Marking a welcome re-embrace of the streamlined murdery perversities of his terrific “Stranger by the Lake,” Alain Guiraudie gives the Cannes Premiere section one of its darkly sparkling standouts with the unsettlingly offbeat “Misericordia.” In the director’s best work, Guiraudie’s trademark is to infuse genre dalliances with mordant wit and a deliciously peculiar, defiant queerness. And while it may initially appear to be straightforward — and while it thankfully avoids the wild tonal swings of muddy tragicomedy “Staying Vertical” (2016) and rather baffling terrorism sex-farce “Nobody’s Hero” (2022) — nobody could ever accuse this increasingly twisted psychodrama of playing it straight.
From the start, there’s something off. The prologue is a driving sequence, shot from the point of view of the unseen driver, through the narrowing country roads of hilly southwestern France. There is nothing overtly odd going on, even the landscape is banal, shot in hazy earth tones by Claire Mathon’s clever,...
From the start, there’s something off. The prologue is a driving sequence, shot from the point of view of the unseen driver, through the narrowing country roads of hilly southwestern France. There is nothing overtly odd going on, even the landscape is banal, shot in hazy earth tones by Claire Mathon’s clever,...
- 5/27/2024
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
In a career spanning four decades and eight features, Alain Guiraudie has cemented himself as one of our most astute chroniclers of desire. If there’s any leitmotif to his libidinous body of work, that’s not homosexuality (prevalent as same-sex encounters might be across his films) but a force that transcends all manner of labels and categories. His is a cinema of liberty: of vast, enchanted spaces and solitary wanderers who wrestle with their passions, and in acting them out, change the way they carry themselves into the world. Desire becomes an exercise in self-sovereignty, a way of reasserting one’s independence––a rebirth. It is often said that cinema is an inescapably scopophilic realm, where the act of looking is itself a source of pleasure, but Guiraudie has a way of making that dynamic feel egalitarian, as thrilling for those watching as it is for those being watched.
- 5/27/2024
- by Leonardo Goi
- The Film Stage
The 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival has now concluded, with Sean Baker’s Anora taking home the Palme d’Or. While our coverage will continue with a few more reviews this week––and far beyond as we provide updates on the journey of these selections––we’ve asked our contributors on the ground to share favorites.
See their picks below, and explore all of our coverage here.
Leonardo Goi (@LeonardoGoi)
1. Grand Tour (Miguel Gomes)
2. All We Imagine As Light (Payal Kapadia)
3. Misericordia (Alain Guiraudie)
4. Anora (Sean Baker)
5. Eephus (Carson Lund)
6. Viet And Nam (Trương Minh Quý)
7. Christmas Eve In Miller’s Point (Tyler Taormina)
8. Black Dog (Guan Hu)
9. Megalopolis (Francis Ford Coppola)
10. Good One (India Donaldson)
Read all of Leonardo’s reviews here.
Luke Hicks (@lou_hicks)
1. Anora (Sean Baker)
2. Caught by the Tides (Jia Zhangke)
3. Oh, Canada (Paul Schrader)
4. Viet and Nam (Trương Minh Quý)
5. The Seed of the Sacred Fig...
See their picks below, and explore all of our coverage here.
Leonardo Goi (@LeonardoGoi)
1. Grand Tour (Miguel Gomes)
2. All We Imagine As Light (Payal Kapadia)
3. Misericordia (Alain Guiraudie)
4. Anora (Sean Baker)
5. Eephus (Carson Lund)
6. Viet And Nam (Trương Minh Quý)
7. Christmas Eve In Miller’s Point (Tyler Taormina)
8. Black Dog (Guan Hu)
9. Megalopolis (Francis Ford Coppola)
10. Good One (India Donaldson)
Read all of Leonardo’s reviews here.
Luke Hicks (@lou_hicks)
1. Anora (Sean Baker)
2. Caught by the Tides (Jia Zhangke)
3. Oh, Canada (Paul Schrader)
4. Viet and Nam (Trương Minh Quý)
5. The Seed of the Sacred Fig...
- 5/27/2024
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Cannes is over, the prizes have been given out at Saturday’s awards ceremony., and buyers have gone home, but the deals haven’t stopped. Some of the buzziest titles ahead of the festival are still are awaiting buyers. This year’s market hasn’t been weighed down by the writers or actors strikes in the same way as last year, meaning companies like A24, Neon, Apple, and more have jumped in on exciting packages of possibly future contenders, while art house, specialized distributors like Sideshow and Janus Films, Mubi, and Metrograph have been especially active.
Below we’re tracking everything that gets acquired throughout the festival and beyond.
Films Acquired After the Festival “Bird”
Section: Competition
Director: Andrea Arnold
Buyer: Mubi
Date Acquired: May 26
Cast: Barry Keoghan, Nykiya Adams, Franz Rogowski, Jasmine Jobson, James Nelson-Joyce
Buzz: Mubi’s third buy out of the main competition after “The Substance” and “The Girl with the Needle,...
Below we’re tracking everything that gets acquired throughout the festival and beyond.
Films Acquired After the Festival “Bird”
Section: Competition
Director: Andrea Arnold
Buyer: Mubi
Date Acquired: May 26
Cast: Barry Keoghan, Nykiya Adams, Franz Rogowski, Jasmine Jobson, James Nelson-Joyce
Buzz: Mubi’s third buy out of the main competition after “The Substance” and “The Girl with the Needle,...
- 5/26/2024
- by Brian Welk
- Indiewire
Sideshow and Janus Films scooped up another buzzy title out of Cannes, acquiring It’s Not Me from French auteur Leos Carax (Holy Motors, Annette) for North America.
An autobiographical collage of old and new footage, referencing everything from silent movies and Hollywood Golden Age classics to scenes from his own work and personal home movies, It’s Not Me pays direct homage to the late, great Jean-Luc Godard in its deconstruction of the language of cinema and the treacheries of auto-fiction.
Commenting on his cinematic “self-portrait,” Carax said: “Lots of painters have done theirs, of course. I tried to make mine without any mirror. A self-portrait seen from behind. Or, like in a dream dreamed many years ago: How come I can see myself in that mirror, even though my eyes are closed?—and when I check in the mirror, my eyes are indeed closed.”
It’s Not Me...
An autobiographical collage of old and new footage, referencing everything from silent movies and Hollywood Golden Age classics to scenes from his own work and personal home movies, It’s Not Me pays direct homage to the late, great Jean-Luc Godard in its deconstruction of the language of cinema and the treacheries of auto-fiction.
Commenting on his cinematic “self-portrait,” Carax said: “Lots of painters have done theirs, of course. I tried to make mine without any mirror. A self-portrait seen from behind. Or, like in a dream dreamed many years ago: How come I can see myself in that mirror, even though my eyes are closed?—and when I check in the mirror, my eyes are indeed closed.”
It’s Not Me...
- 5/25/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Sideshow and Janus Films have acquired the North American rights to Alain Guiraudie’s queer crime thriller “Misericordia,” starring Félix Kysyl, Catherine Frot, Jean-Baptiste Durand, Jacques Develay and David Ayala. The film was a selection of the Cannes Premiere section at this year’s festival.
The film follows Jérémie (Kysyl), a man returning to his hometown for the funeral of his former employer. After a mysterious disappearance, a priest and a townsperson make Jérémie’s short stay take an unexpected turn.
Guiraudie wrote and directed the film, produced by Charles Gillibert of CG Cinema. Janus Films and Sideshow are planning a theatrical release.
The deal was negotiated by Alice Lesort for Les Films du Losange on behalf of the filmmakers with Sideshow and Janus Films. The film is a CG Cinéma, Scala Films, Arte France Cinéma, Andergraun Films and Rosa Filmes co-production with the participation of Arte France, Ocs and Les Films du Losange.
The film follows Jérémie (Kysyl), a man returning to his hometown for the funeral of his former employer. After a mysterious disappearance, a priest and a townsperson make Jérémie’s short stay take an unexpected turn.
Guiraudie wrote and directed the film, produced by Charles Gillibert of CG Cinema. Janus Films and Sideshow are planning a theatrical release.
The deal was negotiated by Alice Lesort for Les Films du Losange on behalf of the filmmakers with Sideshow and Janus Films. The film is a CG Cinéma, Scala Films, Arte France Cinéma, Andergraun Films and Rosa Filmes co-production with the participation of Arte France, Ocs and Les Films du Losange.
- 5/24/2024
- by Selena Kuznikov
- Variety Film + TV
The Cannes crush can be so unforgiving. This year’s case in point: Misericordia has premiered to relatively little notice despite being the latest by the great Alain Guiraudie. This is no doubt owed to placing out of competition and into the festival’s “Cannes Premiere” lineup, where it debuted this week to (judging by quick Twitter searches) largely laudatory notices. Following this and, one hopes, in advance of distribution news, the first trailer has arrived.
Here’s the synopsis: “Jérémie returns to Saint-Martial for the funeral of his former boss, the village baker. He decides to stay for a few days with Martine, the man’s widow. A mysterious disappearance, a threatening neighbor and a priest with strange intentions make Jérémie’s short stay in the village take an unexpected turn…”
Find preview and poster below:
The post A Mystery Unfolds In First Trailer for Alain Guiraudie’s Cannes...
Here’s the synopsis: “Jérémie returns to Saint-Martial for the funeral of his former boss, the village baker. He decides to stay for a few days with Martine, the man’s widow. A mysterious disappearance, a threatening neighbor and a priest with strange intentions make Jérémie’s short stay in the village take an unexpected turn…”
Find preview and poster below:
The post A Mystery Unfolds In First Trailer for Alain Guiraudie’s Cannes...
- 5/21/2024
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
An hour into “Misericordia,” there is a scene so shocking that it might leave viewers’ mouths agape in disbelief. Only it is a mere conversation between two people. That exchange of words can be so profoundly disquieting and underscores Alain Guiraudie’s commitment to thrilling audiences the old-fashioned way – with ideas rather than actions. His new thriller film is overladen with mysteries and enigmas, perhaps none so confounding as its absence from the main Competition at the Cannes Film Festival.
Continue reading ‘Misericordia’ Review: Alain Guiraudie’s Nerve-Rattling Thriller Is A Dostoevskian Masterwork [Cannes Review] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Misericordia’ Review: Alain Guiraudie’s Nerve-Rattling Thriller Is A Dostoevskian Masterwork [Cannes Review] at The Playlist.
- 5/20/2024
- by Ankit Jhunjhunwala
- The Playlist
Revisiting the murder mysteries of his award-winning 2013 feature, Stranger by the Lake, but with a more darkly comic tone found in much of his other work, French writer-director Alain Guiraudie’s latest, Misericordia (Miséricorde), plays like two films at once: The first is a sinister, small-town homicide story in the vein of Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt, in which a man shows up to wreak havoc on the seemingly innocent. The second is a twisted variation on Pasolini’s Teorema, in which a family is torn apart by a visitor’s pervasive sexuality and refusal to leave them alone.
The two movies don’t always crystallize into one, and if you’re looking for a credible crime thriller in which everyone behaves logically, Misericordia may not be for you. If, on the other hand, you’re looking for an exploration of repressed sexual desire and religious hypocrisy in backwoods France,...
The two movies don’t always crystallize into one, and if you’re looking for a credible crime thriller in which everyone behaves logically, Misericordia may not be for you. If, on the other hand, you’re looking for an exploration of repressed sexual desire and religious hypocrisy in backwoods France,...
- 5/20/2024
- by Jordan Mintzer
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Catalonia has a rich filmmaking tradition backed by public investment in local artists and production companies. Four years ago, the region expanded its existing financing structures by launching its Minority Co-Production Fund. It’s now beginning to prove to be a success story.
The fund provides financing to films with at least one Catalan minority co-producer, showcasing the region’s talent and helping local companies grow their international networks.
Launched in 2020, the fund initially had a budget of €1.5 million ($1.6 million) ear- marked to support up to five high-end films annually. Since then, the number of projects backed has steadily increased, with total funding rising to €2 million ($2.2 million) annually, capped at €300,000 per title.
“When we launched, the goal was to provide Catalan producers with the best conditions and framework to enhance and promote their creative, professional and artistic exchanges in the international arena,” says Edgar Garcia, director of the governmental culture industry unit Icec,...
The fund provides financing to films with at least one Catalan minority co-producer, showcasing the region’s talent and helping local companies grow their international networks.
Launched in 2020, the fund initially had a budget of €1.5 million ($1.6 million) ear- marked to support up to five high-end films annually. Since then, the number of projects backed has steadily increased, with total funding rising to €2 million ($2.2 million) annually, capped at €300,000 per title.
“When we launched, the goal was to provide Catalan producers with the best conditions and framework to enhance and promote their creative, professional and artistic exchanges in the international arena,” says Edgar Garcia, director of the governmental culture industry unit Icec,...
- 5/14/2024
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Hurd also suggested the progress of the #MeToo movement was on hold.
Renowned US producer Gale Anne Hurd, whose credits include The Terminator, Aliens, Armageddon and TV series The Walking Dead has expressed concerns over the influence of artificial intelligence in the creative industries, suggesting “generative AI is designed to put us out of business.”
“All of us who are in [creative] fields – whether it’s gaming, film, any kind of entertainment – all of our work is being scraped to create generative AI without our permission, without our compensation, that is intended to put us out of business,” said Hurd.
This...
Renowned US producer Gale Anne Hurd, whose credits include The Terminator, Aliens, Armageddon and TV series The Walking Dead has expressed concerns over the influence of artificial intelligence in the creative industries, suggesting “generative AI is designed to put us out of business.”
“All of us who are in [creative] fields – whether it’s gaming, film, any kind of entertainment – all of our work is being scraped to create generative AI without our permission, without our compensation, that is intended to put us out of business,” said Hurd.
This...
- 11/20/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Yorgos Lanthimos drama ‘Poor Things’ won two prizes.
Warwick Thornton was awarded the Golden Frog at Poland’s Camerimage International Film Festival on Saturday (November 18) for drama The New Boy.
The Australian Indigenous filmmaker received the festival’s top prize at a ceremony in the Polish town of Torun, where the director was recognised for his role as cinematographer on the film. Accepting the award, Thornton paid tribute to his fellow filmmakers and said: “I’ve had tears in my eyes the whole week and it’s not because of the alcohol or the cold weather. It’s the love of cinematography,...
Warwick Thornton was awarded the Golden Frog at Poland’s Camerimage International Film Festival on Saturday (November 18) for drama The New Boy.
The Australian Indigenous filmmaker received the festival’s top prize at a ceremony in the Polish town of Torun, where the director was recognised for his role as cinematographer on the film. Accepting the award, Thornton paid tribute to his fellow filmmakers and said: “I’ve had tears in my eyes the whole week and it’s not because of the alcohol or the cold weather. It’s the love of cinematography,...
- 11/20/2023
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Mstyslav Chernov’s unflinching account of the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine wins the public vote at the documentary festival
Mstyslav Chernov’s unflinching account of the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 20 Days In Mariupol, has won the Npo IDFA Audience Award at International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA).
The €5,000 prize was awarded at the Royal Theater Tuschinski in Amsterdam on Saturday night, (November 18) followed by a special screening of the film. The award is based on votes by festival visitors who rate the films directly following their screenings via a Qr code.
Mstyslav Chernov’s unflinching account of the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 20 Days In Mariupol, has won the Npo IDFA Audience Award at International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA).
The €5,000 prize was awarded at the Royal Theater Tuschinski in Amsterdam on Saturday night, (November 18) followed by a special screening of the film. The award is based on votes by festival visitors who rate the films directly following their screenings via a Qr code.
- 11/20/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
At the Award Ceremony of the 27th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF), awards were presented to the winners of the festival’s five competition programmes and PÖFF’s youth and children’s film sub-festival Just Film.
The jury of the Official Selection Competition, headed by Trine Dyrholm, selected Emma Dante’s drama Misericordia as their favourite, handing the film the Grand Prix for Best Film.
Dante adapted her own play of the same name, telling the story of three prostitutes who live in the wasteland by the sea, where a village of outcasts has emerged. Its star Simone Zambelli also scooped the Best Actor Award.
The jury commented on the film with the following statement: “A powerful film about how to stay supportive and, above all, exhibit humanity in a marginalised environment. Beautifully directed, shot and acted, the Best Film Award goes to Misericordia.”
The Best Director Award went toManuel Martín CuencaforAndrea’s Love.
The jury of the Official Selection Competition, headed by Trine Dyrholm, selected Emma Dante’s drama Misericordia as their favourite, handing the film the Grand Prix for Best Film.
Dante adapted her own play of the same name, telling the story of three prostitutes who live in the wasteland by the sea, where a village of outcasts has emerged. Its star Simone Zambelli also scooped the Best Actor Award.
The jury commented on the film with the following statement: “A powerful film about how to stay supportive and, above all, exhibit humanity in a marginalised environment. Beautifully directed, shot and acted, the Best Film Award goes to Misericordia.”
The Best Director Award went toManuel Martín CuencaforAndrea’s Love.
- 11/19/2023
- by Caroline Frost
- Deadline Film + TV
Misericordia Photo: Courtesy of Tallinn Film Festival It may be cold outside - hovering at about -5C to be exact - but there's always the warmest of welcomes at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. The international event in Estonia punches above its weight, bringing the great and the good from across the world together for its November gathering.
As the 27th festival drew to a close last night, the awards were announced, with British filmmaker Mike Newell among the recipients - picking up the award for lifetime achievement for films including Four Weddings And A Funeral and Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire. he picked up the award at the glitzy closing ceremony, which this year had a glam rock theme.
Italian film Misericordia was the night's big winner. Emma Dante's drama about a trio of prostitutes and the young man they hae raised as their own,...
As the 27th festival drew to a close last night, the awards were announced, with British filmmaker Mike Newell among the recipients - picking up the award for lifetime achievement for films including Four Weddings And A Funeral and Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire. he picked up the award at the glitzy closing ceremony, which this year had a glam rock theme.
Italian film Misericordia was the night's big winner. Emma Dante's drama about a trio of prostitutes and the young man they hae raised as their own,...
- 11/19/2023
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Emma Dante’s film took the Grand Prix, plus best actor for Simone Zambelli.
Emma Dante’s Italian drama Misericordia won the award for best film in Official Selection Competition at the 27th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, at the awards ceremony held tonight.
Adapted from Dante’s own play of the same name, the film follows three sex workers living in a wasteland by the sea, where the only light in their lives is the young man they care for together.
Scroll down for the full list of winners
Simone Zambelli also received the best actor award in the section.
Emma Dante’s Italian drama Misericordia won the award for best film in Official Selection Competition at the 27th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, at the awards ceremony held tonight.
Adapted from Dante’s own play of the same name, the film follows three sex workers living in a wasteland by the sea, where the only light in their lives is the young man they care for together.
Scroll down for the full list of winners
Simone Zambelli also received the best actor award in the section.
- 11/18/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Italian writer-director Emma Dante’s “Misericordia” has won the top prize at the Black Nights Film Festival in Tallinn, Estonia. Adapted from her own play, her third feature tells the story of a young man (Simone Zambelli) with learning difficulties, cared for by a group of sex workers on an island, protecting him from the cruelty of his abusive father. It’s a raw portrait of a marginalized group of people, mixing natural beauty of the locations with the grime of everyday existence.
Zambelli also took the award for best actor, for his role as the man-child at the center of the drama. The best actress prize was shared by Lubna Azabal, who plays a teacher in Jawad Rhalib’s “Amal,” and Kim Higelin, who stars in the controversial French drama “Consent,” directed by Vanessa Filho, as a teenager having an affair with a manipulative and exploitative 50-year-old writer.
The...
Zambelli also took the award for best actor, for his role as the man-child at the center of the drama. The best actress prize was shared by Lubna Azabal, who plays a teacher in Jawad Rhalib’s “Amal,” and Kim Higelin, who stars in the controversial French drama “Consent,” directed by Vanessa Filho, as a teenager having an affair with a manipulative and exploitative 50-year-old writer.
The...
- 11/18/2023
- by John Bleasdale
- Variety Film + TV
As the Black Nights Film Festival in Tallinn, Estonia, prepares for its 27th edition, Variety spoke with artistic director Tiina Lokk about its ambitions and coming highlights.
“If you see the festival like a big building, then all the walls are in and the building is ready, but some rooms are not furnished yet,” Lokk says, before adding philosophically. “I don’t believe that festivals can ever be completely ready. Because at the moment when I say, ‘Yes, now everything is ready,’ I’ve become like a stone and festivals, like show business in general, have to be always in the moment, changing.”
Tallinn boasts an impressive program this year featuring 117 world and international premieres. The opening film “The Guardians of the Formula,” directed by Dragan Bjelogrlić, is a co-production featuring a number of countries which are part of the “Focus” program, highlighting work from Serbia and South East Europe countries,...
“If you see the festival like a big building, then all the walls are in and the building is ready, but some rooms are not furnished yet,” Lokk says, before adding philosophically. “I don’t believe that festivals can ever be completely ready. Because at the moment when I say, ‘Yes, now everything is ready,’ I’ve become like a stone and festivals, like show business in general, have to be always in the moment, changing.”
Tallinn boasts an impressive program this year featuring 117 world and international premieres. The opening film “The Guardians of the Formula,” directed by Dragan Bjelogrlić, is a co-production featuring a number of countries which are part of the “Focus” program, highlighting work from Serbia and South East Europe countries,...
- 11/1/2023
- by John Bleasdale
- Variety Film + TV
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