The 59th Annual Cannes Film Festival

Posted by Fetch Tue, 06 Jun 2006 16:21:00 GMT

Visiting the South of France in May is the trip of a life time, but to be able to travel to the Cannes Film Festival with your own film is truly a wild ride. Matthew Tritt, Jessica Arinella, Matthew Rashid and I reunited on the French Riviera to celebrate the success of What are the Odds? We’ve been all over the country with the film, but the International success was worth the jet lag. Sadly Chris Borg and Justin Spitzer weren’t able to attend due to their schedules. (stay tuned for updates on Justin, as he’s busy writing the latest season of The Office in Los Angeles.)

All the films we saw, won’t make it to the United States for several months. It’s always a thrill to see something before anyone else has the opportunity. We saw Babel by Alejandro González Iñárritu, Marie-Antoinette by Sofia Coppola, Bug by William Friedkin, and Red Road produced by Lars Van Trier and directed by Andrea Arnold.

One of our favorites was the latest triumph from Pedro Almadovar - Volver. We predict that you’ll hear a lot about Penelope Cruz at Oscar time. It was a very moving film about mothers and daughters that made us laugh, cry and want more. I, for one, have never seen a male actor capture women with such accuracy.

Shortbus by John Cameron Mitchell was the unanimous favorite. Not only was it fantastic, but it’s a true tribute to the city of New York and made us all homesick. The film starts with an animated arial view of Manhattan and Brooklyn like What are the Odds? Was John Cameron Mitchell chanelling the folks at Asterisk when he settled on his titles?

I cannot leave our Cannes memories without mentioning the strangest most intense film I have ever seen. Hungarian director, György Pálfi, brought his sophmore effort, Taxadermia, to the festival. It involved a fire breathing penis, sex with animals, flesh eating cats, projectile vomitting and a man removing his organs while still alive. On top of all this excitement, the production design and cinematography were wonderful. I can’t say that I enjoyed it, but it was great seeing something that would never been produced in America. I truly hope this makes it state-side because if you aren’t squeemish, and have a desire to see some truly original filmmaking, be sure to check it out.