Katherine's Film Fest Blog

Considering the films I watched when I was at Cannes, I would say that the theme of this year’s films was the idea of culture in the face in a modern era. This year’s festival featured many young filmmakers who either are of multiple cultures or feel the need to explore what place tradition has in modern society. This idea was a prominent part of almost every movie I watched here. Probably the most notable example of this idea was Levan Akin’s And Then We Danced , which was Akin’s attempt to promote the celebration of Georgian culture, but remind young Georgians that they have an opportunity to redefine their culture. Inspired by the attacks on LGBT groups in Georgia, Akin decided to create a film that would inspire hope in the younger generation, rather than turn them away from Georgia entirely. In doing so he created a beautiful film about not only self-acceptance, but acceptance of one’s country and people as well. This duality of culture was prominent in other f

In a long tradition of the depiction of American life, director Kirill Mikhanovsky throws his hat into the ring with his new film, Give Me Liberty . The film follows a driver of a disability van in modern-day Milwaukee, and through portraying protagonist Vic’s day in the city, Mikhanovsky explores a deeply divided America in a nuanced and moving way. Chris Galust makes his acting debut as Vic, the woe-begotten protagonist of Give Me Liberty , as he suffers through the seemingly never-ending day at work. After the bus cancels on Vic’s grandfather and his grandfather’s friends, they demand that Vic takes them to the cemetery in his disability van in order to attend their friend’s funeral. Thus begins a zany ensemble comedy as Vic attempts to pick up his clients while keeping his eccentric, elderly passengers at bay. On the surface, the comedy itself is enough to propel this film forward. The culture clash makes for consistent gags in the first act of the film, but it also establi

Today was the last day, and it felt really weird that it's just over now. I woke up to get in line to see The Traitor , which was this really entertaining film about the Cosa Nostra bust in the '80s, one of the largest mafia arrests in Italian history. Honestly, it was just a fun movie, nothing really more to it than that, but I had a great time watching it. After that we had to go straight to the line for Portrait of a Lady on Fire (seriously though, where did all of these random people come from for the last three days? You had to get to every movie at least two hours in advance to have any hope of getting in), which was amazing . So happy I got to see it here, it was one of the top films I wanted to see. We came back to JLP for dinner and then went back to Cannes for the last movie on the beach. It was a movie about Jim Morrison (and The Doors but mostly him), and it was definitely an interesting approach to his life. I appreciated that it was not glorifying him at all,

I'm still pretty sick, but I still was able to see a couple movies today. I started the day seeing Zombi Child , and this is somehow the second zombie film that I have gone to...and I still really, really hate zombies. This movie was cool in the sense that it returned zombies to their cultural roots, but the protagonist was so odd and tonally the film was all over the place. Right after, we saw Give Me Liberty , which I really liked (I disagreed with some of the artistic choices) but no one else I saw it with did. That was pretty much all I did today, but I planned out the movies for tomorrow (the last day!!) and am hoping for a good day.

In his third feature film, Swedish-born Levan Akin returns to his familial roots of  Georgia in order to explore the issues faced by the Georgian LGBT community. And Then We Danced is an achingly sweet and thought-provoking film about self-acceptance in the face of external intolerance, all set against the backdrop of the deeply conservative tradition of the Georgian ballet. Levan Gelbakhiani is magnetic in his performance as Merab, the young Georgian dancer who falls for his new duet partner, Irakli, played by other first-time actor Bachi Valishvili. Both being gifted dancers, Gelbakhiani specifically shines in every dance sequence, selling the emotional arc of both the character and the film in every motion. Both leads captivate in their respective roles and deliver phenomenal performances. The direction and cinematography of the film take inspiration from the dancing on which it focuses, gradually changing throughout the film. It employs close angles and sharp cuts in the begin

One thing I've learned about myself during this festival is that I am amazing at rallying. Also, if I feel terrible, I have good karma. I woke up this morning, still not feeling great but considerably less nauseous, so I took that as a sign that I should jump back into the swing of things. And we got into the 11:15 screening of Parasite , so I got to see it after all! We had to get in line two hours before but after seeing it, it was so worth it. After the last couple of days I've had, seeing a film that was so amazing was just really what I needed. After that, Rachel and I went to Starbucks to work on our reviews. After working there for a while, Rachel got an update from the Cannes app that Leonardo DiCaprio would be presenting another one of his environmental documentaries in a special screening, so we last minute sprinted over to the Salle du 60 and got in and saw Leo and Orlando Bloom (as in, they were right next to us and there is a video somewhere of us looking like

So today was kind of a wash. I woke up pretty early (considering how late we were out before) to go see Parasite , but we did not get in. Not to be discouraged, we immediately went to the screening of Particles , a film I was going to see tomorrow. That was an interesting film for lack of a better term, and it definitely had cool aesthetics and concepts but I can't say the story made all too much sense. After Particles,  I had started feeling bad again so I went back to JLP to nap, only to realize that I might actually have a stomach bug or virus. I really wanted to go back to Cannes to see the 8:00 showing of Parasite , but after almost passing out trying to stand up I decided not to do that. I'm trying not to dwell on it because I will hopefully feel better tomorrow and we still have three more days of the festival (and Parasite is definitely coming to the states now, along with Portrait of a Lady on Fire , another film I didn't get to see), but it's definitely a li

TODAY WAS CRAZY. (It's almost three in the morning as I write this so...might be more liberal with my all caps who knows). I started the day seeing Lillian at 11:30, and this film was in the director's fortnight, but I could not for the life of me tell you why. It was supposedly a story about Lillian (shocking) but she had maybe three lines of dialogue while the film was actually about...something else. I honestly could not tell you. After that, I started to feel really bad so I went back to the apartment to go to sleep. Turned out I had a fever and was getting actually sick, so I decided not to return to the festival. However, I started to feel marginally better when everyone was getting ready to go back for the Queer Night at the AmPav. I honestly only decided to go because I've been trying to be more social. And right behind me in line was the entire cast and crew of And Then We Danced (will she ever shut up about this movie? Not at this rate because I have something

I woke up around 7:30 to go watch the first film of the day, And Then We Danced. And Then We Danced ? you ask. Have you not already seen it? ...yes, I have. And I love that film. Honestly it’s been the only film I’ve seen here so far that stirred any kind of need to see it again, so I did. I was going to say I saw it again just so I could take better notes and write a review (I am probably going to write a review), but really I just wanted to see it again, because I miss it.  And guess what? The lead actor sat next to me when we watched it. Did not know it was him until he left the theater. He was laughing at my reactions the whole movie. So that happened. Seriously one of the most amazing things ever, because this movie is a new favorite (if not the favorite) of mine, and to have that happen is just once in a lifetime for me.  After that, Rachel and I went to see Chinese Portrait , which we thought was a documentary but was actually a “cinematic painting.” Let me promise you,

Today was a good day. Most of the day was spent on writing my review - I had been struggling to write a review for A Regular Woman for around three days now, and then this morning I watched the 10:00 showing of Flawless , an Israeli film about high school beauty standards (among other things), and I suddenly was actually inspired and wrote a new review all today. I feel like this review was better than anything I could have turned in before because I actually had enough to say about this movie. It was a great film to follow Port Authority , as Flawless had some similar themes but it handled them so much better in my opinion. After finishing my review, I headed to the showing of Share  at Salle du 60. I had gone to the panel where Pippa Bianco, the director, had spoken, and I really wanted to see her film. It was a very realistic and great conversation piece, but I cannot say I enjoyed watching it. I am happy to have seen it, and I think its goal was to leave you unsettled, which it

Exploring the highs and lows of adolescence is far from a unique idea in cinema, dominating many beloved coming of age classics. Israel’s Flawless is no exception, the film being absurdist take on the pressures to fit in and find oneself in society. It is an approach so outlandish that it somehow works, and manages to be a thoroughly enjoyable and thought provoking film. Flawless , directed and written by Tal Granit and Sharon Maymon, follows the journey of three girls in high school who turn to organ harvesting in order to afford breast implants. The surreality of the film so deeply based in the emotional state of high school students, rather than any actual basis in reality, enhances our understanding of the characters and actually establishes the groundwork for the film’s true strength: its insightful exploration of the transgender experience in high school. Eden, the protagonist of the film, has just come off of her most recent move, all due to her struggles to find acceptan

Today was a mixed bag of a day. I slept in a bit after last night's late movie and showed up in time to get in line for the 12:30 panel at the AmPav on various distribution techniques. This panel was my favorite so far because that is actually what I want to do with my career. After the panel, I went back to the Marché to talk with exhibitors and work on my review. I missed the two movies I was going to see today due to some miscommunication on my part and other issues, but the Rima Das, director of Village Rockstars , talk was really great. Afterward, I decided on a whim to join others at the premiere of Port Authority , and she came with us. That was really cool until it was awkward, as she and everyone else loved the film except for me. I really did not enjoy most of it, but the film itself was well done (I had pretty major issues with the plot and script just from a social context). Overall though, it was a pretty good day.

This was my absolute favorite day of the festival thus far, and we still have eight days left. I started the day with an 8:00 AM screening of Atlantique. I thought the film was very well-made and interesting, and the score was phenomenal. I found the plot itself to be a little disjointed - the film focused on the romance when I was much more interested in the literal spiritual possessions happening around the town, but we mainly focused on the romance...for some reason. After Atlantique,  I went back to AmPav for the panel "Making a Global Village," about international cooperation in filmmaking. This panel was so enriching and fascinating, and I learned so much about coproduction with larger markets. Afterward, there was a panel with the American directors at Cannes, and that was a really inspiring panel creatively speaking, and just really motivational. After the panels, I grabbed lunch and headed to the 5:30 screening of Play , a French mockumentary film that was so swe

Cannes day three has hopefully been the start of me maybe knowing what I'm doing (we'll see). I went to a screening of a German film ( All My Loving ) I wanted to see at 11:15, which was actually very disappointing to be quite honest. There was a forty-minute stretch that would have made for an amazing short film, but the rest just dragged. Afterward, I explored more of the pavilions, and then begged for tickets for Rocketman with some of my classmates just to see what would happen. I definitely did not get any tickets, but I went to see A White, White Day  at 4:00 and it was fantastic. The whole cast and crew were in the theater for the viewing which was very cool. I ended up leaving after that screening just because I felt like I had done enough for the day, and I have been struggling to keep up with sleep and the festival, and I am planning on going to an 8:30 showing tomorrow.

First of all, day two started a bit slow due to day one. I overslept and barely made it to the Festival before 11 AM. However, the first screening I wanted to go to was at 1:30, so I went back to the Marché to explore more of the booths. I went up to the Lerins section of the Marché, and fell into conversation with the sweetest German woman from ARRI. She was happy that I spoke to her in German rather than English, and introduced me to the president of Hof Filmtage, the largest film festival in Germany after the Berlinale. Both of them were so nice, and told me to come back tomorrow, especially if I was struggling to get tickets to things I wanted to see. Getting tickets has not been much of an issue, however. Having a market badge means that I have not had any trouble getting into the buyer showings thus far. The film I saw today, Nur Eine Frau , was a German film that I had wanted to see for some time. It was a narrativized account of Hatun Sürücü in 2005, which sparked outrage thr

The first day at the Cannes Film Festival was absolute chaos, in the best way. I left the apartment in Juan-les-Pins at 8:45 to catch the 9:00 train to Cannes. Upon arrival, the entire Croissette was full of reporters and tourists. We got a spot outside of the Palais to beg for tickets for the opening premiere, The Dead Don't Die. After begging for a bit, I went into the Palais to go into the Marché, which was great to see the market and how different markets and movies were being pitched. After, I went to the talk with Eric Kohn from Indiewire, which was very helpful for this course and the overall approach to figuring out the festival for the week. After the Kohn talk, I got a quick lunch before returning to the Palais to beg for tickets. As there was not much going on today compared to the rest of the festival, I had decided to give it my all begging for tickets to the opening premiere. After a while, I felt a tap on my shoulder and found a woman looking for directions to the

In his second German-language film since the Oscar-winning Leben der Anderen , director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck crafts a visually stunning and provocative film about the power of art and memory, especially in the wake of extreme trauma and tragedy. Never Look Away (German: Werk ohne Autor ) follows thirty years in the life of Kurt Barnert (Tom Schilling), a famed artist loosely based off of the life of celebrated German artist Gerhard Richter. Through Kurt’s eyes, we watch some of the most significant historical moments of the twentieth century in Germany, a scope that only the most gifted filmmakers could capture. Beginning the film in a suburb outside of Dresden, child-Kurt visits a modern art museum with his aunt, Elizabeth. Regaled by an NS official about how these artists are an example of actions against the Third Reich, Kurt merely looks at all of the art with curiosity and a bit of trepidation. Right off the bat: there is an us and a them , only mi