Cannes Incoming!
The Cannes Film Festival has been the Holy Grail of Cinema worldwide for many years; it is not without a reason that a festival can remain successful and grow from strength to strength for such a long time. Its success rivals the Oscars in many ways; however, the Oscars is very exclusive when it comes to invitees. When it comes to Cannes, there is a huge variety of people you will get to see: from the biggest film stars and directors in the world to journalists representing their respective countries. Since this is the 70th edition of the festival, the Jury-board is even more star-studded than usual. The Jury is headed by Pedro Almodóvar and consists of the likes of Will Smith, Paolo Sorrentino, Agnès Jaoui, Fan Bingbing, Park Chan-wook, Jessica Chastain and Maren Ade. I have not seen such a diverse and celebrated Jury Panel for the last five years. Monica Bellucci, the brilliant Italian leading lady is the Mistress of Ceremony for the Festival. Uma Thurman will be presiding in the Un Certain Regarde section of the festival, and the Came'ra d'or will be headed by Sandrine Kiberlain. Cristian Mungiu was named as the President of Cinéfondation and Short Films Jury. Besides that, there was talk about Pierre Lescure not being a part of this year's festival as the President. However, he has been re-elected unanimously and will very much be involved with his renewal in terms. As I have been seeing him for the past few years, his presence and experience is very much welcome and I am happy for his re-election.
Besides the distinguished Jury panels, the competitions this time is at its apex. High-profile directors such as Fatih Akin, Sufia Coppola, Michael Haneke, Tom Haynes, Naomi Kawase and Yorgos Lanthimos are all being a part of the competition. I am eagerly waiting to see the "Virtual Reality Installation Exhibition" by Mexico's Alejandro González Iñárritu, a genius who has been amongst my favorite with classics like "Birdman". There is so much to see every year at the Cannes Film Festival, and it will be even more so this year. Who knows what surprise is waiting for us, from 17th May onwards? The grand celebration of cinema is on its way, and I am anxiously counting the days before I can go and become a part of this astonishing phenomenon.
Rafi Hossain Editor, Star Showbiz
Bangladesh in Cannes 2017
Since the past few years, Bangladesh has been represented in the Cannes Film Festival through many directors and journalists, with Kamar Ahmed Saimon being one of the most prominent among them. He is also representing us this year with his involvement in the Atelier program, which is a part of Cannes's film development initiative. He is one of the 15 promising directors invited for this event, and this is a proud moment not only for him, but for Bangladesh as a whole. The IEFTA (International Emerging Film Talent Association) is an association that provides a boost to talented filmmakers from all over the world. This time, they have collaborated with the IFIB (International Film Initiative Bangladesh) and are going to take three promising film directors from Bangladesh there. They will attend a 5-day long workshop, where they will be deconstructed on how to make a film; from finding producers, distributors to the screening of the film. One of the selected three is Lubna Sharmin, the winner of the Celebrating Life Film contest of 2006 organized by The Daily Star and Standard Chartered Bank. Lastly, Iqbal H Chowdhury's "Dhaka 2.00" and Josim Ahmed's "Daag" have been selected for the 'Short Film Corner' in the festival. It is being rumored that a large delegation from our media will attend the festival. So, from my understanding, we as a nation will make a respectable impact this year in Cannes. Bangladesh's involvement in the Cannes Film Festival increases every year, and it is indeed a positive precursor for our film industry.
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