When you take a look at the ten films selected for the 51st Semaine de la Critique at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival don’t be surprised if you don’t recognize any of the directors’ names. Nine the ten are first time feature directors with only Sandrine Bonnaire working on his sophomore effort with the William Hurt-led J’enrage de son absence.
Serving as the opening feature will be UK director Rufus Norris’s Broken. The film stars Tim Roth (2012 Cannes Un Certain Regard jury president) and Cillian Murphy and was adapted from Daniel Clay‘s novel of the same title, which centers on a young girl whose life changes after she witnesses a brutal attack.
Additional information on the rest of the selection is hard to come by, though Bonnaire and Alice Winocour do give the fest a pair of films from female directors. Of the two, Bonnaire’s J’enrage de son absence (Furious at his Absence) seems to be the one with the most information floating around out there about it. The synopsis reads as follows:
50-something Jacques resurfaces in Mado’s life after ten long years of absence. Mado, who is married and has a seven-year-old son Paul, is at first wary before renewing ties with her former lover.
But the couple’s relationship is marred by the death of a child and the increasingly strong affection between Jacques and little Paul ends up making Mado uncomfortable. To be closer to them, and despite her husband’s presence, Jacques moves into the basement of their home.
Along with Hurt, the film also stars Alexandra Lamy and Augustin Legrand.
The interesting thing about Augustine is that it was part of the festival’s Atelier selection last year in which selected filmmakers are invited to Cannes for the entire duration of the Festival to benefit from the privileged environment offered by the event and accede to international production and distribution. Festival organizers then organize individual meetings for each director, allowing access to international financing (producers, distributors, exporters, international aid funds); and ensuring after the Festival follow-up of contacts made and progress of the films’ making.
Things worked out well for Winocour as her film is now part of the Critics’ Week lineup. Here’s the synopsis:
1885. In Paris, at Pitie Salpetriere hospital, Professor Charcot is trying to understand an illness, hysteria, the causes of which as yet unknown. Augustine, a young woman just out of childhood, presents all the symptoms of the illness. It isn’t long before she attracts his attention. From object of study, Augustine soon becomes an object of desire, and the exclusive subject of his research, his obsession. Augustine does everything she can to seduce the Professor when he carries out experiments on her. Over the course of his examinations, their intimacy grows: the closer Charcot comes, the more he desires her; and the more he looks at her, the sicker she becomes.
You can still expect a closing night film to be announced. For now, here’s the selection.
COMPETITION
- Aqui y alla – Spain-U.S.-Mexico (dir. Antonio Mendez Esparza)
- Au galop – France (dir. Louis-Do de Lencquesaing)
- Hors les murs – Belgium-Canada-France (dir. David Lambert)
- Peddlers – India (dir. Vasan Bala)
- Los salvajes – Argentina (dir. Alejandro Fadel)
- Sofia’s Last Ambulance – Germany-Croatia-Bulgaria (dir. Ilian Metev)
- Les voisins de dieu – Israel-France (dir. Meni Yaesh)
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
- Broken – U.K. (dir. Rufus Norris) [Opening Film]
- Augustine – France (dir. Alice Winocour)
- J’enrage de son absence – France-Luxembourg-Belgium (dir. Sandrine Bonnaire)
