There are few festivals where the placement of a selection comes under as much scrutiny as it does at the Cannes Film Festival. For example, many were surprised when the latest from auteur fave Claire Denis wasn’t put it in the main competition, but shifted to the second tier Un Certain Regard slate. Which brings us to David Lowery‘s acclaimed “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints,” which after a strong reception at Sundance (read our review), many pegged to be a no brainer for the Cannes Film Festival, with organizers often choosing one or two movies from Park City to make their overseas debut. Well, it will appear on the Croisette, just in a parallel event.
“Ain’t Them Bodies Saints” will get a special screening as part of Cannes Critics’ Week, with nearly the full slate of films being revealed this morning. It’s mostly an array of largely unknown foreign films, which tends to be a specialty of Critics’ Week, which puts its focus on new talent. It’s an internationally diverse slate, and as always, it will be fascinating to hear which movies gain buzz, giving the filmmakers their big step up in the film world. As for Lowery, it’s another feather in his cap in a very busy 2013 (he also edited “Upstream Color“), seeing him sign up to write “Pete’s Dragon” for Disney, take on “The Old Man And The Gun” with Robert Redford and tackle former David Fincher project “Torso.”
Cannes Critics’ Week runs from May 16-24. “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints” opens on August 16th.
OPENING FILM
- Suzanne, Katell Quillévéré (France)
- Closing film – TBA
FEATURES
- Salvo
Fabio Grassadonia & Antonio Piazza (Italy-France) - The Lunchbox
Ritesh Batra (India-France-Germany) - For Those in Peril
Paul Wright (UK) - The Dismantlement
Sébastien Pilote (Canada) - Nos héros sont morts ce soir
David Perrault (France) - Los Dueños
Agustin Toscano & Ezequiel Radusky (Argentina) - The Major
Yury Bykov (Russia)
SHORT FILMS
Vikingar Magali Magistry (France/Islande)
Agit Pop Nicolas Pariser (France)
Pátio Ali Muritiba (Brésil)
Come and Play Komm und Spiel Daria Belova (Allemagne)
The Opportunist David Lassiter (États-Unis)
Pleasure Ninja Thyberg (Suède)
Océan Emmanuel Laborie (France)
Tau Seru Rodd Rathjen (Inde/Australie)
La lampe au beurre de Yak HU Wei (France/Chine)
Breathe me HAN Eun-young (Corée du Sud)
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
- Ain’t Them Bodies Saints
David Lowery (USA) - You and the Night
Yann Gonzalez (France)