Final Cannes Critical Views / Cannes Winners...Anyone Coming to Telluride?

FINAL CANNES CRITICAL VIEWS

Here is a look at the final critical reaction from Cannes regarding 13 films that I have my eye on regarding a possible play at Telluride:

From the Palme Competition category (on a 10 point scale):

The Mastermind: 6.53

Die, My Love: 6.51

Young Mothers: 6.33

The History of Sound: 4.88

A Simple Accident: 7.08

From Un Certain Regard:

Eleanor the Great: 5.58

The Chronology of Water: 6.19

Out of Competition:

Splitsville: 5.65

Orwell: 2+2=5: 7.13

The Disappearance of Joseph Mengele: 5.96

The Wave: 5.88

The Love That Remains (Palmason) 7.72

The Magnificent Life of Marcel Pagnol 6.18

Looking at the Palme competitors, the top five currently are:

1) Sirat (Laxe) 7.90

2) Nouvelle Vague (Linklater) 7.22

3) Sentimental Value (Trier) 7.02

4) The Secret Agent (Filho) 7.01

5) Resurrection (Gan) 7.00

FROM SCREEN DAILY

Palme Competition top five (on a 4 point scale)

1) Two Prosecutors 3.1 (Tie)

1) It Was Just an Accident ( A Simple Accident) 3.1 (Tie)

3) The Secret Agent 2.8 (Tie)

3) Sound of Falling 2.8 (Tie)

And tied with a 2.7: Nouvelle Vague, Romeria, Sentimental Value, Young Mothers and The Mastermind.

FROM IONCINEMA

Palme Competition top five ( on a five point scale):

1) Sirat 3.9

2) The Secret Agent 3.6

3) It Was Just an Accident (A Simple Accident) 3.5

4) Sentimental Value 3.4 (tie)

4) Young Mothers 3.4 (tie)

CANNES WINNERS...ANYONE COMING TO TELLURIDE?

From Erik Anderson and Awards Watch...the big winners from Cannes:

MAIN COMPETITION

Palme d’Or: It Was Just an Accident by Jafar Panahi

Gran Prize: Sentimental Value by Joachim Trier

Jury Prize: Sirât by Oliver Laxe and Sound of Falling by Mascha Schilinski

Best Director: Kleber Mendonça Filho for The Secret Agent

Best Actor: Wagner Moura for The Secret Agent

Best Actress: Nadia Melliti for The Little Sister

Best Screenplay: Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne for Jeues Mères

Special Prize: Resurrection by Bi Gan

A CERTAIN REGARD

Un Certain Regard Prize: The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo by Diego Céspedes

Jury Prize: A Poet by Simón Mesa Soto

Best Director: Tarzan and Arab Nasser for Once Upon a Time in Gaza

Best Actor: Frank Dillane for Urchin

Best Actress: Cleo Diára for I Only Rest in the Storm

Best Screenplay: Harry Lighton for Pillion

So, if you're looking at what happened at Cannes to predict what might play TFF #52 the awards are important and the critical reaction is important...also important is the distribution deals made at the fest.  The key moves were made by Neon and Mubi.

At the conclusion of Cannes Neon held the distribution rights for: It Was Just an Accident (Palme winner), Sentimental Value (Gran Prix winner), Sirat (Jury Prize), The Secret Agent (Best Direction), Alpha, Splitsville and Orwell 2+2=5.  That's seven films that Neon will be juggling as we head into Fall Film Fest Season.

Mubi post-Cannes has: Die, My Love, The Sound of Falling (Jury Prize), The History of Sound and The Mastermind.

Analysis:  It's tempting to think that Neon might have its biggest presence at Telluride ever.  That actually almost seems inevitable.  All factors taken together would seem to point to Jafar Panahi's Palme winner as the most logical first possibility. The second most likely might be Splitsville.  After that, it's pick 'em.  I'm kind of feeling Sentimental Value, Orwell and Sirat...but that's just a gut feeling.

Mubi's best bets right now seem to be Die, My Love and The Mastermind.  The History of Sound may be off the TFF list of possibilities as a result of a relatively dismal critical reception.

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The Critics at Cannes (Cont.) / And Now...Venice? / An IMDb Thing

 THE CRTICS AT CANNES (CONT.)

We're past the half way mark at the 78th Cannes Film festival and here's the check-in on the latest critical response to the films screening there.  

Here is a look from regarding 13 films at Cannes that I have my eye on regarding a possible play at Telluride:

From the Palme Competition category (on a 10 point scale):

The Mastermind: 6.16

Die, My Love: 6.52

Young Mothers: 5.75

The History of Sound: 5.09

A Simple Accident: 6.91

From Un Certain Regard:

Eleanor the Great: 5.81

The Chronology of Water: 6.17

Out of Competition:

Splitsville: 6.36

Orwell: 2+2=5: 7.13

The Disappearance of Joseph Mengele: 5.68

The Wave: 5.84

The Love That Remains (Palmason) 7.73

The Magnificent Life of Marcel Pagnol 6.22

Looking at the Palme competitors, the top five currently are:

1) Sirat (Laxe) 7.90

2) Nouvelle Vague (Linklater) 7.25

3) The Secret Agent (Filho) 7.02

4) Resurrection (Gan) 7.00

5) Sentimental Value (Trier) 6.94

FROM SCREEN DAILY

Palme Competition top five (on a 4 point scale)

1) Two Prosecutors 3.1 (Tie)

1) It Was Just an Accident ( A Simple Accident) 3.1 (Tie)

3) The Secret Agent 2.8 (Tie)

3) Sound of Falling 2.8 (Tie)

3) Sentimental Value 2.8 (Tie)

FROM IONCINEMA

Palme Competition top five ( on a five point scale):

1) Sirat 3.9

2) The Secret Agent 3.6

3) It Was Just an Accident (A Simple Accident) 3.4

4) Nouvelle Vague 3.3

5) Sound of Falling 3.2

AND NOW...VENICE?

As Cannes gets close to its conclusion, some attention has begun to focus on what films will play Venice.  As frequent readers will recall, inclusion at Venice doesn't necessarily point to a film being selected for Telluride nor does it signal that it won't be.  The key to reading the Venetian tea leaves as they relate to Telluride actually comes when Venice releases its schedule.  Early screenings in Venice leave the door open for a Venice-Telluride double play.  

The point is that paying attention to Venice's choices can still be instructive.  To that end, Screen Daily posted on Monday a piece dedicated to possible Venice choices.  They include (in the order that the film appears in the piece):

The Smashing Machine/B. Safdie

The Ballad of a Small Player/E. Berger

Hamnet/C. Zhao

Bugonia/Y. Lanthimos

After the Hunt/L. Guadagnino

Father, Mother, Sister, Brother/J. Jarmusch

Rosebush Pruning/K. Ainouz

Sacrifice/R. Gavras

Couture/A. Winocour

Orphan/L. Nemes

No Other Choice/P. Chan-wook

Anemone/R. Day-Lewis

Yellow Letters/I. Catak

Call Me Queen/E. Atef

Whitetail/N. Leopold

A Prayer for the Dying/D. Van Dusen

Chocobar/L. Martel

My guess as to the best Telluride possibilities from this list:

The Ballad of a Small Player

Hamnet

Bugoina

After the Hunt

Orphan

What I'd really like to see at Telluride: Anemone

Screen Daily's complete rundown of Venice possibilities is here.

AN IMDB THING

So, I was running down Bradley Cooper's Is This Thing On? on IMDb (the app) a couple of days ago and noticed in the section labeled "Related User Lists" and the first list listed there was labeled "Telluride Possibilities".  Like this:

So naturally, I was intrigued.  I clicked on "pj_withers" list and discovered that MTFB was the reference:

So my next thought was...from this list of 30 films, what others, in addition to Is This Thing On?, does this list come up on?  All of them?

Turns out...no, not all of them.  But it does for 11 of them.

Is This Thing On?

Hamnet

Eleanor the Great

After the Hunt

Anemone

Megadoc

The Love That Remains

It Was Just an Accident

The Magnificent Life of Marcel Pagnol

Bucking Fastard

David Lynch: Hollywood Enigma

I'm not sure why these 11 are linked to this "Related User List" the other 19 are not.  I'm not sure who "pj_withers" is but I think this is kind of cool.

More on Monday including what won the Palme d'Or at Cannes.

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The Critic's Begin to Weigh-in on Cannes / Clip from Die, My Love / Deliver Me from Nowhere Has a Date

THE CRTICS BEGIN TO WEIGH IN ON CANNES

We're not quite a week into Cannes but we do have some critical responses to take a gander at.  Initially, here is a look from Cannes-ratings.org regarding 13 films at Cannes that I have my eye on regarding a possible play at Telluride:

From the Palme Competition category (on a 10 point scale):

The Mastermind: 6.65

Die, My Love: 6.59

Young Mothers: 5.73

The History of Sound: 5.41

A Simple Accident: 6.12

From Un Certain Regard:

Eleanor the Great: 8.83

The Chronology of Water: 6.19

Out of Competition:

Splitsville: 8.67

Orwell: 2+2=5: 7.12

The Disappearance of Joseph Mengele: 6.11

The Wave: 5.88

The Love That Remains (Palmason) 7.79

The Magnificent Life of Marcel Pagnol 6.16

Looking at the Palme competitors, the top five currently are:

1) Sentimental Value (Trier) 9.00

2) Sirat (Laxe) 7.95

3) Nouvelle Vague (Linklater) 7.27

4) Romeria (Simon) 7.20

5) Fuori (Martone (7.00) and Resurrection (Gan) 7.00 (tie)

The complete list is here.

FROM SCREEN DAILY

Plame Competition top five (on a 4 point scale)

1) Two Prosecutors 3.1

2) The Secret Agent 2.8 (Tie)

2) Sound of Falling 2.8 (Tie)

4) Nouvelle Vague 2.7

5) Sirat, Renoir and Die, My Love 2.5 (Tie) 

The complete grid is here.

FROM IONCINEMA

Palme Competition top five ( on a five point scale):

1) Sirat 3.9

2) Sound of Falling 3.2 (Tie)

2) Nouvelle Vague 3.2 (Tie)

4) Renoir 2.9

5) Dossier 137 2.8

The complete grid is here.

CLIP FROM DIE, MY LOVE

In conjunction with its screening in Palme competition at Cannes, we saw the release of a clip from Lynne Ramsay's Die, My Love. Here that is via YouTube and The Upcoming:

DELIVER ME FROM NOWHERE HAS A DATE

Jeremy Allen White as Bruce Springsteen in Deliver Me from Nowhere (via IMDb)

20th Century Studios announced this past week that Scott Cooper's Bruce Springsteen biopic, Deliver Me from Nowhere, has been dated for an Oct. 24th release.  The date is very fall fest friendly leaving the door open for the film to screen at TFF #52 as well as Venice, Toronto and/or New York.  As I have mentioned here, Cooper has had a good relationship with Telluride over the years with Black Mass appearing at T-ride in 2015 and Hostiles in 2017. It also doesn't hurt that Searchlight is involved in the film's distribution.

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Cannes Has Begun / Four Films on the Edge: Blue Moon, Anemone, Bucking Fastard and Welcome to Lynchland

CANNES HAS BEGUN

The 78th Cannes Film Festival opened last Tuesday and will run though May 24th.  TFF watchers know that it's likely that anywhere from 6-10 films screening there the next few days will probably end up in Telluride over Labor Day.  That's been the trend for some time.  One of the things I'll be doing over the next few posts is checking to see how critics respond.  Several film outlets will be posting composite critical responses and I traditionally keep track some of those and report them but the Big Daddy of all Cannes compilations comes from cannes-ratings.org.  

So this week I took a moment to try to calibrate what that compilation has told us over the years.  What I did was to look for the lowest rated film that played at Cannes that also played Telluride.  My thought was that perhaps by doing that we might establish some critical baseline for where the cutoff is below which it's unlikely a film will be selected for Telluride inclusion.

Thus here are the lowest rated films from Cannes for each year (going back to 2011) that made it to TFF.  Cannes-ratings uses a 1-10 scale.

2024-Santosh-5.97

2023-Strange way of Life-5.58

2022-Tori and Lokita-6.11

2021-Unclenching the Fist-6.08

2019-Family Romance LLC-5.68

2018-The Eyes of Orson Welles-6.11

2017-An Inconvenient Sequel-5.75

2016-Neruda-6.58

2015-Rams-5.10

2014-Wild Tales-5.41

2013-Jororowsky's Dune-5.55

2012-Paradise:Love-5.03

2011-Bonsai-5.00

As you can see, the outliers are Neruda at the top and Bonsai and Paradise: Love at the bottom.  The average rating to claim the last Cannes to T-ride spot is at 5.69.  So, if you want to check what the critical reception at Cannes, that might be a spot to think that anything below that has a lesser chance to get to Telluride.

One other point, since it's still so early in the Cannes fest most of the films only have a very few reviews as yet. As Cannes rolls on those films will gather more and more critical responses and you can get a better idea for where a film may end up.  For example, the film at the top of the list right now is Love Me Tender with a 9.12 cumulative rating but it's only been reviewed by four critics...so grain of salt.

Monday's MTFB will have my first real look.

FOUR FILMS ON THE EDGE:

Four films on the periphery of my analysis of what goes to Telluride had moments this week that, at the very least, didn't hurt their chances of playing Telluride.

Richard Linklater's Blue Moon- The film's release dates were announced this week.  It will have a limited release on Oct. 17th followed by a wider release on Oct. 24th.  Linklater has never been to TFF as far as I can discern which works against the notion that it will play Telluride.  However, it does have some things working in its favor.  These release dates for one.  Also, a good critical response from Berlin where it also picked up for Andrew Scott for Best Supporting Performance. It's from Sony Pictures Classics and it stars Ethan Hawke who is often a TFF attendee.

Ronan Day-Lewis's Anemone- Like Blue Moon, Anemone's release dates were also announced this week and leave open the possibility for T-ride.  Anemone will open limited on Oct. 3rd and wide on Oct. 10th.  The film stars past TFF tribute recipient Daniel Day-Lewis who also co-wrote the screenplay.  Day-Lewis first attended TFF in 1989 with My Left Foot and returned for his tribute in 2007 with some scenes from There Will Be Blood.  He won Best Actor Oscars for both of those performances.  Another factor working in favor of a TFF play is that the distributor is Focus Features which has been a reliable Telluride player for years.

Werner Herzog's Bucking Fastard-  Herzog has possibly been the most screened director at Telluride over the years and The Playlist reports:

"Production took place in Ireland (hence the “Irish landscape”) and Slovenia, having wrapped filming last month, as the film is now heading to the Cannes Film Market with the aim of sharing footage with potential buyers."

So it may be ready for a San Juan screening.

Stephane Ghez's Welcome to Lynchland-Played Yesterday at the Cannes Fest with David Lynch's son, Riley introducing it.  The documentary about Lynch's career and films feels like it could be right down TFF's alley given Lynch's stature and his early participation with TFF.

More on Monday.

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Cannes Looms / Clip from Eleanor the Great

CANNES LOOMS

The 78th Cannes Film Festival starts up on Tuesday and runs through May 24th.  As MTFB has done over the past few years, I'll continue to take snapshots of the critical reactions to films and pass those along with each post over the next couple of weeks.

One of  the things that can happen during the course of the festival is that I'll notice some films that I haven't really considered for TFF emerge with a strong critical endorsement.  In other words, a film can move onto my TFF list of possible choices with a strong critical endorsement.

Meanwhile, I took a look at a group of four outlets which have recently posted their "Most Anticipated" Cannes films.  I was looking for a couple of things.  First, what films already seem to be sparking heat and second, a look at the level of interest for films that I have already listed as TFF possibilities.

So, I looked at lists from Harper's Bazaar, W, The Film Stage and Screen Rant.  Five films were on all four lists:

Alpha/J. Ducournau/Neon

The History of Sound/O. Hermanus/Focus-Mubi

Eddington/A. Aster/A24

Die, My Love/L. Ramsay/No U.S. Distributor

Sentimental Value/Joachim Trier/Neon

From this list I have already been pointing at The History of Sound and Die, My Love as TFF #52 potentials.  Eddington is set for a July release here in the U.S. so no TFF play there but I may have to start considering both Alpha and Sentimental Value especially as they're both coming from Neon.

Films with three mentions were Wes Anderson's The Phoenician Scheme (opening in the U.S. on June 6th so no T-ride) and Kristen Stewart's The Chronology of Water which I have had on my pre-Cannes watch list.

Films that made two of the lists included Eleanor the Great and The Mastermind.  Both have popped up here as TFF possibilities.  Michael Angel Covino's Splitsville would have made this list save for its August 22nd U.S. release date.

The Film Stage made mention of three other films that have been on my radar: It Was Just an Accident, The Love That Remains and The Magnificent Life of Marcel Pagnol.

The Film Stage also has an "Honorable Mention" section that includes The Chronology of Water and Eleanor the Great.

Here's the link to the Harper's Bazaar list.

Here's the link to the W list.

Here's the link to The Film Stage list.

Here's the link to The Screen Rant list.

CLIP FROM ELEANOR THE GREAT

Deadline dropped an exclusive clip from Scarlett Johansson's directing debut and Cannes Un Certain Regard selection Eleanor the Great starring June Squibb.  The film is being distributed by Sony Pictures Classics.

Take a look at the Deadline post that includes the clip right here.

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New Baumbach Film Has a Date / Awards Watch's First Oscar Picks

NEW BAUMBACH FILM HAS A DATE

Noah Baumbach's latest film, Jay Kelly, has been dated for theatrical release by Netflix.  The film will be released into theaters on Nov. 14th.  Netflex will start streaming it on Dec. 5th. The film stars George Clooney and Adam Sandler. 

Several outlets reported on the announcement earlier this week with a couple making some noise about a possible play at Telluride.  Gregory Ellwood writing for The Playlist commented in his story that:

"It’s possible Netflix could hold “Kelly” to the New York Film Festival, but Clooney’s participation makes a Venice Film Festival bow much more likely. In theory, that means Telluride and TIFF screenings are up for discussion. Whatever the case, the streamer’s release strategy makes it clear they believe it’s a prime awards season contender."

Ellwood's complete story is here.

Additionally, Jordan Ruimy at World of Reel echoed the Telluride possibility writing:

“Jay Kelly” could very well have its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September. It will certainly be hitting the fall fests, and that could include Toronto, Telluride and New York."

Ruimy's post is linked here.

The Telluride pedigree is impressive.  Baumbach has had a presence at Telluride having screened Margot at the Wedding (2007), Frances Ha (2012) and Marriage Story (2019) at TFF.

Clooney was in town in 2011 with Alexander Payne's The Descendants.  Sandler was in T-ride in 2019 with the Safdie Brothers' Uncut Gems.  And a couple of members of the supporting cast have had a presence at TFF including Laura Dern (Marriage Story, Trial by Fire and Wild) and Greta Gerwig (Frances Ha and Lady Bird).

Finally, it's Netflix project and they have been well represented at the fest since 2015.

AWARDS WATCH'S FIRST OSCAR PICKS

Erik Anderson who runs Awards Watch has had his first set of predictions for 2025 going up this week.  He's got four categories up so far: Picture, Direction, Actress and Actor.  There are a couple of reasons to look at what Erik has to say.  First, as with other early Oscar picks highlighted here on the blog, I'll run through his picks and post a list below of possible TFF #52 titles.  Secondly, Erik makes a couple of interesting observations about Telluride in his Best actress/Actor predictions.

First, possible TFF #52 films from Erik's Best Picture predictions (in his order of mention):

Bugonia/Lanthimos (Focus)

Jay Kelly/Baumbach (Netflix)

Marty Supreme/J. Safdie (A24)

After the Hunt/Guadagnino (Amazon MGM)

Die, My Love/Ramsay (TBD)

Deliver Me from Nowhere/S. Cooper (20th Century)

The Ballad of a Small Player/Berger (Netflix)

Frankenstein/Del Toro (Netflix)

Hamnet/Zhzo (Focus)

Is This Thing On?/B. Cooper (Searchlight)

Pressure/Maras (Focus)

Anemone/Day-Lewis (Focus)

Eleanor the Great/Johansson (SPC)

The History of Sound/Hermanus (Mubi)

The Mastermind/Reichardt (Mubi)

Rental Family/Hikari (Searchlight)

You can find Erik's full list of Best Picture and Direction predictions here.

Meanwhile in his piece on Best Actress/Actor predictions he makes a couple of interesting statements.  The first relates to Rental Family and Is This Thing On?  From the post:

"I’m also keeping an eye on two Searchlight Pictures men, recent winner Brendan Fraser in Rental Family and Will Arnett in Is This Thing On?, the latter of which just recently wrapped production under Bradley Cooper’s direction. A Telluride or Toronto debut feels likely for one or both, if they’re ready for this year."

Later in the same piece, he writes this concerning Hamnet:

"The Focus Features adaptation of the Maggie O’Farrell fictional story of Agnes, the wife of William Shakespeare, as she struggles to come to terms with the loss of her only son, the titular Hamnet, will likely find its debut at Venice or Telluride (possibly screening at both) and setting the stage for her."

Interesting, eh?

Here's the link to the complete set of Best Actress/Actor predictions.

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I'm Back / New Bugonia Date Keeps TFF Possible / And Who Won't Be at TFF #52 / Views from Cannes

I'M BACK

After a week long art show and five days in NYC, MTFB is back...and tired.  Here's the latest after a week away.

NEW BUGONIA DATE KEEPS TFF POSSIBLE

Focus Features announced this past week that they were bumping the release dates for Yorgos Lanthimos' Bugoina up a bit.  Focus now says a limited release will happen on Oct. 24th and then the nationwide rollout will begin a week later.

Jordan Ruimy at World of Reel writes that a Venice premiere is likely and the question for us becomes does it follow the same path as did The Favourite and Poor Things both of which did the Venice/Telluride two step.  What could make a difference is that Both The Favourite and Poor Things came from (Fox) Searchlight and Bugonia is being distributed by Focus.  It could be said that Searchlight and Focus have had similar presences at Telluride over the years.  Compare the last five years for each:

(Fox) Searchlight:

2024: A Real Pain

2023: All of Us Strangers, Poor Things

2022: Empire of Light

2021: The French Dispatch

2020: No Fest but...would have screened Nomadland

2019: A Hidden Life

Focus Features:

2024: Conclave, Piece by Piece

2023: The Holdovers

2022: TAR, Armageddon Time

2021: Belfast, The Card Counter

2020: No Fest but... would have screened The Way I See It

2019: No film.

So Searchlight has screened six films and would have had a seventh had Covid not interrupted.  Meanwhile, Focus screened seven and would have had an eighth in 2020.

As an additional side note...Emma Stone.  At Telluride for La La Land in 2016, Battle of the Sexes in 2017 and Tributed in 2018 with The Favourite.  

So, you know, maybe.

AND WHO WON'T BE AT TFF #52

That would be Alexander Payne as he will President of the Golden Lion jury for this year's Venice Film Festival.

Payne has been a frequent visitor to Telluride even in years when he doesn't have a film to screen there. He's been a Guest Director (2009) and attended an additional eight years sometimes with a film sometimes not..  Payne last attended for the 50th Festival in 2023.

The Venice Fest runs from August 27th-Sept. 6th.  TFF #52 runs Aug. 29th- Sept. 1st so Payne's duties as Jury President will mean he can't be in Telluride.

VIEWS FROM CANNES

Images from some of the films playing at Cannes that also seem to have some TFF possibility have been showing up online.  Here are some of those:

TRAILER FOR YOUNG MOTHERS

PHOTO FROM THE HISTORY OF SOUND

PHOTO FROM THE MASTERMIND

More on Thursday...

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Not Today...In NYC... Back on Monday.

Dates Tell a Story / Cannes Posters for 2025

DATES TELL A STORY

Paul Mescal and Jesse Buckley in Chloe Zhao's Hamnet (via World of Reel)

A couple of films that I have been attention to had their release dates announced the past few days and each announcement tells us a least a little bit about possible Telluride ramifications.

Focus Features announced that Chloe Zhao's Hamnet (starring Paul Mescal and Jesse Buckley) will have a limited release on Nov. 27th followed by a nationwide expansion on Dec. 12th. That report is per Indiewire and is linked here.  Those dates keep open the chance that Zhao returns to Telluride.  It also allows the possibility of Venice, Toronto, New York and/or London.

Zhao's The Rider played T-ride in 2017.  Her Oscar winning Nomadland would have played the 47th TFF but that went away with Covid.  However, the fest was instrumental in arranging a Drive-In screening in Los Angeles.  So I can totally see Hamnet making an appearance at TFF #52.

Nomadland won three Oscars including Best Picture, Actress and Direction.

Meanwhile, Focus also announced that Ethan Coen's Honey Don't, which will world premiere at Cannes next month, will be released in the U.S. on August 22nd, thus taking it off the table for a spot at TFF#52.  I mentioned Honey Don't last week and indicated that it was an unlikely candidate for T-ride and this reporting from The Playlist validates that thinking.

CANNES POSTERS FOR 2025

I posted one of them in last Thursday's edition of MTFB.  The two posters celebrate Claude Lelouch's A Man and a Women.

Here they are:

The 78th Cannes Film Festival opens on May 13th.

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And... More Titles Added to Cannes #78...Finally / New Images from Die, My Love and Chronology of Water

AND...MORE TITLES ADDED TO CANNES #78...FINALLY

Well, after a 24 hour delay the 78th Cannes Film Festival announced more than a dozen new titles to the fest yesterday scattered across various platforms. 

Three films that I had suggested on Monday that could be announced were, in fact, announced.  Lynne Ramsay’s Die, My Love was added to competition, Kristen Stewart’s The Chronology of Water went to Un Certain Regard and Hylnur Palmason’s The Love That Remains was added to the Cannes Premieres section.  I feel (and have felt) that those three films could potentially also screen at Telluride.

One other film of interest, at least to me, and isn’t really on my T-ride radar, is Ethan Coen’s Honey Don’t which was added to the Midnight section. The IMDb description is literally “Two women ( Margaret Qualley and Aubrey Plaza) take a road trip.”

The complete list of 16 films added to Cannes #78 is here from The Film Stage.

NEW IMAGES FROM DIE MY LOVE AND CHRONOLOGY OF WATER

DIE MY LOVE

CHRONOLOGY OF WATER

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More Cannes Titles Tomorrow

MORE CANNES TITLES TOMORROW

Reportedly the 78th Cannes Film Festival will add some other films to their lineup in addition to those already announced.  Speculation centers on which films/directors will be added and to what sections.  The buzz suggests up to three more films might be added to the Palme d'Or competition.  A number of reports suggest that Lynne Ramsay's Die, My Love is locked for a competition slot.  After that, it's up in the air.

I've had the Ramsay film on the "Potential Cannes to Telluride" list for a good long while.  Jordan Ruimy at World of Reel reported late last week that the film had been screened for the fest and as Ruimy writes:

"Lynne Ramsay’s “Die, My Love” just screened for Cannes, and word on the Croisette is—they loved it. Two separate sources tell me the film, starring none other than Robert Pattinson and Jennifer Lawrence, is now officially locked for competition. Buckle up."

Here's the minimal description for the film from IMDb:

"In a remote forgotten rural area, a mother struggles to maintain her sanity as she battles with psychosis."

A couple of other titles that might pop up tomorrow that feel like a post-Cannes Telluride play is possible are Kristen Stewart's The Chronology of Water and Hylnur Palmason's The Love That Remains.

Stay tuned.

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Cannes' Director's Fortnight and Crtitics' Week / Is This Thing On? a Telluride Possibility? / MegaDoc at T-ride? / Posters for One Battle

CANNES DIRECTOR'S FORTNIGHT AND CRITICS' WEEK

The Cannes Film Festival announced further titles this week for its 78th edition.  Both the films for the Director's Fortnight Section as well Cannes' Critics' Week  were named.  However in both instances no films immediately jump out as Telluride possibilities.  See what you think.

Here are the films announced for the Director's Fortnight section:

“Enzo” (Robin Campillo) 

­”Amour Apocalypse” (Anne Émond)

­”Brand New Landscape” (Yuiga Danzuka) 

­”Classe Moyenne” (Anthony Cordier)

­”Dangerous Animals” (dir. Sean Byrne)

­”La Danse Renards” (Valéry Carnoy) 

­”L’Engloutie” (Louise Hémon) 

­”Les Filles Désir” (Prïncia Car) 

­”Girl on Edge” (Jinghao Zhou) 

­”Indomptables” (Thomas Ngijol)

­”Kokhuo” (Lee Sang-il)

­”Lucky Lu” (Lloyd Lee Choi) 

­”Militantropos” (Smith/Gorlova/Mozgovyi)

­”Miroirs No. 3″ (Christian Petzold)

­”La Mort N’Existe Pas” (Félix Dufour-Laperrière)

­”The President’s Cake” (Hasan Hadi)

“Que Ma Volonté Soit Faite” (Julia Kowalski)

“Sorry Baby” (Eva Victor)

And for Critics' Week:

COMPETITION

Imago – Dir. Déni Oumar Pitsaev

Kika – Dir. Alexe Poukine

Left-Handed Girl – Dir. Shih-Ching Tsou

Nino – Dir. Pauline Loquès

Reedland – Dir. Sven Bresser

Sleepless City – Dir. Guillermo Galoe

A Useful Ghost – Dir. Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke

SPECIAL SCREENINGS

Adam’s Interest – Dir. Laura Wandel (OPENING)

Baise en ville – Dir. Martin Jauvat

Love Letters – Dir. Alice Douard

Dandelion’s Odyssey – Dir. Momoko Seto (CLOSING)

IS THIS THING ON? A TELLURIDE POSSIBILITY

Jordan Ruimy at World of Reel reports that Bradley Cooper's next directorial effort, Is This Thing On? has wrapped production and:

"Searchlight is reportedly “really liking what they’ve seen so far,” and they’re planning a fall 2025 release. The movie is expected to make the rounds at fall festivals, including TIFF and Telluride."

Theis is the IMDb description for the film:

"A couple's marriage crumbles as they pursue separate paths - he explores stand-up comedy in NYC while she rediscovers herself. Together, they learn to redefine their relationship and family dynamics amid major life changes."

The film stars Cooper as well as Will Arnett (who co-wrote) and Laura Dern.  No release date has been offiically announced.

Here's the story from World of Reel.

MEGADOC AT T-RIDE?

World of Reel also reports that Mike Figgis' documentary about the making of Francis Ford Copplola's Megalopolis, MegaDoc may also be in play for TFF#52.  In his story from yesterday he quotes Figgis as saying:

"Last month, “MegaDoc” was privately screened in London for “friends” and “family,” and the event included a post-screening Q&A with Figgis, conducted by filmmaker Gareth Evans (“The Raid”). In case you’re wondering, Figgis says that he aims to officially premiere the film at “Venice or Telluride.” 

The entire story from World of reel can be found here.

POSTERS FOR ONE BATTLE AFTER THE OTHER

This week saw the release of posters for Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After the Other.  Up until last week this news wouldn't have likely made it into the Blog but with the release date being moved to Sept. 26th, well, a guy can dream, can't he?

Here's a couple:

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Late Look at Early Oscar Predix and TFF Possibilities / Kiss of the Spider Woman?

 LATE LOOK AT EARLY OSCAR PREDICTIONS AND TFF POSSIBILITIES

Joey Magidson who runs Awards Radar has posted his early Oscar predictions at his site.  I thought we'd mine the 25 titles he has listed as possible Best Picture nominees for guesses about TFF #52.

These are in the order that Magidson has them listed by likelihood of being nominated:

1) Deliver Me From Nowhere/S. Cooper

4) Jay Kelly/Baumbach

5) Marty Supreme/Safdie

6) Bugonia/Lanthimos

7) Hamnet/Zhao

9) Eleanor the Great/Johansson

11) The Ballad of a Small Player/Berger

16) Is This Thing On?/B. Cooper

17) After the Hunt/Guadagnino

19) Die, My Love/Ramsay

22) Frankenstein/Del Toro

23) Anemone/Day-Lewis

Magidson's complete list and predictions in other categories can be found here.

KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN?

Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions/LD Entertainment have announced and October 10th, 2025 release date for Bill Condon's Kiss of the Spider Woman.  This rendition is based on the Broadway musical adaptation.  The Oct. 10th date signals the intent that the distributors are serious about making a play for Awards season.

That intention makes you think that they will be aiming for some fall fest love such as TIFF and New York.  But maybe also Telluride.  Normally, its screening at Sundance in January would write it off as a TFF #52 selection, however, Telluride has made exceptions in recent years: The Outrun, Living andThe Report come to mind.

So perhaps I won't immediately reject the notion.

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Cannes Lineup Revealed / Could These Three Films Play TFF #52?

 CANNES LINEUP REVEALED

Early this morning Thierry Fremaux announced the lineup for this year's Cannes Film Festival.  Here are the films announced for the various sections:

In Competition:

The History of Sound/Hermanus

A Simple Accident/Panahi

The Mastermind/Reichardt

Young Mothers/Dardenne Brothers

Un Certain Regard:

Eleanor the Great/Johansson

Special Screenings:

The Magnificent Life of Marcel Pagnol/Chomet

Cannes Premiere:

The Disappearance of Joseph Mengele/Serebrennikov

Orwell/Peck

Splitsville/Covino

The Wave/Lelio

As always, we look to Cannes for clues about films that could have their North American Premiere at Telluride on Labor day weekend.  From the above it feels like, sight unseen, that these films have a chance to be at TFF #52:

Meanwhile, some films that had been speculated were not announced this morning including:

After the Hunt/Guadagnino

The Chronology of Water/Stewart

Die, My Love/Ramsay

Hamnet/Zhao

The Love That Remains/Palmason

Orphan/Nemes

The Way of the Wind/Malick

Remember, though, Cannes is notorious for adding films to their schedule after their opening announcement.

Of course what happens at Cannes does affect what may or may not be selected.  I pay close attention to how critics react to films at Cannes, and to some extent the awards results at the end of the fest to calibrate what may come down the pike.

The complete lineup announced this morning is here from Indiwire.

*****Late Breaking...Despite having not been officially announced by Cannes this morning, Spike Lee revealed via social media that his Highest 2 Lowest will premiere there Out of Competition.

COULD THESE THREE FILMS PLAY TFF #52?

(Rooney Mara and Kate Mara filming Bucking Fastard for Werner Herzog)

Could Werner Herzog finish his new film quickly enough for a TFF #52 debut?  World of Reel reports that filming is currently underway in Dublin, Ireland.  Herzog has been known to be able to move quickly in the past.  So, maybe?

World of Reel also reports that Kathryn Bigelow's first feature in eight years is aiming for a fall fest debut.  The article mentions Telluride as a possible landing place.

And finally, I have been hesitant to consider Bennie Safdie's The Smashing Machine as a TFF #52 possibility but The Film Stage reports that the film has an Oct. 3rd release date which would fit in nicely after a TFF screening.  

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