Rachid Bouchareb discussed his controversial In Competitionfilm Hors la loi after its screening Friday morning. The film follows the storyof three brothers in the midst of the Algerian war, prompting much speculation regarding Bouchareb's true message in making this film. The press conference marks thefirst time the cast and director have agreed to speak about their highly anticipated and heavily protested film.Bouchareb refused to speak about Hors la loi before the festival, going so faras to...

Doug Liman presented his In Competition film Fair Game,starring Naomi Watts and Sean Penn, Thursday morning. The press conferencefollowing the screening addressed the true story of scandal, truth and lies of US spies Valerie Plame and Joe Wilson. Fair Game marks the third time Watts and Pennhave worked together, and she expressed her relief when she learned she’dbe playing alongside her longtime friend. “Everytime he’s infront of me, Ielevate my game to match his,” Watts said.Liman empha...

Lee Chang-Dong discussed his film Poetry at a press conference following the In Competition film's screening Wednesday morning. The conference's general theme revolved around the meaning of "poetry," in the film's context as well as in Chang-Dong's personal point of view."Poetry is not just like a bouquet of flowers that is beautiful in itself," Chang-Dong expressed. "It is life. No matter the ugliness of the world, there's always something beautiful inside. That's what ...

Abbas Kiarostami, 1997 Palme d'Or winner, returned to Cannes presenting his In Competition film, Copie Conforme. Tuesday morning's press conference, however, veered toward a heavier subject as Kiarostami called for the release of fellow Iranian filmmaker, Jafar Panahi, who has been imprisoned in a Tehran jail since March 1. Kiarostami hoped to draw attention to the struggle filmmakers face in his native country who are persecuted for having creative ideas, for films that haven't even been compl...

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu presented his film Biutiful Monday at the Cannes Film Festival. Reviews are falling on both ends of the spectrum, with critics and viewers feeling very strongly about it in either direction.Viewers exiting the screening yesterday were unanimously positive. Several viewers claimed they were so moved that they were truly incapable of discussing it at the moment. One spectator said, "I can't talk about it. I'm still in the movie." While another claimed, "A...

Japanese director Takeshi Kitano presented his newest film, Outrage, as part of the Cannes Film Festival’s Official Selection Monday morning. The violent film focuses on the Yakuza, that is organized Japanese crime. Kitano said he made a conscious effort to break the boundaries of the stereotypical Yakuza genre, and to portray violence in an innovative, original way. The film, which lacks a predominant hero, has many different characters including Kitano himself. Kitano explained why he enj...

Mahamet-Saleh Haroun and the cast of Un homme qui crie brought a sense of quiet pride and solemnity to the press conference following the In Competition film's screening Sunday morning. Director Haroun discussed the tension and danger involved in the making of his film set in modern-day Chad. Un homme qui crie follows the story of a father and son, while also shedding light on the current tumultuous state of Chad as well as many other countries in Black Africa. Haroun explained that he learned ...

The European Audiovisual Observatory hosted a workshop Sunday afternoon, focusing on the theme of financing the digitization of cinema in Europe. The workshop took place form 3p.m. to 4:30p.m. in Salle Bunuel in the Palais des Festivals. The Observatory's director, Wolfgang Closs, elaborated on the reason behind the workshop's theme, titled "Digital Cinema Tango! Getting the right rhythm for the digitization of European cinemas." Closs explained: "There is a clear problem of synch...

 Woody Allen's highly anticipated film You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger met less-than rave reviews following Saturday night's premiere screening. Exit polls from Saturday morning's press screening yielded positive reviews from audience members, thoughthe critics were hardly blown away by Allen's film. Impossible to avoid comparisons with Allen's most recent film, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, which garnered a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Penelope Cruz, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger fai...

Six-time Oscar nominated writer and director Mike Leigh appeared disgruntled and gruff at the start of Saturday morning's press conference following the premiere of his in competition film, Another Year. Leigh abrubtly refused to answer the first reporter's question, shouting: "I'm not taking any questions from you, and you know why!" The audience, seeming both taken aback and amused at this sudden outburst, became noticeably more alert.Leigh and his cast, including Jim Broadbent, Lesl...

Im Sangsoo's film The Housemaid screened Friday at the 63rd annual Cannes Film Festival. A remake of Kim Ki-young's 1960 film of the same name, The Housemaid is one of two Korean films in competition at this year's festival. The press conference following the film's screening featured pointed questions from reporters from all over the world. Many were curious about Sangsoo’s reasoning for remaking such an iconic Korean film.  Sangsoo reasserts that his film is more of a reinterpretation ...

        The competitive film, Another Year, by Mike Leigh, received two thumbs up from the audience that walked out of the Grande Theatre Lumierethis Saturday morning. Leigh’s premier was an ensemble comedy drama that starredhis usual cast of Jim Broadbent, Imelda Staunton, and Lesley Manville.Happiness and the passing of time are the themes that seem to percolate throughthe movie. One viewer expressed that Leigh seemed to display what doesn’tchange in our lives than w...

 With Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps premiering tonight, the streets of Cannes are buzzing off the charts. Oliver Stone's highly anticipated film has been generating even more talk since announcing its decision to push its release date from April to September, when Stone accepted Cannes' invitation to premiere his film at the 2010 festival. This will be Stone's first full-length film screening at the Cannes Film Festival, and Robin Hood's less-than-stellar reception only adds to the excit...

    Not even volcanic ash could keep some of the world's most prominent international film stars from arriving in Cannes for the opening ceremonies of the 63rd annual Film Festival. The premiere of Robin Hood Wednesday night was preceded by a star-studded red carpet event attracting fans and photographers from all over the world. Paparazzi camped out overnight on Tuesday to stake out the perfect shot of the evening's festivities.          Locals and tourists ali...

    By the looks of the storm-wrecked beaches days before, it would have seemed impossible for Cannes to transform into the miniature Hollywood it has become this week. Just days before the festival kicked off, the city was hit with Hawaii-sized waves and beach-ravaging winds. The coastline, speckled with restaurants and watersport rental agencies, was severely damaged. Entrepreneurs acted quickly to repair their destroyed properties, and for the first time there was a feeling of stress...