The Cowgirl Bob Is the Cooler, Messier Take on the French Bob

Marta Balaga Mohammad Rasoulof’s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” won the Fipresci award at Cannes. The jury of the International Federation of Film Critics called it “a courageous story set in modern-day Iran that deals with the conflict between tradition and progress, depicted in a very powerful and imaginative way.” Following a rapturous screening and 2024 record 12-minute standing ovation, the film became a Palme d’Or frontrunner, reported Variety.

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic Of all the films premiering at Cannes this year, “The Most Precious of Cargoes” is both an anomaly (the first animated feature to compete for the Palme d’Or since “Persepolis” in 2007) and the most likely to become a classic. Blending the heavy lines of early-20th-century woodcuts with the gentle pastels of watercolor painting, “The Artist” director Michel Hazanavicius finds a poignant way to address not only the horrors of the Holocaust, but the kinds of kindness that combatted it, crafting an indelible parable destined to be watched and shared by generations to come.

Laurent Lafitte who stars in the latest version of France’s feature take of Alexandre Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo thinks there’s twentysomething adaptations of the classic, but each one offers something different on the 1,400 page novel.

Anita Gou is no stranger to the festival circuit. Her L.A.-based Kindred Spirit banner saw a raft of its first projects debut at Sundance (think Lulu Wang’s Mandarin-language comedy The Farewell, which made $23M worldwide, Shia LaBeouf-starrer Honey Boy and Sam Levinson’s Assassination Nation) but, more recently, her co-production Silent Twins was selected in Un Certain Regard in 2022, while Dominic Savage’s Close To You premiered in Toronto last year. The company’s Mubi-acquired doc The Last Year of Darkness, which explores the lives of alternative Chinese youth, was awarded a Special Mention prize in the Next:Wave section at the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival last year.

Talk about an identity crisis!

EXCLUSIVE: Paolo Sorrentino‘s anticipated new movie Parthenope has sold around the world for Pathé here in Cannes where the film is playing in Competition.

Demi Moore‘s tiny dog Pilaf is enjoying her time in the spotlight!

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic At first, the violence seems limited to news reports. Every time a gangster is gunned down or a car bomb goes off in the streets of Corsica, the local channel flashes footage of the crime scene.

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter Disney and 20th Century’s “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” conquered the international box office again with $40.6 million in its second weekend of release. So far, the fourth chapter in the “Apes” reboot franchise has generated $136 million overseas and $237 million globally. It currently stands as the fourth-highest grossing movie of the year, behind “Kung Fu Panda 4” ($533 million), “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” ($561 million) and “Dune: Part Two” ($710 million).

Neon has grabbed North American rights to The Seed of the Sacred Fig, the latest film from Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof (There Is No Evil, Manuscripts Don’t Burn). 

The anarchic spirit of Julia Ducournau’s Palme d’Or winner Titane lives on in Emma Benestan’s Critics Week closer Animale, the genre-busting debut of a director who cites Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Kathryn Bigelow’s Near Dark, and the naturalist films of Chloé Zhao as influences. More surprisingly, she also credits Abdellatif Kechiche, since her first break was as assistant editor on his 2013 Palme d’Or winner Blue Is the Warmest Colour. 

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic In the Canadian cities of Montreal and Winnipeg, a futile tension exists between French and English speakers — doubly silly, since the country is officially bilingual. In his gently satirical “Universal Language,” writer-director Matthew Rankin imagines a rather fanciful solution, where Farsi is now the region’s dominant tongue.

Christopher Vourlias In the past decade, Swedish-Polish filmmaker Magnus von Horn has become something of a fixture on the French Riviera, with his latest film, “The Girl With the Needle,” the director’s third feature to debut at the Cannes Film Festival and his first to compete for the Palme d’Or. But the dark historical drama, which is set in post-WWI Copenhagen, marks a departure for the 40-year-old.

Rafael Nadal finds himself in a difficult position with his tennis. The beloved Spanish player is coming off of a destabilizing loss in Rome that’s making him reconsider playing in one of his favorite tournaments, the French Open, also known as the Roland Garros. Rafa Nadal is supported by his family at his first Madrid Open matchRafa Nadal’s emotional goodbye at the Madrid OpenEarlier last week, Nadal lost against Hubert Hurkacz in Rome.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds have shared part one of ‘The Making Of Wild God’ featuring Radiohead‘s Colin Greenwood.Directed by Megan Cullen and recorded at Miraval Studios in France, the new exclusive footage provides a behind-the-scenes glimpse into how Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds created their upcoming 18th album ‘Wild God‘.The first part of the docu-film sees Cave at a grand piano, playing chords. “We’ve just got to get this right ok? Don’t fuck it up at the 11th hour. Is that one of the things we thought was good? Sounds like a mad-man walked in to it,” Cave says during the first clips.Greenwood also makes an appearance while laying down parts of a bass track in the studio.

Thierry Fremaux addressed France’s #MeToo reckoning during a press conference on the eve of this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Following rumors that the French outlet Mediapart is putting together a bombshell report to publish during Cannes with several new #MeToo allegations, there has been much speculation regarding how it will impact the festival.

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter Disney and 20th Century’s “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” climbed to $72.5 million at the international box office in its first weekend of release. The newest film in the long-running “Apes” series also notched No. 1 in North America with $56.5 million, bringing its initial global tally to a promising $129 million.

Switzerland’s Nemo has won the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest!

EXCLUSIVE: 20th Century Studios/Disney’s Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is beating its chest towards a $125M global bow this weekend. At the international box office, we understand the Wes Ball-directed installment is at around $31M through Friday. As Anthony has reported, domestic is looking at a $52M-$55M start for the full frame.

Not everyone is satisfied with how The Idea of You ends – including the author of the book that inspired the film.