interesting to see that China is more and more present in the market (a 22 percent increase between 2013 and 2014) while the Americans are still the most numerous, representing almost 20 percent of all industry people. As for films, in 2014, 5,200 films were for sale at the market, of which 810 were documentaries.
And to finish with those dizzying figures, in terms of overall accreditations, 31,400 are granted, and more than 125,000 people come to Cannes for the festival, to work, to holiday and to get a glimpse of actors. This city of 75,000 inhabitants suddenly swells to 200,000, to the joy of traders and shopkeepers, and the dismay of most Cannes residents, mostly wealthy elderly pensioners.
And if Cannes still remains on top of the film game, it is not only a question of numbers and dollars. It is first of all a question of artistic integrity and controversy. Films selected at Cannes tell us about the world we live in, or what newspapers call ‘current affairs’. And they do not usually paint a rosy picture.
Geopolitics lesson: Watching the year’s ‘world cup’ of films at Cannes each year is the best graduate course in geopolitics. Cannes shows films that ask difficult questions, demand that we reconsider our actions, and gives us a novel perspective on present and past events.
This year, the uncompromising French film director Jacques Audiard is back with ‘Dheepan’, a film about three refugees. They arrive in France, having fled the war in Sri Lanka, and pretend to be members of the same family in order to be accepted in, when in fact, they are complete strangers. It is a film about feeling alien and about integration in a new environment in more ways than one.
The Chinese film-maker Jia Zhang-Ke also talks about exile and immigrants in his film ‘Mountains May Depart’. In 1999, a young Chinese woman makes a choice, immigrates to Australia, which has far-reaching consequences on her friends and family back home.
Cannes does not only deal with the world outside, but also with our inside world, family, and relationships. In other words, the politics of the intimacy. It seems that this year again, the theme of how we all deal with the end of life, is preoccupying a lot of film directors. ‘Chronic’ by Michel Franco shows Tim Roth as a nurse in palliative care. Old age and death can however also take a comic turn, it sure should with the Italian comedy directed by Paolo Sorrentino and ironically called ‘Youth’ with Harvey Keitel and Michael Caine in the leading roles. And to wrap up this trend, Gus Van Sant’s ‘The Sea of Trees’ with Matthew McConaughey, also deals with suicide and survival in the shadow of Japan’s Mount Fuji.
Cannes’ 68th edition should again strike world critics to the core, and reveal tomorrow’s new unyielding talents.
Originally appeared: ‘Cannes is 68 and ageing nicely’. Courtesy: Aljazeera.com