A connoisseur assures us that there are many dogs this year in the streets of Cannes, where we regularly come across a Yorkshire Terrier wearing a Ralph Lauren cap, but particularly few on screen. After the spaniels of Tilda Swinton, the turn of a poodle to win the prestigious reward (a collar) of the Palm Dog. This is War Pony’s dog. A film selected in Un certain regard which tells the wanderings of two young natives in the United States. Directors Riley Keough (Elvis’ granddaughter) and Gina Gammell paid tribute to the “legendary” poodle Brittney who, not having made it to the Croisette, will have escaped the somewhat painful exercise of thanks.
The prize for Best Sound Creation, which applies to the Un certain regard selection, went to Corsage, for its “sound approach of a rare balance, restoring qualities of voice timbres, period atmospheres, degree of breathing and silences as well as musical compositions”. This drama by Marie Kreutzer recounts the tragic fate of Empress Sissi. The work of composition for films is also undergoing changes today, confides the director of Sacem Patrick Sigwalt. “Cinema goes faster, leaves less time to develop themes, which then become identifiable. But the younger generation of composers is taking the lead, developing gimmicks with few notes and, above all, venturing into new sound textures.”
How do you come to the movies when you’re not a ball kid? Alice Rohrwacher, young, loved many things, from literature to painting through “landscapes”. She soon realizes that the big screen can accommodate all these passions, explains the director of Happy as Lazzaro, during a master class given in French. Breathless then succeeds in convincing her, showing her that a film does not have to be confined to a story. That a realization can look like a game.
The proof on the screen: an unpublished short film by the one who won the Grand Prix at Cannes in 2014 for Les Merveilles is screened in the large Debussy hall. Children chirp between the rows. They are the actors of the film which starts on the screen. In Le Pupille, Alba Rohrwacher, the director’s sister, portrays a somewhat maniacal nun at the head of an orphanage for little girls. An aristocrat asks for prayers for her husband, chimney sweeps work on the roofs, little girls hum in the hallway. A huge cake is offered to the community. Fantasy descends four by four the steps of the old hospice. Let’s hope that Disney, which produces this short film, will put it online on its platform. It should be noted that many of the films presented during the festival take the family as their frame, whether present or absent, from Little Brother to Leila and her brothers in official competition, from Alma Vivat to Dalva in Critics’ Week.
On the heights of Cannes, a leading actress of the 1960s advanced at the end of the morning. Michèle Mercier, who lives in the city, was expected for a tribute ceremony: the city chose to give her name to part of the vast park. Montfleury. An evidence for the one who remains forever Angelique, marquise of the angels.
