year they competed again with “Petrov’s Flu,” a hallucinatory romp through a post-Soviet Russia in the grips of a mysterious flu pandemic.
Serebrennikov, however, was forced to sit out both premieres in the wake of his house arrest – and a subsequent travel ban – stemming from a 2017 charge of embezzlement that his supporters say was fabricated. Walking the red carpet ahead of the “Petrov’s Flu” debut,...
- 5/18/2022
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Despite widespread calls to boycott Russian cinema in the wake of the Ukraine invasion, the Cannes Film Festival struck an uneasy compromise by banning state delegations and Russians with ties to President Vladimir Putin while allowing individual filmmakers to attend.
It’s a decision iconoclastic Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov was quick to support on the eve of the world premiere of his latest feature, “Tchaikovsky’s Wife,” which bows in competition on May 18.
The director was a no-show at his last two Cannes premieres due in no small part to a history of provocation and dissent against the Russian government. But Serebrennikov – who after a nearly five-year legal ordeal learned on March 28 that he could leave Russia a free man – insists that the type of subversive cinema he creates should be separated from pro-Kremlin propaganda and the “paranoid ideology” of the Putin regime.
“Russian culture is about the fragility of life.
It’s a decision iconoclastic Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov was quick to support on the eve of the world premiere of his latest feature, “Tchaikovsky’s Wife,” which bows in competition on May 18.
The director was a no-show at his last two Cannes premieres due in no small part to a history of provocation and dissent against the Russian government. But Serebrennikov – who after a nearly five-year legal ordeal learned on March 28 that he could leave Russia a free man – insists that the type of subversive cinema he creates should be separated from pro-Kremlin propaganda and the “paranoid ideology” of the Putin regime.
“Russian culture is about the fragility of life.
- 5/18/2022
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
The Cannes Film Festival is best-known for its lavish parties and stunning red carpets, but the celebration of cinema has also often been colored by political concerns. This year, promises to be an unusually turbulent one.
After all, filmmakers, studio executives and movie lovers are assembling in the South of France as the specter of war in Ukraine and rising autocracies around the world threaten to overshadow the good times. Indeed, the loudest applause on Cannes’ opening night were reserved for Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, who made a special appearance via video link in which he invoked Charlie Chaplin’s “The Great Dictator,” a satire of Nazism, to remind the audience of the powerful role movies can play.
“Hundreds of people die every day,” Zelensky said. “Will cinema stay silent, or will it talk about it? If there is a dictator, if there is a war for freedom, again, it all depends on our unity.
After all, filmmakers, studio executives and movie lovers are assembling in the South of France as the specter of war in Ukraine and rising autocracies around the world threaten to overshadow the good times. Indeed, the loudest applause on Cannes’ opening night were reserved for Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, who made a special appearance via video link in which he invoked Charlie Chaplin’s “The Great Dictator,” a satire of Nazism, to remind the audience of the powerful role movies can play.
“Hundreds of people die every day,” Zelensky said. “Will cinema stay silent, or will it talk about it? If there is a dictator, if there is a war for freedom, again, it all depends on our unity.
- 5/18/2022
- by Brent Lang and Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
On March 15, less than three weeks removed from his country’s invasion of Ukraine, Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu drafted a letter to the Minister of Culture demanding the film and TV work of Ukrainian actor-turned-wartime-President Volodymyr Zelensky be “removed from the cultural agenda of the Russian Federation,” citing efforts to rally the public behind President Vladimir Putin’s war of aggression.
Also mentioned in his complaint: two-time Oscar nominee Alexander Rodnyansky, the Kyiv-born producer who has called Russia home for two decades.
Rodnyansky had already fled the country. On March 1, he was tipped off by a friend that his opposition to the Ukraine war had landed him in the government’s crosshairs. Rodnyansky and his wife left the same day. “I cut off my business ties with Russia,” the producer told Variety. “I left behind everything. The company, the house, everything. Everything that I had.”
For the past two months,...
Also mentioned in his complaint: two-time Oscar nominee Alexander Rodnyansky, the Kyiv-born producer who has called Russia home for two decades.
Rodnyansky had already fled the country. On March 1, he was tipped off by a friend that his opposition to the Ukraine war had landed him in the government’s crosshairs. Rodnyansky and his wife left the same day. “I cut off my business ties with Russia,” the producer told Variety. “I left behind everything. The company, the house, everything. Everything that I had.”
For the past two months,...
- 5/17/2022
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Cannes Film Festival chief Thierry Frémaux took part in a ‘meet the press’ session with journalists in Cannes yesterday afternoon.
The long-time chief was asked multiple questions about the festival’s stance towards Russia and about Deadline’s censorship story from yesterday.
Given that the festival has a ban on Russian journalists from pro-Putin publications and on state-sponsored Russian delegations, he was asked the extent to which Cannes was concerned about the sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich being a financier of Competition film Tchaikovsky’s Wife (whose director Kirill Serebrennikov is a Russian dissident).
Frémaux, who noted that he received five emails a day with questions on this subject, explained that the festival decided to accept the film because it was shot before the war against Ukraine, when receiving Russian money wasn’t problematic.
“The film had already been shot, so that is the rule we decided to follow,” the festival...
The long-time chief was asked multiple questions about the festival’s stance towards Russia and about Deadline’s censorship story from yesterday.
Given that the festival has a ban on Russian journalists from pro-Putin publications and on state-sponsored Russian delegations, he was asked the extent to which Cannes was concerned about the sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich being a financier of Competition film Tchaikovsky’s Wife (whose director Kirill Serebrennikov is a Russian dissident).
Frémaux, who noted that he received five emails a day with questions on this subject, explained that the festival decided to accept the film because it was shot before the war against Ukraine, when receiving Russian money wasn’t problematic.
“The film had already been shot, so that is the rule we decided to follow,” the festival...
- 5/17/2022
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
As the war in Ukraine approaches a grim, three-month mile marker, and the Russian military continues its relentless onslaught, the harsh crackdown on domestic opposition by the Putin regime has left a beleaguered film industry pondering its next steps. Many Russian filmmakers fear they’ll have no choice but to toe the party line, or to flee a country that is increasingly being shut out of the international community.
Two-time Oscar nominee Alexander Rodnyansky, the Kyiv-born producer who has called Russia home for nearly three decades, left Moscow on March 1 after being tipped off that his opposition to the war had landed him in the government’s crosshairs. “I cut off my business ties with Russia,” the producer tells Variety. “I left behind everything.”
While a full-fledged exodus is not yet underway, many filmmakers are rethinking their futures. “I can’t see how I can be part of a [Russian film] community...
Two-time Oscar nominee Alexander Rodnyansky, the Kyiv-born producer who has called Russia home for nearly three decades, left Moscow on March 1 after being tipped off that his opposition to the war had landed him in the government’s crosshairs. “I cut off my business ties with Russia,” the producer tells Variety. “I left behind everything.”
While a full-fledged exodus is not yet underway, many filmmakers are rethinking their futures. “I can’t see how I can be part of a [Russian film] community...
- 5/17/2022
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
“It takes time for cinema to come into its own.”
Thierry Fremaux, delegate general of the Cannes Film Festival, has defended the lack of diversity in the 2022 lineup, including the near-total absence of Black filmmakers in Official Selection and the relatively few women filmmakers in Competition.
“It takes time for cinema to come into its own,” said Fremaux of the dearth of films by filmmakers from sub-Saharan Africa, at his pre-festival press conference.
He cited Un Certain Regard opener Father & Soldier as an example of a film from the region; the film is a France-Senegal co-production which shot in both countries.
Thierry Fremaux, delegate general of the Cannes Film Festival, has defended the lack of diversity in the 2022 lineup, including the near-total absence of Black filmmakers in Official Selection and the relatively few women filmmakers in Competition.
“It takes time for cinema to come into its own,” said Fremaux of the dearth of films by filmmakers from sub-Saharan Africa, at his pre-festival press conference.
He cited Un Certain Regard opener Father & Soldier as an example of a film from the region; the film is a France-Senegal co-production which shot in both countries.
- 5/16/2022
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Following the tragic passing of Gaspard Ulliel, one of the projects he was attached to has found a new actor. 1917 star George MacKay will now lead Bertrand Bonello’s The Beast alongside Léa Seydoux, Variety reports. Set to begin in August, the decades-spanning dystopian romance thriller is set in both Paris and California and will film in French and English. “Set in the near future where emotions have become a threat,” the synopsis reads, “Seydoux stars as Gabrielle, a woman who has finally decided to purify her DNA in a machine that will immerse her in her past lives and rid her of any strong feelings. But when she meets Louis (Mackay) and although he seems dangerous she feels a powerful connection to him as if she’d known him forever.”
After news broke earlier this year that Bong Joon-ho’s next film would be an adaptation of Edward Ashton...
After news broke earlier this year that Bong Joon-ho’s next film would be an adaptation of Edward Ashton...
- 5/16/2022
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
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