Kodak, which had a momentous 2023 with more than 60 movies shot on film has gotten off to a promising start in 2024 with Luca Guadignino’s “Challengers” and Jane Shoenbrun’s “I Saw the TV Glow, which A24 released wide May 17. Upcoming releases include Jeff Nichols’ “The Bikeriders” and Robert Eggers’ “Nosferatu.”
Meanwhile, Kodak premiered 29 movies shot on film at Cannes. These include five features competing for the Palme d’Or: Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Kinds of Kindness,” Sean Baker’s “Anora,” Andrea Arnold’s “Bird,” Karim Aïnouz’s “Motel Destino,” and Miguel Gomes’ “Grand Tour.”
Additionally, four movies are featured in Un Certain Regard, and 16 titles across Directors’ Fortnight and Critics’ Week were captured on film. Meanwhile, 16mm film continues to prove its popularity and relevance, with 23 of the on-film titles at the festival choosing it as their capture medium.
This article was first published January 27, 2024. It has been updated.
Cannes 2024 Premieres ‘Kinds...
Meanwhile, Kodak premiered 29 movies shot on film at Cannes. These include five features competing for the Palme d’Or: Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Kinds of Kindness,” Sean Baker’s “Anora,” Andrea Arnold’s “Bird,” Karim Aïnouz’s “Motel Destino,” and Miguel Gomes’ “Grand Tour.”
Additionally, four movies are featured in Un Certain Regard, and 16 titles across Directors’ Fortnight and Critics’ Week were captured on film. Meanwhile, 16mm film continues to prove its popularity and relevance, with 23 of the on-film titles at the festival choosing it as their capture medium.
This article was first published January 27, 2024. It has been updated.
Cannes 2024 Premieres ‘Kinds...
- 5/27/2024
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
While there’s no out-and-out masterpiece this year, and at times more fun to be had watching the audience fighting, Sean Baker’s acid class comedy, Jacques Audiard’s drug-lord musical and India’s first Palme d’Or contender in decades are knockouts
“Which film is this?” the burly US critic asks twice, as the house lights go down inside the Bazin cinema. The first time he’s half-joking, the second time he’s in earnest. His immediate neighbours don’t know, or simply don’t want to tell him. But now the picture is starting, the festival ident is playing and everybody has settled except for this lone panicked critic. He stands in his row and implores the spectators. He says: “Can anybody please tell me what film I am in?”
What film are we in? Does it matter much any more? As the 77th Cannes film festival pitches into its final straight,...
“Which film is this?” the burly US critic asks twice, as the house lights go down inside the Bazin cinema. The first time he’s half-joking, the second time he’s in earnest. His immediate neighbours don’t know, or simply don’t want to tell him. But now the picture is starting, the festival ident is playing and everybody has settled except for this lone panicked critic. He stands in his row and implores the spectators. He says: “Can anybody please tell me what film I am in?”
What film are we in? Does it matter much any more? As the 77th Cannes film festival pitches into its final straight,...
- 5/25/2024
- by Xan Brooks
- The Guardian - Film News
The Cannes Film Festival will crown its Competition winners tomorrow night and the consensus seems to be building around a few titles.
All films have now been seen and it’s fair to say that things really heated up in the back nine. The Competition section took a few days to catch fire sparking rumor that this was unlikely to be a vintage crop of movies but Emilia Perez‘s bow last Saturday finally kicked the contest into another gear and since then multiple films have fared well among critics. There have been some notable highs on trade jury grids. The Palme d’Or winner is often not the movie with the highest final score on such lists but the impressively high numbers reveal a range of critically appreciated movies this edition.
One of the trends to emerge from this year’s lineup is the foregrounded position of women within the most buzzed-about films.
All films have now been seen and it’s fair to say that things really heated up in the back nine. The Competition section took a few days to catch fire sparking rumor that this was unlikely to be a vintage crop of movies but Emilia Perez‘s bow last Saturday finally kicked the contest into another gear and since then multiple films have fared well among critics. There have been some notable highs on trade jury grids. The Palme d’Or winner is often not the movie with the highest final score on such lists but the impressively high numbers reveal a range of critically appreciated movies this edition.
One of the trends to emerge from this year’s lineup is the foregrounded position of women within the most buzzed-about films.
- 5/24/2024
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Katherine Mallen Kupferer, one of the breakout stars of “Ghostlight,” has signed with Fusion Entertainment for management.
“Ghostlight” premiered at Sundance and will be released across the country this summer by IFC Films and Sapan Studios. A Chicago-based stage and screen actor, Kupferer last year had a supporting role as Gretchen in the film adaptation of Judy Blume’s “Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret,” which was directed by Kelly Fremon Craig and executive produced by James L. Brooks.
“Katherine leaps off the screen in both ‘Ghostlight’ and ‘Are You There God? It’s Me Margeret,” said Fusion Entertainment partners Chris Evans and Adam Kersh. “Even at a young age, she is an impressively versatile comedic and dramatic actor. We look forward to working with Katherine and helping guide her already promising career to new heights.”
Born to theatrical parents Keith Kupferer and Tara Mallen Kupferer, Katherine made her...
“Ghostlight” premiered at Sundance and will be released across the country this summer by IFC Films and Sapan Studios. A Chicago-based stage and screen actor, Kupferer last year had a supporting role as Gretchen in the film adaptation of Judy Blume’s “Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret,” which was directed by Kelly Fremon Craig and executive produced by James L. Brooks.
“Katherine leaps off the screen in both ‘Ghostlight’ and ‘Are You There God? It’s Me Margeret,” said Fusion Entertainment partners Chris Evans and Adam Kersh. “Even at a young age, she is an impressively versatile comedic and dramatic actor. We look forward to working with Katherine and helping guide her already promising career to new heights.”
Born to theatrical parents Keith Kupferer and Tara Mallen Kupferer, Katherine made her...
- 5/24/2024
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Illustrations by Maddie Fischer.As part of our Cannes 2024 coverage, we asked filmmakers and critics for their notes on anything but the films at the festival.Sign up for the Weekly Edit to receive exclusive reports from the Croisette straight to your inbox.Isabel Stevens (managing editor, Sight and Sound)Overheard at the festival: (on the Croisette) “Do you have time for a photoshoot with Jean-Claude Van Damme?”; “The security guard for this party said to my friend, ‘You have to wear heels. Flat shoes are not allowed.’”; “I think I need..maybe… $50 million”; “They are spending £370 million to send people to Rwanda. Can you believe that?”; (on the beach) “Is this the Atlantic Ocean?”; (at the security gates) “Is this a Camembert?”; (at parties) “I’m not going to thank my husband. He’s shite. But he does what he’s told.”; “I’m going to get ChatGPT to write my speech.
- 5/24/2024
- MUBI
The Cannes Film Festival is nearing its conclusion, with plenty of films making a splash on the starry Croisette on the French Riviera. However, one studio executive tells Variety, “There aren’t many Oscar-buzzy titles to be excited about, not even in the international feature space.”
This year’s main competition jury, led by president Greta Gerwig and including J.A. Bayona, Ebru Ceylan, Pierfrancesco Favino, Lily Gladstone, Eva Green, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Nadine Labaki and Omar Sy, will name its winners on Saturday.
It was looking like a foregone conclusion that the Palme d’Or win would be bestowed upon Jacques Audiard’s Spanish-language musical “Emilia Pérez,” starring Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez, and Karla Sofía Gascón, which was picked up by Netflix. However, on Friday, Mohammad Rasoulof’s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” garnered the most enthusiastic reactions on social media from attendees and the longest-standing ovation at 12 minutes. One awards publicist says,...
This year’s main competition jury, led by president Greta Gerwig and including J.A. Bayona, Ebru Ceylan, Pierfrancesco Favino, Lily Gladstone, Eva Green, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Nadine Labaki and Omar Sy, will name its winners on Saturday.
It was looking like a foregone conclusion that the Palme d’Or win would be bestowed upon Jacques Audiard’s Spanish-language musical “Emilia Pérez,” starring Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez, and Karla Sofía Gascón, which was picked up by Netflix. However, on Friday, Mohammad Rasoulof’s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” garnered the most enthusiastic reactions on social media from attendees and the longest-standing ovation at 12 minutes. One awards publicist says,...
- 5/24/2024
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Mohammad Rasoulof’s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” has a lot going for it on the way to a potential Palme d’Or win: strong reviews, an anguished political call-out against Iranian oppression, and Rasoulof’s own status as an exile who just fled his home country and was finally able to attend Cannes after all. (Read our interview with the director here.)
On the steps of the Palais for Friday’s premiere, Rasoulof held up photos of two of the actors — Misagh Zare and Soheila Golestani – banned from leaving Iran to attend the festival. He’s already shared how the Islamic Republic has been pressuring his crew into convincing Cannes to drop the film, which charts the breakdown of a family after a Revolutionary Court judge’s gun goes missing, from its lineup. This is Rasoulof’s first time in competition. He previously won prizes in Un Certain...
On the steps of the Palais for Friday’s premiere, Rasoulof held up photos of two of the actors — Misagh Zare and Soheila Golestani – banned from leaving Iran to attend the festival. He’s already shared how the Islamic Republic has been pressuring his crew into convincing Cannes to drop the film, which charts the breakdown of a family after a Revolutionary Court judge’s gun goes missing, from its lineup. This is Rasoulof’s first time in competition. He previously won prizes in Un Certain...
- 5/24/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
The 2024 Cannes Film Festival is underway with Quentin Dupieux’s The Second Act starring Léa Seydoux and Louis Garrel serving as the opening-night film.
This year’s lineup includes major Hollywood premieres like Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth, Kevin Costner’s first film of a planned four-part series Horizon: An American Saga, Francis Coppola’s long-gestating Megalopolis, Yorgos Lanthimos’ Kinds of Kindness in a reteam with Emma Stone, Paul Schrader’s Oh, Canada and Andrea Arnold’s Bird to name a few.
They are joined by new films from stalwart auteurs including David Cronenberg, Jacques Audiard, Ali Abbasi, Jia Zhang-Ke, Christophe Honoré, Paolo Sorrentino, Gilles Lellouche, Mohammad Rasoulof, Michel Hazanavicius, Guy Maddin, Noémie Merlant and Oliver Stone.
Read all of Deadline’s takes below throughout the festival, which runs May 14-25. Click on the title to read the full review and keep checking back as we update the list.
This year’s lineup includes major Hollywood premieres like Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth, Kevin Costner’s first film of a planned four-part series Horizon: An American Saga, Francis Coppola’s long-gestating Megalopolis, Yorgos Lanthimos’ Kinds of Kindness in a reteam with Emma Stone, Paul Schrader’s Oh, Canada and Andrea Arnold’s Bird to name a few.
They are joined by new films from stalwart auteurs including David Cronenberg, Jacques Audiard, Ali Abbasi, Jia Zhang-Ke, Christophe Honoré, Paolo Sorrentino, Gilles Lellouche, Mohammad Rasoulof, Michel Hazanavicius, Guy Maddin, Noémie Merlant and Oliver Stone.
Read all of Deadline’s takes below throughout the festival, which runs May 14-25. Click on the title to read the full review and keep checking back as we update the list.
- 5/24/2024
- by Pete Hammond, Joe Utichi, Damon Wise, Stephanie Bunbury and Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
by Cláudio Alves
Sean Baker's Anora looks like a top contender for the Palme d'Or.
After much divisiveness in the Main Competition, the Cannes critics finally have something to fawn over in collective uproar. Sean Baker's Anora was a hit with press and audiences alike, standing out in a selection of otherwise derided titles. Indeed, Christophe Honoré's Marcello Mio met critical rejection on the same day of Grand Tour's world premiere, while Paolo Sorrentino's Parthenope inspired another wave of dissenting opinions. Some love it, while many others decry the Neapolitan director's obsession with objectified female bodies, beauty above everything else, even cinematic meaning. Considering his last few projects, this shouldn't come as a surprise.
That shall be the theme of this Cannes at Home program—the beautiful people. Let's explore the siren calls of Baker's Tangerine, Honoré's The Beautiful Person, and Sorrentino's Oscar-winning The Great Beauty…...
Sean Baker's Anora looks like a top contender for the Palme d'Or.
After much divisiveness in the Main Competition, the Cannes critics finally have something to fawn over in collective uproar. Sean Baker's Anora was a hit with press and audiences alike, standing out in a selection of otherwise derided titles. Indeed, Christophe Honoré's Marcello Mio met critical rejection on the same day of Grand Tour's world premiere, while Paolo Sorrentino's Parthenope inspired another wave of dissenting opinions. Some love it, while many others decry the Neapolitan director's obsession with objectified female bodies, beauty above everything else, even cinematic meaning. Considering his last few projects, this shouldn't come as a surprise.
That shall be the theme of this Cannes at Home program—the beautiful people. Let's explore the siren calls of Baker's Tangerine, Honoré's The Beautiful Person, and Sorrentino's Oscar-winning The Great Beauty…...
- 5/24/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine As Light joins Sean Baker’s Anora at the top of Screen’s Cannes jury grid while Gilles Lellouche’s Beating Hearts lands bottom of the pack.
Kapadia’s debut fiction scored 3.3 from the critics including six four stars (excellent), equalling that of Anora. The Indian drama, the first from the country to compete at Cannes in over 30 years, received a further four three stars (good) and two two stars (average).
Click on the image above for the most up-to-date version of the grid.
All We Imagine As Light centres on two nurses with...
Kapadia’s debut fiction scored 3.3 from the critics including six four stars (excellent), equalling that of Anora. The Indian drama, the first from the country to compete at Cannes in over 30 years, received a further four three stars (good) and two two stars (average).
Click on the image above for the most up-to-date version of the grid.
All We Imagine As Light centres on two nurses with...
- 5/24/2024
- ScreenDaily
After a perilous 28-day journey fleeing Iran and setting foot in Germany, Mohammad Rasoulof has finally made it to Cannes, safe for now and cautiously eager for the premiere of his fourth Cannes feature, “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” announced by the festival a month ago as a late addition to the Competition.
The last images he takes away from his home — after just having two hours to make the monumental decision whether to be re-incarcerated for a harsh sentence that might still be extended, or to join the constellation of Iranian artists in potentially permanent exile — are the plants and flowers in his apartment, which he worried would have no caretaker. There was also a certain imposing mountain that he can view from his window. It’s there he can see the wall of Evin Prison, where he was last incarcerated in 2022 after speaking out against the government...
The last images he takes away from his home — after just having two hours to make the monumental decision whether to be re-incarcerated for a harsh sentence that might still be extended, or to join the constellation of Iranian artists in potentially permanent exile — are the plants and flowers in his apartment, which he worried would have no caretaker. There was also a certain imposing mountain that he can view from his window. It’s there he can see the wall of Evin Prison, where he was last incarcerated in 2022 after speaking out against the government...
- 5/23/2024
- by Ritesh Mehta
- Indiewire
It's always an especially exhilarating experience to stumble upon a film so completely unlike anything that has been made before that it leaves you on a cinematic high after walking out of the theater. At the midway point in the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, we finally get to experience the bliss of Anora, the latest film from American filmmaker Sean Baker. Anora is his eighth feature film so far, and he was already in Cannes in 2017 with The Florida Project (in the Directors' Fortnight sidebar) and again in 2021 with Red Rocket. This might just be hist best yet. France obviously loves him, but so does everyone else - this film has received the highest marks out of any in the Main Competition from all of the critics at this year's festival. The film's title is the name of the young woman who stars in the film, a young stripper from New...
- 5/23/2024
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Up to this point, Mikey Madison––the fearless, explosive 27-year-old lead of Sean Baker’s Anora––is best-known for her chilling turn as the deranged killer in the 2022 Scream reboot. Before that she was the shrieking Manson girl in the finale of Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood. (Remember the one Rick Dalton torches in the pool?) Beyond this point, however, the world will know her for Anora. And they will know her.
The stardom won’t be a gift handed down by Baker, the writer, director, casting agent, and editor of the outrageous Brooklyn-based sex-worker-meets-Russian-oligarch-family comedy (not to be read as “family comedy”; it is anything but) that turns the heavy drama up to eleven about halfway through. All a director can do is set their actor up for success and inspire confidence––provide the proper tools, framing, character prep, and rehearsal. Of course, as author of the project,...
The stardom won’t be a gift handed down by Baker, the writer, director, casting agent, and editor of the outrageous Brooklyn-based sex-worker-meets-Russian-oligarch-family comedy (not to be read as “family comedy”; it is anything but) that turns the heavy drama up to eleven about halfway through. All a director can do is set their actor up for success and inspire confidence––provide the proper tools, framing, character prep, and rehearsal. Of course, as author of the project,...
- 5/22/2024
- by Luke Hicks
- The Film Stage
Sean Baker is a filmmaker who likes to make films about the fringes of society. And many times, that includes a story about a sex worker, such as in “Tangerine,” “The Florida Project,” or his latest, “Anora.” It’s a world Baker feels is not only ripe with stories, but also serves a purpose in the grander scheme of things. That’s why his next movie will also center around a sex worker.
Continue reading Sean Baker Says Next Film Will Continue To Focus On Sex Work: “There Are A Million Stories To Be Told In That World” at The Playlist.
Continue reading Sean Baker Says Next Film Will Continue To Focus On Sex Work: “There Are A Million Stories To Be Told In That World” at The Playlist.
- 5/22/2024
- by Martin Miller
- The Playlist
If Mark Eidelstein’s career takes off in Hollywood, he can thank his decision to record a self tape of himself fully naked.
In Sean Baker’s raucous comedy “Anora,” the young Russian actor plays Ivan, the hilariously energetic, fast-living son of an oligarch happily spending his parents’ millions while decamped in their New York mansion who then falls in love with Mikey Madison’s Manhattan sex worker Ani. It’s a wild ride from start to finish, awash in drugs, sex, violence, gangsters, Vegas weddings and a lounge full of expensive ornaments getting smashed to pieces.
Put forward by Yura Borisov, his co-star on on Russian sci-fi “Guest From the Future,” who had just been cast as a reluctant heavy in “Anora,” Eidelstein was sent a script like nothing he’d ever seen before, littered in what he describes as “flash, flash, flash, bam, bam, action, action, action.” It...
In Sean Baker’s raucous comedy “Anora,” the young Russian actor plays Ivan, the hilariously energetic, fast-living son of an oligarch happily spending his parents’ millions while decamped in their New York mansion who then falls in love with Mikey Madison’s Manhattan sex worker Ani. It’s a wild ride from start to finish, awash in drugs, sex, violence, gangsters, Vegas weddings and a lounge full of expensive ornaments getting smashed to pieces.
Put forward by Yura Borisov, his co-star on on Russian sci-fi “Guest From the Future,” who had just been cast as a reluctant heavy in “Anora,” Eidelstein was sent a script like nothing he’d ever seen before, littered in what he describes as “flash, flash, flash, bam, bam, action, action, action.” It...
- 5/22/2024
- by Alex Ritman
- Variety Film + TV
Sean Baker’s Anora has stormed to the top of Screen’s Cannes jury while Paolo Sorrentino’s Parthenope divided critics and Christophe Honoré’s Marcello Mio scored the lowest of this year’s festival so far.
Baker’s latest feature received a solid 3.3 - the first film this year to score an average above three stars, overtaking last year’s jury grid winner, Aki Kaurismäki’s Fallen Leaves (3.2).
The US comedy-drama about a sex worker received six scores of four stars (excellent) and four marks of three stars (good). Critics Katja Nicodemus (Germany’s Die Zeit) and Anton Dolin (Meduza) were less convinced,...
Baker’s latest feature received a solid 3.3 - the first film this year to score an average above three stars, overtaking last year’s jury grid winner, Aki Kaurismäki’s Fallen Leaves (3.2).
The US comedy-drama about a sex worker received six scores of four stars (excellent) and four marks of three stars (good). Critics Katja Nicodemus (Germany’s Die Zeit) and Anton Dolin (Meduza) were less convinced,...
- 5/22/2024
- ScreenDaily
Anora writer-director Sean Baker has said sex workers should be decriminalised in a lively press conference on Wednesday.
“It’s important to experience what sex work is right now and how it applies to capitalist society,” Baker told a press conference after Tuesday’s well-received world premiere of his Competition film starring Mikey Madison as an exotic dancer who falls for the son of a Russian oligarch.
“It’s a career, a job, and one that should be in my opinion respected and at the same time decriminalised and not in any way regulated because it’s a sex worker...
“It’s important to experience what sex work is right now and how it applies to capitalist society,” Baker told a press conference after Tuesday’s well-received world premiere of his Competition film starring Mikey Madison as an exotic dancer who falls for the son of a Russian oligarch.
“It’s a career, a job, and one that should be in my opinion respected and at the same time decriminalised and not in any way regulated because it’s a sex worker...
- 5/22/2024
- ScreenDaily
Anora writer-director Sean Baker said sex workers should be decriminalised in a lively press conference on Wednesday.
The American writer-director was talking to reporters after Tuesday’s well-received world premiere of his Competition film starring Mikey Madison as an exotic dancer who falls for the son of a Russian oligarch.
“It’s important to experience what sex work is right now and how it applies to capitalist society,” said Baker. “It’s a career, a job, and one that should be in my opinion respected and at the same time decriminalised and not in any way regulated because it’s...
The American writer-director was talking to reporters after Tuesday’s well-received world premiere of his Competition film starring Mikey Madison as an exotic dancer who falls for the son of a Russian oligarch.
“It’s important to experience what sex work is right now and how it applies to capitalist society,” said Baker. “It’s a career, a job, and one that should be in my opinion respected and at the same time decriminalised and not in any way regulated because it’s...
- 5/22/2024
- ScreenDaily
Returning to the official competition for a second time, this is American indie filmmaker Sean Baker‘s third consecutive trip to Cannes after The Florida Project premiering in the Directors’ Fortnight in 2017 and Red Rocket (read our ★★★★ review) premiering in 2021 (the film scored an average of 3.5 with our jury). Shot (mostly) in New York City, clocking in over the two-hour mark, production on Anora is Baker’s eighth feature to date took place under the radar and we find him re-teaming with cinematographer Drew Daniels on this project. Neon landed the rights on this shot on 35mm project.…...
- 5/22/2024
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Dissident Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof, who fled Iran last week after being given an 8-year prison sentence, will be in Cannes for the world premiere of his new film, The Seed of the Sacred Fig.
Representatives of Rasoulof confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that Rasoulof will attend the premiere of The Seed of the Sacred Tree in Cannes on Friday, May 24, and will do press events and promotion for the movie.
The director escaped Iran by ditching all his trackable electronic devices and fleeing by foot over the mountains out of the country. He has found shelter in Germany. In an interview with The Guardian, Rasoulof said he expects he will soon return to his home country and sit out his prison sentence, but that he had “no choice” but to flee the country because he was determined to continue to make movies about his people and the real situation in Iran.
Representatives of Rasoulof confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that Rasoulof will attend the premiere of The Seed of the Sacred Tree in Cannes on Friday, May 24, and will do press events and promotion for the movie.
The director escaped Iran by ditching all his trackable electronic devices and fleeing by foot over the mountains out of the country. He has found shelter in Germany. In an interview with The Guardian, Rasoulof said he expects he will soon return to his home country and sit out his prison sentence, but that he had “no choice” but to flee the country because he was determined to continue to make movies about his people and the real situation in Iran.
- 5/22/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof is set to attend the Cannes premiere of his latest feature, The Seed Of The Sacred Fig, after receiving an eight-year prison sentence from Iranian authorities and fleeing his home country.
Speculation had been rife that the dissident director would attend the festival when the film receives its world premiere in Competition on Friday (May 24), having found asylum in Germany, but Cannes’ general delegate Thierry Fremaux has now confirmed his attendance.
“We are particularly touched to welcome [Rasoulof] here as a filmmaker,” Fremaux said in a statement to Agence France-Presse (Afp).
Our joy will be that of...
Speculation had been rife that the dissident director would attend the festival when the film receives its world premiere in Competition on Friday (May 24), having found asylum in Germany, but Cannes’ general delegate Thierry Fremaux has now confirmed his attendance.
“We are particularly touched to welcome [Rasoulof] here as a filmmaker,” Fremaux said in a statement to Agence France-Presse (Afp).
Our joy will be that of...
- 5/22/2024
- ScreenDaily
Fools Russia In: Baker’s Bangin’ Screwball Comedy
At this point in his career, filmmaker Sean Baker seems to have covered all the major facets of sex work experiences. Surprisingly, and quite delightfully, he’s managed to use his favorite motifs to create an exceptional screwball comedy with Anora. An exotic dancer in New York who moonlights as a sex worker, when it’s convenient, is the titular focus, played with exceptional finesse by Mikey Madison. As we’ve become accustomed to in Baker’s filmography, there’s a lot of heart and grit bolstering the experiences of his characters, who are often confronting themselves through the unlikeliest of emotional alliances.…...
At this point in his career, filmmaker Sean Baker seems to have covered all the major facets of sex work experiences. Surprisingly, and quite delightfully, he’s managed to use his favorite motifs to create an exceptional screwball comedy with Anora. An exotic dancer in New York who moonlights as a sex worker, when it’s convenient, is the titular focus, played with exceptional finesse by Mikey Madison. As we’ve become accustomed to in Baker’s filmography, there’s a lot of heart and grit bolstering the experiences of his characters, who are often confronting themselves through the unlikeliest of emotional alliances.…...
- 5/22/2024
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Director Sean Baker and his Anora star Mikey Madison have spoken about the “collaborative” process of portraying sex workers in a film that he acknowledged hearkens back to the captivating love story in Pretty Woman.
Baker spoke with his cast at Cannes’ press conference for the film, which follows Anora (Madison), a young sex worker from Brooklyn, who gets her chance at a Cinderella story when she meets and impulsively marries the son of an oligarch (Mark Eydelshteyn). But the fairytale is threatened when her fiancé’s parents set out to get the marriage annulled.
“Mikey had so much to do with the development of Anora,” Baker said as he lauded his lead actress. “I wrote the script for Mikey. We had a meeting and asked if she was interested, I said: ‘Okay, I’m going to write you a script and come back in three months.’ It took a year.
Baker spoke with his cast at Cannes’ press conference for the film, which follows Anora (Madison), a young sex worker from Brooklyn, who gets her chance at a Cinderella story when she meets and impulsively marries the son of an oligarch (Mark Eydelshteyn). But the fairytale is threatened when her fiancé’s parents set out to get the marriage annulled.
“Mikey had so much to do with the development of Anora,” Baker said as he lauded his lead actress. “I wrote the script for Mikey. We had a meeting and asked if she was interested, I said: ‘Okay, I’m going to write you a script and come back in three months.’ It took a year.
- 5/22/2024
- by Lily Ford
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Better Things actress Mikey Madison goes the distance in a raw and revealing performance as a high-class stripper who is romanced, and married by, the son of a Russian oligarch in Sean Baker’s Anora.
The pic is one of many in Baker’s canon, including Starlet and Red Rocket, that centers on a sex worker. In fact, the filmmaker said Wednesday at a Cannes Film Festival press conference for Anora that “my next film involves a sex worker.”
Why is Baker so hot for the subject?
“It’s important to explore what sex work is in the modern age and how it applies in a capitalist society; it’s a job, a livelihood, it’s a job, it’s a career and it should be respected.”
“In my opinion, I’m speaking for myself, be decriminalized and not in any way regulated,” he added. “It’s a sex worker...
The pic is one of many in Baker’s canon, including Starlet and Red Rocket, that centers on a sex worker. In fact, the filmmaker said Wednesday at a Cannes Film Festival press conference for Anora that “my next film involves a sex worker.”
Why is Baker so hot for the subject?
“It’s important to explore what sex work is in the modern age and how it applies in a capitalist society; it’s a job, a livelihood, it’s a job, it’s a career and it should be respected.”
“In my opinion, I’m speaking for myself, be decriminalized and not in any way regulated,” he added. “It’s a sex worker...
- 5/22/2024
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
At a Cannes press conference for his new film “Anora” on Wednesday, Sean Baker discussed his affinity for making films about sex workers — and teased his next film.
“Anora,” which premiered at the film festival on Tuesday, follows a strip club worker who falls in love with the son of a Russian oligarch. When asked about how sex workers came to be the subject of the last five of his movies, Baker said after making 2012’s “Starlet,” he was “introduced to the adult film world.”
“I became friends with [sex workers] and realized there were a million stories from that world. If there is one intention with all of these films, I would say it’s by telling human stories, by telling stories that are hopefully universal,” he said. “It’s helping remove the stigma that’s been applied to this livelihood, that’s always been applied to this livelihood.”
Baker said...
“Anora,” which premiered at the film festival on Tuesday, follows a strip club worker who falls in love with the son of a Russian oligarch. When asked about how sex workers came to be the subject of the last five of his movies, Baker said after making 2012’s “Starlet,” he was “introduced to the adult film world.”
“I became friends with [sex workers] and realized there were a million stories from that world. If there is one intention with all of these films, I would say it’s by telling human stories, by telling stories that are hopefully universal,” he said. “It’s helping remove the stigma that’s been applied to this livelihood, that’s always been applied to this livelihood.”
Baker said...
- 5/22/2024
- by Ellise Shafer and Alex Ritman
- Variety Film + TV
International filmmakers are calling for solidarity with Mohammad Rasoulof and persecuted filmmakers in Iran in an open letter, shared with Variety.
Rasoulof – about to screen his latest film “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” in Cannes’ main competition – was sentenced to imprisonment and torture by the Islamic Republic of Iran. He fled the country.
“We condemn the inhumane treatment of Rasoulof and numerous other independent artists in Iran, who are being severely punished, criminalized and silenced for exercising their artistic freedom,” it was stated in the letter, already signed by “Holy Spider” star Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Fatih Akin, Atom Egoyan, Ildiko Enyedi, Andrew Haigh, Agnieszka Holland, Laura Poitras, Sandra Hüller, Sean Baker, Payal Kapadia and Ariane Labed.
“We stand in full solidarity with Rasoulof’s demands and call upon the international film community to raise our voices against an Islamist dictatorship that systematically oppresses every aspect of their society’s lives.
Rasoulof – about to screen his latest film “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” in Cannes’ main competition – was sentenced to imprisonment and torture by the Islamic Republic of Iran. He fled the country.
“We condemn the inhumane treatment of Rasoulof and numerous other independent artists in Iran, who are being severely punished, criminalized and silenced for exercising their artistic freedom,” it was stated in the letter, already signed by “Holy Spider” star Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Fatih Akin, Atom Egoyan, Ildiko Enyedi, Andrew Haigh, Agnieszka Holland, Laura Poitras, Sandra Hüller, Sean Baker, Payal Kapadia and Ariane Labed.
“We stand in full solidarity with Rasoulof’s demands and call upon the international film community to raise our voices against an Islamist dictatorship that systematically oppresses every aspect of their society’s lives.
- 5/22/2024
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
Cannes film festival
Sean Baker’s tragicomedy features Madison as an escort betrayed by a bratty oligarch’s son who she marries in a film that offers a more realistic take than Pretty Woman
What would Pretty Woman look like if it bore the smallest resemblance to the reality of sex work? Maybe something like this, Sean Baker’s amazing, full-throttle tragicomedy of romance, denial and betrayal. It’s a non-love story which finds its apex in a Las Vegas wedding chapel in the middle of the night and then, with a terrible inevitability, slaloms downwards into the most extraordinary, cacophonous uproar of recrimination unfolding in what is more or less real time. The hangover outlasts the party by many days.
The heroine is Anora, though she prefers Ani, a New York escort and table dancer played with vocal snap and physical grace by Mikey Madison (Manson groupie Susan “Sadie...
Sean Baker’s tragicomedy features Madison as an escort betrayed by a bratty oligarch’s son who she marries in a film that offers a more realistic take than Pretty Woman
What would Pretty Woman look like if it bore the smallest resemblance to the reality of sex work? Maybe something like this, Sean Baker’s amazing, full-throttle tragicomedy of romance, denial and betrayal. It’s a non-love story which finds its apex in a Las Vegas wedding chapel in the middle of the night and then, with a terrible inevitability, slaloms downwards into the most extraordinary, cacophonous uproar of recrimination unfolding in what is more or less real time. The hangover outlasts the party by many days.
The heroine is Anora, though she prefers Ani, a New York escort and table dancer played with vocal snap and physical grace by Mikey Madison (Manson groupie Susan “Sadie...
- 5/21/2024
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
One of the things Sean Baker does exceptionally well is draw us into a vivid and highly specific milieu, nurturing our affections for characters who are rough-edged, to put it mildly, and then whip up a vortex of steadily escalating chaos. The writer-director is like a conductor of raw symphonies about people from the marginalized fringes caught in a dizzying whirl, sometimes of their own making and sometimes not. Sex workers have been a big part of Baker’s gallery of outsiders, which makes Anora a fine addition to his terrific body of work.
As a character, played by Mikey Madison with a sweetness that humanizes even the most transactional situations and a defensiveness that makes her dangerous when threatened, Anora, who goes by Ani, stands alongside the defiantly resilient protagonists of Baker’s last handful of films, from Starlet and Tangerine through The Florida Project and Red Rocket.
Ani...
As a character, played by Mikey Madison with a sweetness that humanizes even the most transactional situations and a defensiveness that makes her dangerous when threatened, Anora, who goes by Ani, stands alongside the defiantly resilient protagonists of Baker’s last handful of films, from Starlet and Tangerine through The Florida Project and Red Rocket.
Ani...
- 5/21/2024
- by David Rooney
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Sean Baker returned to the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday with Anora, his New York-set romantic dramedy about a stripper from Brooklyn who transforms into a modern Cinderella when she meets the son of a Russian oligarch.
The film, playing in the official competition three years after Baker’s success in Cannes with the Simon Rex-starring Red Rocket, scored an 10-minute ovation after the mid-afternoon world premiere screening wrapped at the Palais de Festivals.
The pic centers on Anora, who meets, falls in love with and marries the son of a Russian oligarch. Complications most certainly arise when his parents find out and try to get the marriage annulled.
Related: Cannes Film Festival 2024: All Of Deadline’s Movie Reviews
Better Things and Scream actress Mikey Madison plays the eponymous Anora alongside Yuriy Borisov, who previously appeared in Cannes pics Petrov’s Flu and Compartment No.6 both in 2021. The cast also includes Mark Eydelshteyn,...
The film, playing in the official competition three years after Baker’s success in Cannes with the Simon Rex-starring Red Rocket, scored an 10-minute ovation after the mid-afternoon world premiere screening wrapped at the Palais de Festivals.
The pic centers on Anora, who meets, falls in love with and marries the son of a Russian oligarch. Complications most certainly arise when his parents find out and try to get the marriage annulled.
Related: Cannes Film Festival 2024: All Of Deadline’s Movie Reviews
Better Things and Scream actress Mikey Madison plays the eponymous Anora alongside Yuriy Borisov, who previously appeared in Cannes pics Petrov’s Flu and Compartment No.6 both in 2021. The cast also includes Mark Eydelshteyn,...
- 5/21/2024
- by Patrick Hipes and Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Sean Baker’s previous film, 2022’s Red Rocket (2022), began with *Nsync’s Spotify-topping “Bye Bye Bye,” but Anora starts with the slightly lesser-known “Greatest Days” by British boy band Take That. Musically, it’s a bold choice, at odds with the frenetic spirit of what for over half its running time is a high-decibel screwball comedy that spends a lot of time in its establishing scenes in New York strip joints.
The tentative nature of the lyric however — “This could be the greatest day of our lives” — is slyly indicative of where this modern Cinderella story is going, a film of three parts that accelerates at speed, cruises at high altitude for a surprisingly long time, then comes back down to earth with a deeply affecting and almost unbearably melancholy coda that sends the audience out in silence.
The opening suggests a sister piece to Baker’s 2012 film Starlet,...
The tentative nature of the lyric however — “This could be the greatest day of our lives” — is slyly indicative of where this modern Cinderella story is going, a film of three parts that accelerates at speed, cruises at high altitude for a surprisingly long time, then comes back down to earth with a deeply affecting and almost unbearably melancholy coda that sends the audience out in silence.
The opening suggests a sister piece to Baker’s 2012 film Starlet,...
- 5/21/2024
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
The uncut gem of this year’s Cannes competition, “Anora” is a rowdy Safdie-style movie about two cultures (Russian and American), two languages (Russian and English) and two currencies (money and sex). Like countless Hollywood fantasies that have come before, it tells the story of how young people from different worlds fall in love, run into immediate obstacles and deal with the consequences — except the couple in this case consists of a New York stripper and the reckless son of a Russian oligarch. How long would you give it?
Director Sean Baker describes “Anora” as a Cinderella story, but that’s only true to the extent that his Walt Disney World-adjacent “The Florida Project” could be seen as a fairy tale. Baker’s subversively romantic, free-wheeling sex farce makes “Pretty Woman” look like a Disney movie. It follows on the (knee-high boot) heels of four other films in which...
Director Sean Baker describes “Anora” as a Cinderella story, but that’s only true to the extent that his Walt Disney World-adjacent “The Florida Project” could be seen as a fairy tale. Baker’s subversively romantic, free-wheeling sex farce makes “Pretty Woman” look like a Disney movie. It follows on the (knee-high boot) heels of four other films in which...
- 5/21/2024
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Sean Baker’s “Anora,” a hilarious yet touching drama in which a sex worker falls in love with the son of a Russian oligarch, energized Cannes Film Festival with a 7.5-minute standing ovation on Tuesday.
As the crowd applauded, the indie maverick director and Cannes darling said into the microphone, “Thank you to the Cannes Film Festival for making dreams come true … And also thank you to all of you for coming out and seeing our film on the best screen in the world. Long live cinema!”
The ovation wasn’t the only chance for applause — the audience erupted into cheers numerous times during the two-hour film, including on several occasions during one wild scene in which the oligarch’s associates raid his son’s mansion.
In the film, Mikey Madison plays Anora, a 23-year-old working at a strip club outside of New York City. Her luck changes when she...
As the crowd applauded, the indie maverick director and Cannes darling said into the microphone, “Thank you to the Cannes Film Festival for making dreams come true … And also thank you to all of you for coming out and seeing our film on the best screen in the world. Long live cinema!”
The ovation wasn’t the only chance for applause — the audience erupted into cheers numerous times during the two-hour film, including on several occasions during one wild scene in which the oligarch’s associates raid his son’s mansion.
In the film, Mikey Madison plays Anora, a 23-year-old working at a strip club outside of New York City. Her luck changes when she...
- 5/21/2024
- by Ellise Shafer and Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Cannes – The “Anora” in Sean Baker’s latest creation is actually the birth name of Ani (Mikey Madison), a private dancer who works in a pretty nice strip club in New York City. Sure, the hours ain’t ideal, and there’s that long subway ride back to the rundown duplex she shares with her sister in Brighton Beach, but she’s not complaining. She likes her job, even if one of her co-workers is a jealous b**ch (there’s always one).
Continue reading ‘Anora’ Review: Sean Baker’s New York Cinderella Story Arrives With A Russian Twist [Cannes] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Anora’ Review: Sean Baker’s New York Cinderella Story Arrives With A Russian Twist [Cannes] at The Playlist.
- 5/21/2024
- by Gregory Ellwood
- The Playlist
Anora — or “Ani,” as she prefers to be called — is a brassy, 23-year-old Russian-American stripper who shares a small house with her sister in Brighton Beach. Ivan — or “Vanya,” as he uses interchangeably — is the 21-year-old son of a Moscow billionaire who stays in his father’s cocaine mansion on the far side of Brooklyn whenever he’s in New York, which if it were up to him would be always. She works seven nights a week at the Manhattan strip club where she’s the only Russian-speaker. Ivan, meanwhile, has clearly never worked a day in his life. She’s the child of a mom who lives in Miami and a dad who doesn’t exist, while he’s a hyper-juvenile nepo baby who may never be mature enough to graduate into a large adult son.
There’s probably an effervescent rom-com to be made about these two wildly...
There’s probably an effervescent rom-com to be made about these two wildly...
- 5/21/2024
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Neon has picked up the North American rights to Sentimental Value, the upcoming film from Norwegian director Joachim Trier that reteams him with Renate Reinsve, star of Trier’s 2021 hit The Worst Person in the World.
Trier and Worst Person in the World co-writer Eskil Vogt penned the screenplay to Sentimental Value, a family drama about two sisters forced to deal with their estranged father after the death of their mother. Sentimental Value is set to begin principal photography in August in Norway and France. Neon is planning a 2025 theatrical release.
Maria Ekerhovd, who made The Hollywood Reporter‘s 2024 list of the 40 most powerful women in international film, is producing Sentimental Value for Mer Film in Norway, alongside Andrea Berentsen Ottmar for Eye Eye Pictures, Lizette Jonjic and Sisse Graum for Zentropa, Juliette Schrameck for Agat Films, Nathanaël Karmitz and Elisha Karmitz for Mk Production and Janine Jackowski and Jonas Dornbach for Komplizen Film.
Trier and Worst Person in the World co-writer Eskil Vogt penned the screenplay to Sentimental Value, a family drama about two sisters forced to deal with their estranged father after the death of their mother. Sentimental Value is set to begin principal photography in August in Norway and France. Neon is planning a 2025 theatrical release.
Maria Ekerhovd, who made The Hollywood Reporter‘s 2024 list of the 40 most powerful women in international film, is producing Sentimental Value for Mer Film in Norway, alongside Andrea Berentsen Ottmar for Eye Eye Pictures, Lizette Jonjic and Sisse Graum for Zentropa, Juliette Schrameck for Agat Films, Nathanaël Karmitz and Elisha Karmitz for Mk Production and Janine Jackowski and Jonas Dornbach for Komplizen Film.
- 5/21/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Ali Abbasi’s The Apprentice has failed to impress the critics on Screen’s Cannes jury grid, recording the lowest score so far this year of 1.7.
The film tells Donald Trump’s origin story, with Sebastian Stan playing the future president and Jeremy Strong his ruthless lawyer and mentor Roy Cohn.
It earned eight scores of two (average), plus two ones (poor) and a zero (bad) from Mathieu Macharet at France’s Le Monde.
Click on the jury grid above for the most up-to-date version.
With a 1.7, it is just below Paul Schrader’s Oh, Canada, which previously occupied the...
The film tells Donald Trump’s origin story, with Sebastian Stan playing the future president and Jeremy Strong his ruthless lawyer and mentor Roy Cohn.
It earned eight scores of two (average), plus two ones (poor) and a zero (bad) from Mathieu Macharet at France’s Le Monde.
Click on the jury grid above for the most up-to-date version.
With a 1.7, it is just below Paul Schrader’s Oh, Canada, which previously occupied the...
- 5/21/2024
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Neon has prebought North American rights to Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value, the latest project from the Norwegian director that stars Renate Reinsve.
It marks the second collaboration for Neon, Trier and Reinsve after 2021’s The Worst Person In The World, which was nominated for a Best International Feature Oscar in 2022 as well as Best Original Screenplay. That project also played in Competition at the Cannes Film Festival the year prior, where it earned Reinsve the Best Actress Award.
Eskil Vogt and Trier wrote the screenplay of Sentimental Value, which is described as a family drama about two sisters forced to deal with their estranged father following the death of their mother. Neon is planning a 2025 theatrical release for the title.
The film is produced by Maria Ekerhovd for Mer Film, Andrea Berentsen Ottmar for Eye Eye Pictures, Lizette Jonjic and Sisse Graum for Denmark/Sweden’s Zentropa, Juliette Schrameck for Agat Films,...
It marks the second collaboration for Neon, Trier and Reinsve after 2021’s The Worst Person In The World, which was nominated for a Best International Feature Oscar in 2022 as well as Best Original Screenplay. That project also played in Competition at the Cannes Film Festival the year prior, where it earned Reinsve the Best Actress Award.
Eskil Vogt and Trier wrote the screenplay of Sentimental Value, which is described as a family drama about two sisters forced to deal with their estranged father following the death of their mother. Neon is planning a 2025 theatrical release for the title.
The film is produced by Maria Ekerhovd for Mer Film, Andrea Berentsen Ottmar for Eye Eye Pictures, Lizette Jonjic and Sisse Graum for Denmark/Sweden’s Zentropa, Juliette Schrameck for Agat Films,...
- 5/21/2024
- by Diana Lodderhose
- Deadline Film + TV
The Florida Project
The Florida Project, 1.25am, Film4, Tuesday, May 21
Sean Baker's latest sex-worker comedy, Anora, screens at Cannes this week and this is a chance to catch up with his Oscar-nominated comedy drama about a precocious six-year-old and her mum. The Magic Castle hotel might not hold many tricks up its sleeve for single mum Hallee (Bria Vinaite) but it's an enchanted playground so far as little Moonee (Brooklynn Prince) and her friends are concerned. They run – and skip and frolic – through the film with an infectious energy, while illustrating the unique pressures that exist for families who live in these sorts of circumstances. Young Prince is a natural and it's a treat to see Willem Dafoe in a warmer role for once, as the benevolent Magic Castle manager Bobby trying to nudge the older members of the community into line. A candy-coloured exploration of life on the.
The Florida Project, 1.25am, Film4, Tuesday, May 21
Sean Baker's latest sex-worker comedy, Anora, screens at Cannes this week and this is a chance to catch up with his Oscar-nominated comedy drama about a precocious six-year-old and her mum. The Magic Castle hotel might not hold many tricks up its sleeve for single mum Hallee (Bria Vinaite) but it's an enchanted playground so far as little Moonee (Brooklynn Prince) and her friends are concerned. They run – and skip and frolic – through the film with an infectious energy, while illustrating the unique pressures that exist for families who live in these sorts of circumstances. Young Prince is a natural and it's a treat to see Willem Dafoe in a warmer role for once, as the benevolent Magic Castle manager Bobby trying to nudge the older members of the community into line. A candy-coloured exploration of life on the.
- 5/20/2024
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Neon has bought North American rights to “The Unknown” (“L’Inconnue”), the hotly anticipated next movie from “Anatomy of a Fall”’s Oscar-winning co-writer Arthur Harari.
As revealed by Variety earlier this week, the movie will star Léa Seydoux (“Dune 2”) and is being represented in international markets. Harari is rolling off of “Anatomy of a Fall” which he co-wrote with director Justine Triet, abd won an Oscar, two Golden Globes, a BAFTA and the Palme d’Or at last year’s Cannes Film Festival.
The deal was negotiated by Neon’s president of acquisitions and production Jeff Deutchman with producer Nicolas Anthomé on behalf of the filmmakers, and marks Neon’s second collaboration with Harari following last year’s “Anatomy of a Fall” which Neon acquired out of Cannes in 2023 before it won the Palme d’Or for that year. This deal further cements Neon’s commitment to bringing top-of-the-line international cinema to U.
As revealed by Variety earlier this week, the movie will star Léa Seydoux (“Dune 2”) and is being represented in international markets. Harari is rolling off of “Anatomy of a Fall” which he co-wrote with director Justine Triet, abd won an Oscar, two Golden Globes, a BAFTA and the Palme d’Or at last year’s Cannes Film Festival.
The deal was negotiated by Neon’s president of acquisitions and production Jeff Deutchman with producer Nicolas Anthomé on behalf of the filmmakers, and marks Neon’s second collaboration with Harari following last year’s “Anatomy of a Fall” which Neon acquired out of Cannes in 2023 before it won the Palme d’Or for that year. This deal further cements Neon’s commitment to bringing top-of-the-line international cinema to U.
- 5/17/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Neon has picked up North American rights to The Unknown, the next feature from Anatomy of a Fall writer Arthur Harari.
Léa Seydoux is set to star in the film, which Neon has said it will release in U.S. and Canadian theaters in 2026. Harari also serves as director on the pic, which will be produced by bathysphere, with Pathé co-producing and selling the film internationally in Cannes.
The Unknown is the third feature both written and directed by Harari. His previous feature as writer-director was 2021’s critically acclaimed Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle which opened Un Certain Regard at Cannes that year and went on to win the Best Original Screenplay César. He wrote the screenplay for Sibyl (2019), directed by Justine Triet, which was in the Official Competition at Cannes that year.
The deal was negotiated by Neon’s President of Acquisitions & Production Jeff Deutchman with producer Nicolas Anthomé...
Léa Seydoux is set to star in the film, which Neon has said it will release in U.S. and Canadian theaters in 2026. Harari also serves as director on the pic, which will be produced by bathysphere, with Pathé co-producing and selling the film internationally in Cannes.
The Unknown is the third feature both written and directed by Harari. His previous feature as writer-director was 2021’s critically acclaimed Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle which opened Un Certain Regard at Cannes that year and went on to win the Best Original Screenplay César. He wrote the screenplay for Sibyl (2019), directed by Justine Triet, which was in the Official Competition at Cannes that year.
The deal was negotiated by Neon’s President of Acquisitions & Production Jeff Deutchman with producer Nicolas Anthomé...
- 5/17/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Neon is plunging into the great unknown with Léa Seydoux and filmmaker Arthur Harari. The indie outfit has landed North American rights to The Unknown, and appropriate for its title, its logline is currently unknown.
But Harari’s pedigree may offer some clues. Harari earned acclaim as the screenwriter of Anatomy of a Fall, which Neon landed out of Cannes before it went on to win the Palme d’Or and later the original screenplay Oscar. Harari previously worked with Anatomy Director Justine Triet on the Cannes title Sibyl (2019). As a writer-director, he is also known for Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle, which opened Un Certain Regard at Cannes in 2021 and went on to win the original screenplay César.
Seydoux is at Cannes with The Second Act and is coming off a role in Dune: Part 2, while Neon is at the fest with Red Rocket director Sean Baker’s latest feature,...
But Harari’s pedigree may offer some clues. Harari earned acclaim as the screenwriter of Anatomy of a Fall, which Neon landed out of Cannes before it went on to win the Palme d’Or and later the original screenplay Oscar. Harari previously worked with Anatomy Director Justine Triet on the Cannes title Sibyl (2019). As a writer-director, he is also known for Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle, which opened Un Certain Regard at Cannes in 2021 and went on to win the original screenplay César.
Seydoux is at Cannes with The Second Act and is coming off a role in Dune: Part 2, while Neon is at the fest with Red Rocket director Sean Baker’s latest feature,...
- 5/17/2024
- by Aaron Couch
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It's hard to believe that A24 is over 10 years old, but the company has quickly become one of the best contemporary distributors. Few distribution companies have developed their own recognizable aesthetic or are able to sell pricey hipster-style merchandise. But A24's curation of independent film has stoked the flames of cinephiles' passion for bold visions and imaginative stories. Their commitment to creating a platform for independent filmmaking feels refreshing in the glut of superhero and IP-driven releases. A24 has launched the careers of some of our most innovative filmmakers, including Greta Gerwig, Barry Jenkins, Alex Garland, Ari Aster, and Robert Eggers while bringing directors such as Harmony Korine and Sean Baker to a wider theatrical audience. But for every "Moonlight" or "Hereditary," there are other A24 films that have not been quite as well-received. Even though they have bad Rotten Tomatoes scores, they are still worth watching for all...
- 5/17/2024
- by Caroline Madden
- Slash Film
Winner of two Palme d’Ors, Francis Ford Coppola‘s makes a huge return to Cannes with a film that will not go unnoticed in Megalopolis. With the price tag of about 120 Sean Baker features, this Julius Caesar salad (forgive the pun) dishes out a lot of ideas with a mega cast of Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia Labeouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Talia Shire, Jason Schwartzman, Kathryn Hunter, Grace VanderWaal, Chloe Fineman, James Remar, D.B. Sweeney, Isabelle Kusman, Bailey Ives, Madeleine Gardella, Balthazar Getty, Romy Mars, Haley Sims, Dustin Hoffman.
Gist: A project decades in the making, Megalopolis is a Roman Epic fable set in an imagined Modern America.…...
Gist: A project decades in the making, Megalopolis is a Roman Epic fable set in an imagined Modern America.…...
- 5/17/2024
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Image created by The Hollywood Insider
Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France has begun. One of the biggest film festivals in the world is a metropolis for the latest films and what is coming next in Cinema. While not every film buff has the opportunity to attend, there is still plenty to look out for this Cannes Film Festival season. Here is everything we know before the curtain rises. Things to do: Subscribe to The Hollywood Insider’s YouTube Channel, by clicking here. Limited Time Offer – Free Subscription to The Hollywood Insider Click here to read more on The Hollywood Insider’s vision, values and mission statement here – Media has the responsibility to better our world – The Hollywood Insider fully focuses on substance and meaningful entertainment, against gossip and scandal, by combining entertainment, education, and philanthropy. Judges Cannes features a large jury of different judges from all around the world...
Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France has begun. One of the biggest film festivals in the world is a metropolis for the latest films and what is coming next in Cinema. While not every film buff has the opportunity to attend, there is still plenty to look out for this Cannes Film Festival season. Here is everything we know before the curtain rises. Things to do: Subscribe to The Hollywood Insider’s YouTube Channel, by clicking here. Limited Time Offer – Free Subscription to The Hollywood Insider Click here to read more on The Hollywood Insider’s vision, values and mission statement here – Media has the responsibility to better our world – The Hollywood Insider fully focuses on substance and meaningful entertainment, against gossip and scandal, by combining entertainment, education, and philanthropy. Judges Cannes features a large jury of different judges from all around the world...
- 5/16/2024
- by Abigail Johnson
- Hollywood Insider - Substance & Meaningful Entertainment
Neon has promoted Elissa Federoff from president of distribution to chief distribution officer and Ryan Friscia from EVP, finance & business development to chief financial officer.
Federoff has been with the company since its inception in January 2017 and will continue to oversee the company’s release strategy.
The executive has steered Neon to one of its most successful periods at the box office since inception, with Sydney Sweeney starrer Immaculate earning more than $16m, 2023 Palme d’Or winner Anatomy Of A Fall taking more than $5m to become the highest-grossing specialised foreign-language release post-Covid, and Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days on more than $3.7m.
Federoff has been with the company since its inception in January 2017 and will continue to oversee the company’s release strategy.
The executive has steered Neon to one of its most successful periods at the box office since inception, with Sydney Sweeney starrer Immaculate earning more than $16m, 2023 Palme d’Or winner Anatomy Of A Fall taking more than $5m to become the highest-grossing specialised foreign-language release post-Covid, and Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days on more than $3.7m.
- 5/15/2024
- ScreenDaily
Neon has acquired the North American rights to award-winning filmmaker Julia Ducournau’s (Titane, Raw) genre-defying film Alpha.
Leading the cast are Golshifteh Farahani (The Patience Stone, Paterson) and Tahar Rahim (The Mauritanian, A Prophet), with principal photography on the film commencing next fall.
Producers are Jean des Forêts and Amelie Jacquis of Petit Film and Eric & Nicolas Altmayer of Mandarin & Compagnie, with Frakas Productions co-producing.
Charades and FilmNation Entertainment are handling sales in the rest of the world during the Cannes Film Festival and market.
The deal was negotiated by Neon’s president of acquisitions & production Jeff Deutchman with Charades’ Carole Baraton and FilmNation Entertainment’s CEO Glen Basner on behalf of the filmmakers.
The deal marks Neon’s second collaboration with Ducournau following Titane, which the studio picked up ahead of its premiere in Cannes in 2021 and went on to win the Palme d’Or.
Neon also...
Leading the cast are Golshifteh Farahani (The Patience Stone, Paterson) and Tahar Rahim (The Mauritanian, A Prophet), with principal photography on the film commencing next fall.
Producers are Jean des Forêts and Amelie Jacquis of Petit Film and Eric & Nicolas Altmayer of Mandarin & Compagnie, with Frakas Productions co-producing.
Charades and FilmNation Entertainment are handling sales in the rest of the world during the Cannes Film Festival and market.
The deal was negotiated by Neon’s president of acquisitions & production Jeff Deutchman with Charades’ Carole Baraton and FilmNation Entertainment’s CEO Glen Basner on behalf of the filmmakers.
The deal marks Neon’s second collaboration with Ducournau following Titane, which the studio picked up ahead of its premiere in Cannes in 2021 and went on to win the Palme d’Or.
Neon also...
- 5/15/2024
- by Lily Ford
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Is there a harder-working actor in the movie business than Willem Dafoe? The 68-year-old, who splits his time between Los Angeles, New York and Rome, has appeared in more than 150 films, co-starring in everything from superhero features to dozens of movie-buff favorites from David Lynch, Martin Scorsese, Lars von Trier, Paul Schrader, Oliver Stone, Julian Schnabel, Wes Anderson, Sean Baker, Spike Lee, Robert Eggers and so many more.
Fresh from his acclaimed performance in Yorgos Lanthimos‘ recent awards season favorite Poor Things, Dafoe is already returning to Cannes this month in the Greek director’s much-buzzed-about follow-up, Kinds of Kindness. Described as a surrealist fable set in the present day, the new project is an anthology film told in three parts, reuniting Lanthimos with the provocative screenwriting partner of his early career, Efthymis Filippou (Dogtooth, The Lobster, The Killing of a Sacred Deer). The film’s multi-Oscar-feted key cast — Dafoe,...
Fresh from his acclaimed performance in Yorgos Lanthimos‘ recent awards season favorite Poor Things, Dafoe is already returning to Cannes this month in the Greek director’s much-buzzed-about follow-up, Kinds of Kindness. Described as a surrealist fable set in the present day, the new project is an anthology film told in three parts, reuniting Lanthimos with the provocative screenwriting partner of his early career, Efthymis Filippou (Dogtooth, The Lobster, The Killing of a Sacred Deer). The film’s multi-Oscar-feted key cast — Dafoe,...
- 5/15/2024
- by Patrick Brzeski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
One of the pleasures of the Cannes Film Festival is seeing what films and what directors break out. Sure, in the current crop of films premiering at the 77th festival this May, there are some big names everybody knows; you don’t need an explainer to know that Francis Ford Coppola and “Megalopolis” are a big deal. But Cannes is also where filmmakers such as Julia Ducournau and Justine Triet gained wide exposure and became international known quantities, thanks to the prestige granted by nabbing the festival’s top prize, the Palme d’Or.
Introduced a full decade into the festival’s existence, the Palme d’Or has a strong pedigree associated with it; several of the films that received the prize — “La Dolce Vita,” “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg,” “Taxi Driver,” “Paris, Texas,” “Pulp Fiction,” “The Tree of Life,” “Parasite,” and way too many others to properly list — have claim...
Introduced a full decade into the festival’s existence, the Palme d’Or has a strong pedigree associated with it; several of the films that received the prize — “La Dolce Vita,” “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg,” “Taxi Driver,” “Paris, Texas,” “Pulp Fiction,” “The Tree of Life,” “Parasite,” and way too many others to properly list — have claim...
- 5/15/2024
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
Exclusive: Thriving U.S. indie producer-distributor Neon is no stranger to the Cannes Film Festival with the Tom Quinn-founded banner having acquired a historic four consecutive Palme d’Or wins, thus earning them the nickname “the Palme d’Or whisperers”. This year, while the company has Sean Baker’s new rom-com Anora playing in Competition, it’s also descending upon the Croisette in a new capacity with its recently-launched international sales strand, led by seasoned sales exec and Sierra/Affinity veteran Kristen Figeroid.
International buyers will be hard pressed not to notice the new Neon banner right on the Croisette this year, as the company launches sales on Osgood Perkins’ next genre movie Keeper, starring Tatiana Maslany and Rossif Sutherland. Neon is already set to distribute the title in the U.S. (Elevation...
International buyers will be hard pressed not to notice the new Neon banner right on the Croisette this year, as the company launches sales on Osgood Perkins’ next genre movie Keeper, starring Tatiana Maslany and Rossif Sutherland. Neon is already set to distribute the title in the U.S. (Elevation...
- 5/14/2024
- by Diana Lodderhose
- Deadline Film + TV
Neon has pre-bought North American rights from Charades and FilmNation to Julia Ducournau’s Alpha, reuniting with the 2021 Palme d’Or-winning director of Titane.
Golshifteh Farahani and Tahar Rahim will star in Alpha, which is scheduled to begin production in autumn. Ducournau is writing the screenplay and the plot remains under wraps.
Jean des Forêts and Amelie Jacquis of Petit Film are producing with Eric and Nicolas Altmayer of Mandarin & Compagnie, with Frakas Productions co-producing.
Charades and FilmNation Entertainment are collaborating for the first time and continue sales for the rest of the world in Cannes.
Ducournau’s previous films include Raw.
Golshifteh Farahani and Tahar Rahim will star in Alpha, which is scheduled to begin production in autumn. Ducournau is writing the screenplay and the plot remains under wraps.
Jean des Forêts and Amelie Jacquis of Petit Film are producing with Eric and Nicolas Altmayer of Mandarin & Compagnie, with Frakas Productions co-producing.
Charades and FilmNation Entertainment are collaborating for the first time and continue sales for the rest of the world in Cannes.
Ducournau’s previous films include Raw.
- 5/14/2024
- ScreenDaily
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