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Iran silent as dissident director wins Cannes' top prize
Iran silent as dissident director wins Cannes' top prize

Kuwait Times

time5 days ago

  • Entertainment
  • Kuwait Times

Iran silent as dissident director wins Cannes' top prize

(From left) Indian filmmaker and member of the jury of the 78th cannes film festival Payal Kapadia, French-Moroccan writer and journalist and member of the jury of the 78th cannes film festival Leila Slimani, Mexican filmmaker and member of the jury of the 78th cannes film festival Carlos Reygadas, French actress and president of the jury of the 78th cannes film festival Juliette Binoche, Italian actress and member of the jury of the 78th cannes film festival Alba Rohrwacher, South korean filmmaker and member of the jury of the 78th cannes film festival Hong Sang-Soo, Congolese filmmaker and member of the jury of the 78th cannes film festival Dieudo Hamadi, US actor and member of the jury of the 78th cannes film festival Jeremy Strong and US actress and member of the jury of the 78th cannes film festival Halle Berry arrive for the Closing Ceremony at the 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes.--AFP photos Iranian authorities offered no reaction on Sunday after dissident filmmaker Jafar Panahi won the Cannes Film Festival's top prize for his political drama. Panahi, 64, was awarded the Palme d'Or on Saturday night for 'It Was Just an Accident' - a film in which five Iranians confront a man they believe tortured them in prison. A story inspired by his own time in detention, it had led critics' polls throughout the week at Cannes. The win has so far been met with silence from Iran's government and ignored by the state broadcaster, which instead focused on a state-aligned 'Resistance' film festival. The conservative Fars news agency suggested the jury's choice was politically motivated, saying it was 'not uninfluenced by the political issues surrounding Jafar Panahi inside Iran'. Reformist newspapers Etemad, Shargh and Ham Mihan reported the win on their websites but did not feature it on their front pages, possibly due to the timing of the announcement. US actor John C. Reilly sings on stage. Belgian co-Producer Luc Dardenne and Belgian co-Producer Jean-Pierre Dardenne celebrate on stage next to US actor John C. Reilly after winning the Best Screenplay prize for the film "Jeunes Meres" (The Young Mother's Home). Iranian director and screenwriter and producer Jafar Panahi (right) and his team celebrate on stage after winning the Palme d'Or for the film Un "Un simple accident" (A Simple Accident). Iranian director and screenwriter and producer Jafar Panahi poses on stage after winning the Palme d'Or for the film "Un simple accident" (A Simple Accident). Palestinian director Tawfeek Barhom (left) poses with Director Adnan Al Rajeev during a photocall after winning the Short Film Prize for the film "I'm Glad You're Dead Now". British director Akinola Davies Jr poses on a photocall after receiving a special mention of the Camera d'Or prize for the film "My Father's Shadow", next to Italian director and screenwriter and president of the camera d'or jury Alice Rohrwacher and Iraqi director Hasan Hadi winner of the Camera d'Or prize for the film "The President's Cake". French-Spanish film director Oliver Laxe poses during a photocall after winning ex-aequo the Jury Prize for the film "Sirat". Chinese director and screenwriter Bi Gan poses for a photocall after receiving a Special Prize for the film "Kuang ye shi dai" (Resurrection). Brazilian Director Kleber Mendonca Filho poses with his partner French film producer Emilie Lesclaux during a photocall after winning the Best Director prize for the film "O Agente Secreto" (The Secret Agent) and with the Best Actor Prize on behalf of Brazilian actor Wagner Moura. Norwegian director and screenwriter Joachim Trier (center) poses with (from left) US actress Elle Fanning, Norwegian actress Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Norwegian actress Renate Reinsve and Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgard during a photocall after winning the Grand Prix for the film "Affeksjonsverdi" (Sentimental Value). French actress Nadia Melliti poses during a photocall with her trophy after she won the Best Actress Prize for her part in the film "La Petite derniere" ("The Little Sister", alternatively called "The Last One"). Panahi, who has been banned from filmmaking since 2010 and jailed multiple times, addressed the Cannes audience with a call for national unity. He confirmed plans to return to Iran immediately. Asked on Saturday night if he feared arrest, he said: 'Not at all. Tomorrow we are leaving.' This marks only the second time an Iranian director has won the Palme d'Or, after the late Abbas Kiarostami received the honour for 'Taste of Cherry' in 1997. Both directors faced bans throughout their careers. — AFP

RAI Cinema Chief Paolo Del Brocco on Selling ‘Heads or Tails' in Cannes and a New Victor Kossakovsky Doc Made With Italian Botanist Stefano Mancuso (EXCLUSIVE)
RAI Cinema Chief Paolo Del Brocco on Selling ‘Heads or Tails' in Cannes and a New Victor Kossakovsky Doc Made With Italian Botanist Stefano Mancuso (EXCLUSIVE)

Yahoo

time22-05-2025

  • Entertainment
  • Yahoo

RAI Cinema Chief Paolo Del Brocco on Selling ‘Heads or Tails' in Cannes and a New Victor Kossakovsky Doc Made With Italian Botanist Stefano Mancuso (EXCLUSIVE)

Roughly a year after its launch, Italian state broadcaster RAI's new sales unit for film is at Cannes with its first full-fledged slate headlined by surreal Western 'Heads or Tails' starring John C. Reilly as Buffalo Bill during his stay in Italy that is launching in Un Certain Regard. The RAI Cinema International Distribution slate also includes a new under-the-radar doc by prominent Russian documentary filmmaker Victor Kossakovsky, known for 'Gunda' and 'Aquarela.' Kossakovsky is now making another ecology-themed doc titled 'Tears for Firs' in collaboration with Italian botanist Stefano Mancuso, a pioneer in the plant neurobiology movement who has written several best-selling books including 'Tree Stories.' 'It's about the entire life cycle of trees and the correlation between plant life and the life of our planet,' said RAI Cinema chief Paolo Del Brocco. More from Variety 'Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk' Review: A Stirring Chronicle of a Gaza Journalist Who Was Killed Before Its Cannes Premiere Elle Fanning Wipes Away Tears as Palme Buzz Builds for Joachim Trier's 'Sentimental Value,' Scoring Massive 15-Minute Cannes Ovation 'Sentimental Value' Review: Joachim Trier's Resonant Family Drama Treats a Beautiful Old House as the Foundation for Healing 'Tears for First' is being produced by Rome-based Be Water Film with RAI Cinema. Del Brocco in Cannes spoke to Variety about how the new Italian sales outfit has been faring and what's in its pipeline. Why did you launch a sales unit and how has it been going? We are Italy's main movie producers, so it made sense for us to complete the integration of our film business by starting to directly handle sales on a small portion of the films that we produce, co-produce, and distribute in order to give them greater visibility in global markets. Both in terms of commercial sales and distribution and also greater participation in festivals. We have essentially geared our sales side mainly towards new Italian cinema, as our slate shows. And after a year we have a more solid lineup and some results to show. We started with Margherita Vicario's musical comedy 'Gloria!' which sold to 40 countries, we sold Trudy Styler's documentary 'Posso Entrare? An Ode to Naples' to 35 countries, including to Hulu in the U.S. And we recently had great success with 'Madly' by 'Perfect Strangers' director Paolo Genovese that has sold to 40 territories and is still selling. More importantly, like 'Perfect Strangers' we are selling remake rights. We just sold 'Madly' to China and Paolo will be attending the Shanghai Film Festival with this film. What are your expectations for 'Heads or Tails' in terms of sales? So, first off, it's the second feature by these two directors, Alessio Rigo de Righi and Matteo Zoppi, whose previous film 'The Tale of King Crab' made a splash in Directors' Fortnight. It's a very original film which I think is going to sell well and we are also distributing it in Italy, so we really believe in it. The cast is excellent because, besides John C. Reilly ,it has Alessandro Borghi ('Supersex') and French star Nadia Tereszkiewicz ('Red Island'). And it's a very gripping story about when Buffalo Bill came to Italy. So it's a very buzzy film and we've had plenty of buyers at the market screenings. Of course the fact that it's playing towards the end of the festival means we can't benefit from reviews yet, but it is sparking great interest and these are directors who we want to continue to work with going forward. Below are other standout fresh titles in RAI Cinema International Distribution slate: — 'A Year of School,' directed by Laura Samani. This is the second feature by Samani who made a splash with 'Small Body' that was a 2021 Cannes Critics' Week standout. It's an adaptation of Italian author Giani Stuparich's 1929 novel of the same name that's been transposed to 2007 and set in all-male high-school class in Trieste where the arrival of an exuberant 17-year-old Swedish girl named Fred disrupts existing dynamics. — 'Siblings,' directed by Greta Scarano. Matilda De Angelis ('Fuori') stars as the sister of an autistic man named Omar who is forced to return to her hometown to care for her older brother named Omar in this tender comedy that marks the directorial debut of Scarano, an actor known for roles in 'The Name of The Rose' and the Italian adaptation of British TV series 'Liar.' — 'Elisa — Io la volevo uccidere.' A new psychological drama by Italian director Leonardo Di Costanzo ('The Inner Cage,' 'The Intruder') toplining French-Moroccan multi-hyphenate Roschd Zem ('Days of Glory,' 'The Innocent') and Italy's Barbara Ronchi ('Kidnapped'). –– 'Christmas Song,' a doc by Roberta Torre ('Tano to Die For') about female inmates in a Milan penitentiary who are preparing to perform Christmas carols behind bars and provides several backstories of why they are in jail. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Talk/Scripted Variety Series - The Variety Categories Are Still a Mess; Netflix, Dropout, and 'Hot Ones' Stir Up Buzz Oscars Predictions 2026: 'Sinners' Becomes Early Contender Ahead of Cannes Film Festival

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