2018 Cannes Film Festival Marathon Announcement

From May 8-19, the 71st edition of the Cannes Film Festival will commence as this year's line-up is huge although there has been some controversy as it relates to Netflix not wanting to have their films be shown in theaters in France. I'm siding with the people at Cannes in the belief that films are meant to be seen in the big screen and considering that filmmakers like Alfonso Cuaron, Paul Greengrass, and Jeremy Slaunier are working with Netflix and won't have the chance for their films to be seen by the public in a big screen really fucking sucks. The fact that audiences might not get a chance to see the long-awaited film The Other Side of the Wind by Orson Welles that is finally to be shown in its completion is bullshit because Netflix is about exclusivity and the only way you can see it if you're a subscriber. I'm not really that fond of watching films on a laptop unless it's a film that isn't widely available but the idea of watching Orson Welles on a fucking smartphone is fucking bullshit. Because Netflix refuses to play along and throw a hissy-fit of not having their films play in competition for the Palme d'Or, none of the films being produced and distributed by Netflix will be shown at Cannes.

Despite this setback, there are still some films that will be shown by prominent filmmakers that will play in competition for the Palme d'Or such as Spike Lee, Asghar Farhadi, Jean-Luc Godard, Lee Chang-Dong, Pawel Pawlikowski, Matteo Garrone, Hirokazu Koreeda, Jafar Panahi, David Robert Mitchell, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, and many others. Out of competition will include the long-awaited return of Lars von Trier after being temporarily banned from Cannes due to controversial comments he made in 2011 as he will return with The House that Jack Built while Terry Gilliam will close the festival with his long-awaited film The Man Who Killed Don Quixote. Along with the premiere for Solo: A Star Wars Story from Ron Howard as well as new films from Wim Wenders, Debra Granik, and Gaspar Noe playing out of competition and in different sections. This year's festival is exciting as the jury of the Palme d'Or is headed by Cate Blanchett as she is joined by Kristen Stewart, Ava Duvernay, Chang Chen, Lea Seydoux, Denis Villeneuve, Andrey Zvyagintsev, Khadja Nin, and Robert Guediguian.

For the marathon, there will be no-rewatches this year nor will I watch films from laptop this year as I wanted to scale things down a bit as I've eventually chose 12 films this year to watch for the marathon. Four of the films I've selected this year are Palme d'Or winners while the rest are films that have played or have won awards from the festival as they will compete for the fictionalized version of the Palme d'Or in this marathon. Here are the 12 films that I will see for the duration of the marathon:

After the Storm (Played in the Un Certain Regarde Section 2016)

Breathe (Played in the International Critics Week Section 2014)

Captain Fantastic (2016 Best Director Un Certan Regarde Winner)

The Go-Between (1971 Palme d'Or Winner)

I, Daniel Blake (2016 Palme d'Or Winner & Palm DogManitarian Award)

The Lobster (2015 Jury Prize Winner, Palm Dog Award, & Queer Palm Special Mention)

Paterson (2016 Palm Dog Winner)

Personal Shopper (2016 Best Director co-winner)

The Salesman (2016 Best Actor & Best Screenplay Winner)

A Special Day (Played in Competition for the Palme d'Or 1977)

The Tree of the Wooden Clogs (1978 Palme d'Or Winner & Ecumenical Jury Prize)

Union Pacific (1939 Palme d'Or Winner awarded retrospectively at 2002)

Well, that is it for what to expect in this year's marathon as I will admit that there's not much diversity this year as I just went with what is available and how much I'm likely to do. Until then, this is thevoid99 saying au revoir.

© thevoid99 2018