“Indian films in Cannes will be ‘new gen’ – not Bollywood and not ‘Bengali auteur’.”
Three dazzling films will present a united front for India at the 68th Cannes International Film Festival from May 13 to 24, 2015.
Masaan (2015) and Chauthi Koot (2015) will screen and compete in the ‘Un Certain Regard’ category, which awards upcoming talents with great potential in the industry.
Directed by Neeraj Ghaywan and written by Varun Grover, Masaan is a Hindi drama film jointly produced by India and France.
Starring Richa Chadda, Sanjay Mishra and Vicky Kaushal, the film explores family drama and inter-caste relationships in Varanasi.
Richa said: “[I am] thrilled to be going again to Cannes with a movie! [I am] over the moon and excited about this for India and the team of Masaan. It’s a huge deal.”
Neeraj shared the celebratory moment with his Twitter followers:
Happiest tweet I will ever put up. Our first film, MASAAN is selected at UN CERTAIN REGARD section of CANNES 2015. https://t.co/u0b2GyXRbb
— Neeraj Ghaywan (@ghaywan) April 16, 2015
Chauthi Koot is also an Indo-French production, directed by Gurvinder Singh. It revolves around the state-sponsored crimes in Punjab in the 1980s.
Having won critical acclaim for his debut Anhe Ghore Da Daan (2011), Gurvinder’s second feature film will bring tough competition to Cannes.
The third film to represent India comes from British Indian director, Asif Kapadia.
Amy (2015), his documentary about the late versatile British singer, will be shown at midnight screening, but will not compete in any categories.
However, this has not diminished Asif’s anticipation for the film’s reception at Cannes.
The Senna (2010) director said: “This is my first feature in Official Selection, so I’m very, very happy about that.”
“One day, I’ll be in Competition, I pray! Amy wasn’t the right film because it’s already been pre-sold, there’s a release schedule planned, and people don’t want to risk messing that up.”
Asif added: “As a director, it would have been a dream come true but I’m not complaining. I’m looking forward to an amazing experience.”
It is pleasing to see how Cannes welcomes a diversity of films made by Indian directors with open arms.
As festival director Thierry Frémaux said: “Indian films in Cannes will be ‘new gen’ – not Bollywood and not ‘Bengali auteur’.”
The 68th edition of the prestigious film festival will be led by the Oscar-winning Coen Brothers – Joel and Ethan. It also marks the first time the jury is co-chaired by two persons.
They will be joined by seven notable figures from the film industry around the globe, including former Bond girl Sophie Marceau (Spain), Jury Prize winner Xavier Dolan (Canada) and Oscar-nominated actor Jake Gyllenhaal (US).
They will select winners for different prizes, such as Best Actor and Best Screenplay. Most of all, they will choose one winner of the highest honour, the Palme d’Or, at the closing ceremony.
Here is the full list of official selection for the 68th Cannes Film Festival:
Opening Film
- La Tête Haute by Emmanuelle Bercot
In Competition for the Palme d’Or
- Dheepan by Jacques Audiard
- La Loi Du Marché (A Simple Man) by Stéphane Brizé
- Marguerite Et Julien (Marguerite And Julien) by Valérie Donzelli
- Il Racconto Dei Racconti (Tale Of Tales) by Matteo Garrone
- Carol by Todd Haynes
- Nie Yinniang (The Assassin) by Hou Hsiao Hsien
- Shan He Gu Ren (Moutains May Depart) by Jia Zhang-Ke
- Umimachi Diary (Our Little Sister) by Kore-Eda Hirokazu
- Macbeth by Justin Kurzel
- The Lobster by Yorgos Lanthimos
- Mon Roi by Maïwenn
- Mia Madre by Nanni Moretti
- Saul Fia (Son Of Saul) by László Nemes
- Youth by Paolo Sorrentino
- Louder Than Bombs by Joachim Trier
- The Sea Of Trees by Gus Van Sant
- Sicario by Denis Villeneuve
In Competition for Un Certain Regard
- Masaan by Neeraj Ghaywan
- Hrútar (Rams) by Grímur Hákonarson
- Kishibe No Tabi (Journey To The Shore) by Kurosawa Kiyoshi
- Je Suis Un Soldat (I Am A Soldier) by Laurent Larivière
- Zvizdan (The High Sun) by Dalibor Matanic
- The Other Side by Roberto Minervini
- Un Etaj Mai Jos (One Floor Below) by Radu Muntean
- Mu-Roe-Han (The Shameless) by Oh Seung-Uk
- Las Elegidas (The Chosen Ones) by David Pablos
- Nahid by Ida Panahandeh
- Comoara (The Treasure) by Corneliu Porumboiu
- Chauthi Koot (The Fourth Direction) by Gurvinder Singh
- Madonna by Shin Suwon
- Maryland by Alice Winocour
Out Of Competition
- Irrational Man by Woody Allen
- Inside Out by Pete Docter and Ronaldo del Carmen
- Mad Max: Fury Road by George Miller
- The Little Prince by Mark Osborne
Midnight Screenings
- O Piseu (Office) by Hong Won-Chan
- Amy by Asif Kapadia
Special Screenings
- Asphalte by Samuel Benchetrit
- Oka by Souleymane Cisse
- Hayored Lema’ala by Elad Keidan
- Sipur Al Ahava Ve Choshech (A Tale Of Love And Darkness) by Natalie Portman
- Amnesia by Barbet Schroeder
- Panama by Pavle Vuckovic
While we look forward to the ever so delightful red carpet, director Frémaux makes an interesting point by asking celebrities to ‘slow down the contemporary practice of [taking] selfies on the red carpet’.
Selfies allowed or not, DESIblitz is simply excited for these brilliant films to represent the best of India’s filmmaking at a world-renowned event!
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