FRANCE / Mediterranean candidates for Awards at Cannes

On the eve of the 69th Cannes Film Festival, from May 11^th to 22^nd, we present a preview of the Mediterranean films competing in the various categories.

There are only three Mediterranean film-makers in the official selection, but their chances of winning the Palme d’Or are high. Especially for Pedro Almodovar, a regular in Cannes, celebrating his sixth selection in competition with a new film set in Madrid: “Julieta”. The vitality of the new Romanian cinema is confirmed with two films selected: nine years after winning the Palme d’Or for “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days”, Cristian Mungiu is presenting a film about the difficulties of being a parent, “Bacalaureat” while his compatriot Cristi Puiu, winner of the Un Certain Regard category in 2005, is also in the race with the family drama “Sieranevada”.

The Egyptian Mohamed Diab is opening this year’s Un Certain Regard with “Clash”, about the confrontations between supporters and detractors of the Muslim Brotherhood after the fall of President Mohamed Morsi in 2013. In this section also, Bogdan Mirica’s “Dogs” (Romania) and Maha Haj’s “Personal Affairs” (Israel) are competing for the Camera d’Or, which goes to the best first film.

Other contenders for the Camera d’Or are to be found in the Critics’ Week category: the Turk Mehmet Can Mertoglu with “Albüm”, the Israeli Asaph Polonsky with “One week and a day”, and the Lebanese Vatche Boulghourjian with “Tramontana”.

In the Directors’ Fortnight, look out for the films by two Italian directors: the young Claudio Giovannesi with his prison film “Fiore” and Paolo Virzì with a road movie, “La Pazza Gioia” (Like Crazy). The director of “Rengaine” (2012), Rachid Djaïdani, is also in the selection with “Tour de France”, a comedy starring Gérard Depardieu and the rapper Sadek.

North Africa is only represented in the short film section: “La laine sur le dos” by Tunisian Lotfi Achour, is in the official selection, while “Kindil el Bahr”, by the Franco-Algerian Damien Ounouri, is in the Directors’ Fortnight.

Click here to see the whole selection at Cannes 2016.