The line-up for the 54th Directors’ Fortnight selection was announced this morning by General Delegate Paolo Moretti and his selection committee. On top of the previously announced opening night film, Pietro Marcello‘s “Scarlet,” he being the director of the well-regarded “Martin Eden” festival film, highlights from the films announced include Alex Garland‘s much-anticipated psychological horror “Men,” starring Jessie Buckley, a woman who retreats to the English countryside following the death of her husband.

Continue reading The 2022 Directors’ Fortnight Lineup Includes Alex Garland’s ‘Men,’ New Films By Mia Hansen-Løve, Alice Winocour & More at The Playlist.

It would be disingenuous not to begin this review by mentioning that, yes, Panah Panahi is indeed related to the titan of Iranian cinema, Jafar Panahi. Panah is the acclaimed filmmaker’s son, and besides going to film school, he has also worked on his father’s films, most recently co-editing his latest feature, “3 Faces.” The most cynical among us may not be surprised to learn that the opening sequence of his feature debut “Hit the Road,” playing in Directors’ Fortnight, alone contains more thrilling cinema than most other films at this year’s Festival de Cannes put together.

Continue reading ‘Hit The Road’: Panah Panahi’s Directorial Debut Is Thrilling Cinema & A Breath Of Fresh Air [Cannes Review] at The Playlist.

“Magnetic Beats,” the directorial debut from Vincent Maël Cardona, is one of the most exciting new features at this year’s Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes. And in the wake of the recent world premiere of the feature, we’re happy to offer our readers an exclusive clip from the new drama.

READ MORE: Cannes Film Festival 2021 Preview: 25 Films To Watch

The new Directors’ Fortnight film, “Magnetic Beats,” is a feature anchored by music and radio, but it’s also steeped in brotherly drama between its two lead characters.

Continue reading ‘Magnetic Beats’ Exclusive Clip: Vincent Maël Cardona’s Directors’ Fortnight Entry Follows A Pirate Radio Station In The ’80s at The Playlist.

What do fans of Sylvan Esso dance house remixes and Bob Dylan have in common? Almost nothing, you’d imagine, and you’d probably be right. But in Clio Barnard’s sweet, unlikely romance “Ali & Ava,” which premiered as part of Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight program, the two titular characters—both from opposite musical camps—learn to find common ground in each other’s preferences and more, to share in each other’s lives.

Continue reading ‘Ali & Ava’: Clio Barnard’s Unlikely Romance Strikes a Sweet Chord [Cannes Review] at The Playlist.

Like father like son, and just like that, there’s competition in the Panahi family for the best filmmaker.  Having studied cinema at the Tehran University of Art, then moving into the roles of assistant cinematographer and assistant director, eventually acting as a consultant, editor, and assistant director on his famous filmmaking father, Jafar Panahi‘s most recent films, Panah Panahi is making his feature-length debut, “Hit The Road.” Making its debut in the Director’s Fortnight sidebar of the Cannes Film Festival, “ “Hit The Road,” a road trip family film, looks rather fabulous too, a humanist slice of life drama.

Continue reading ‘Hit The Road’ Trailer: Jafar Panahi’s Son, Panah Panahi’s Feature-Length Debut Premieres In The Director’s Fortnight Sidebar [Cannes Exclusive] at The Playlist.

Following the COVID-19-driven cancelation last year, the Cannes’ the Directors’ Fortnight sidebar section returns in full force. Organizer Paolo Moretti and his selection committee have unveiled the official selection for the 53rd edition of the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs, and it’s full of great picks and several women filmmakers (Cannes only has four films by female filmmakers playing in competition). Notably, the biggest highlight is probably the world premiere of Joanna Hogg‘s “The Souvenir Part II,” the sequel to her British coming-of-age drama starring Tilda Swinton and her daughter Honor Swinton Byrne.

Continue reading Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight 2021 Lineup Includes ‘The Souvenir Part II,’ The Latest From Clio Barnard, Miguel Gomes & More at The Playlist.

No matter what, it appears the 2020 Cannes Film Festival—if a miracle happens and the event can actually still be held this year—will be a very different thing, entirely. Why’s that? Well, even with Cannes trying its best to create some sort of film festival this year, the parallel sections of the event—the Directors’ Fortnight, La Semaine de la Critique (Critics’ Week), and ACID—have decided the best course of action is to just cancel.

Continue reading Cannes 2020: Directors’ Fortnight, Critics’ Week & ACID Parallel Sections Announce Cancellation at The Playlist.

“Once the world was deliberate. Now, it’s randomness, and no one seems to mind.” These words, spoken by one of Kyle MacLachlan’s three characters (he is, yes, all the men in the film — more on this later) seems to gesture at the ethos of “The Staggering Girl,” a short film directed by Luca Guadagnino in collaboration with Valentino’s creative director, Pierpaolo Piccioli. In the “Call Me By Your Name” director’s own estimation, the short film’s stream of consciousness structure is meant to “capture the feel of memory on film” by layering stories “on top of each other.” The story of Francesca (Julianne Moore), a Italian-American memoirist who returns to Italy to care for her aging mother Sofia (Marthe Keller), intends to evoke this compressed, collapsed sense of memory through seeming randomness that is actually deliberate.

Continue reading Luca Guadagnino’s ‘The Staggering Girl’ Gestures At Consciousness Through Couture [Cannes Review] at The Playlist.

The official line-up for the 2019 Cannes Film Festival is out. And while many are still waiting to hear word whether Quentin Tarantino‘s “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood” will premiere or not—it’s apparently not entirely done yet and rushing to be completed on time—at least we’re getting some additional announcements while we wait.

READ MORE: ‘The Lighthouse’ & The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2019 

Today, Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight sidebar, the Quinzaine des Réal, as it’s known in France unveiled its line-up, and it’s quite stellar.

Continue reading Cannes Directors’ Fortnight Line-Up Includes ‘The Lighthouse’ With Robert Pattinson & Willem Dafoe & A New Luca Guadagnino Movie at The Playlist.

Last year was a fairly big year for John Carpenter. No, the legendary director didn’t have a new film hit theaters. Instead, his greatest creation, “Halloween,” was remade/rebooted/sequel-ized and went on to be one of the biggest hits of the year, earning a whopping $254 million worldwide. And because of that, Carpenter found himself in the public eye, yet again, giving some of the best interviews of 2018, and reminding everyone of his greatness.

Continue reading John Carpenter To Be Honored At 2019 Cannes Directors’ Fortnight With Golden Coach Award at The Playlist.

You can’t please everyone. And for filmmaker Gaspar Noé, that saying is especially true. The Argentine writer-director is known, over the course of his feature film career, to push boundaries. And that’s especially true with his latest film, “Climax,” which screened at Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes.

“Climax” screened recently and was one of the more divided films shown at the festival.

Continue reading Gaspar Noé Calls Directors’ Fortnight Big Winner ‘Climax’ His “Worst-Of Compilation” at The Playlist.

Savvy Cannes-goers know that while the Official Selection has some of the biggest hitters (and certainly has them this year) on the Croisette, the Directors’ Fortnight sidebar is often the home of some of the most daring and exciting cinema that any festival has to offer. Focused a little more on newer filmmakers (but not exclusively), recent years have seen the bow of excellent movies like “Divines,” “My Life As A Zucchini,” “Neruda,” “Green Room,” “Embrace Of The Serpent,” “Mustang,” “Arabian Nights,” “Girlhood” and “Whiplash” within the parallel selection.

Continue reading Cannes Directors’ Fortnight 2017 Line-Up Led By Claire Denis, Abel Ferrera, Sean Baker… And Dave Bautista at The Playlist.

The 69th Cannes Film Festival is officially here, so to close out our set of features about it (here’s our Ranking of the 21st Century Palme d’Or Winners, the Best Breakout Films From Un Certain Regard, and 20 Movies Booed At Cannes) we turn our attention to the smaller, but often more genuinely innovative sidebar, the Directors’ Fortnight (known locally as the Quinzaine).

Established in 1969 by the French Directors Guild (and therefore not part of the festival’s Official Selection which reportedly leads to a little friction between the two entities), the parallel festival, held simultaneously with Cannes, has hosted some of the most exciting talents to have shaped modern film culture.

Continue reading The 20 Best Breakout Films From The Cannes Directors’ Fortnight at The Playlist.

New Paul Schrader, Pablo Larrain, Laura Poitras Films Headline Cannes Directors' Fortnight Line-Up

Continue reading New Paul Schrader, Pablo Larrain, Laura Poitras Films Headline Cannes Directors’ Fortnight Line-Up at The Playlist.