This year at the 66th International Cannes Film Festival, the high caliber of films lined up for the Directors Fortnight (some in competition for the “Camera d’Or” award) is creating huge Festival buzz. The Cannes Film Festival commands international attention with its politics and its glamour but this year it is the Directors Fortnight of films that has captured movie enthusiasts’ attention. The high profile Cannes jury for ‘films in competition’ headed by legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg, includes Ang Lee, Christoph Waltz and Nicole Kidman. It commands massive media attention along with the presence of major stars like Leonardo DiCaprio, Joaquin Phoenix and Marion Cotillard (The Immigrant), and Sofia Coppola (The Bling Ring). But it is the indie films everyone is excited about.

The Directors Fortnight, May 16-26th, includes 21 features and 9 short films and opened with Aris Folman’s “The Congress” based on Stanislaw Lem’s sci-fi novel “Solaris”. Top picks from the lineup include: Jim Mickle’s cannibal thriller “We Are What We Are” and Sebastian Silva’s psychological suspense “Magic Magic”, both Sundance winners. “The Selfish Giant” (adapted from Oscar Wilde’s tale), a first feature from Clio Barnard received wild applause from the audience on Day 3 of Cannes (for various reasons). Irish filmmaker Ruairi Robinson’s sci-fi thriller “Last Days on Mars,” with Liev Schreiber (The Reluctant Fundamentalist) off exploring Mars. Indian indie darling Anurag Kashyap returns for a second year with “Ugly”, a dark thriller set in Mumbai and based on the city’s underworld of child prostitution and trafficking. The film follows up on his 2 part epic “Gangs of Wasseypur” featured last year at Cannes.

Celebrating longevity in the world of cinema is returning filmmaker Alexandro Jodorowsky (“El Topo”) a legend in his own right and best known as the comic writer “Jodo”. Jodorowsky has a long and outstanding record as a multi-talented filmmaker.His latest film “La Danza de Realidad” (The Dance of Reality) premiering at Cannes, is a film based on his memoirs and follows his complicated, troubled youth. Jodorowsky’s “Dune”, directed by Frank Pavich, is a Camera d’Or competitor. The documentary follows Jodorowsky’s failed effort to produce a 10 hour adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi novel, scored by Pink Floyd. Isabelle Huppert (Amour, Dead Man Down) will back in the thriller “Tip Top” from French filmmaker Serge Bozon, a screen adaptation from one of the novels by the prolific Welshman, Bill James. This Cannes Festival will be memorable.

Christophe Chanel