Belgian pressure in Cannes

08/07/2021

With its 74th event starting in Cannes, the world's largest film festival is returning to its usual routine after a hiatus due to the health crisis. This year, the prizes, including the famous Palme d'Or, will be awarded on 17 July. Our country has every chance of winning.

Indeed, we will be particularly well represented, both by our films and by our actors and actresses. Joachim Lafosse's "Les Intranquilles" (The Restless) is in the running for the Palme d'Or, among 24 producers. As for performers, our compatriot Virginie Efira will surely not go unnoticed in the role of the sensual, mystical nun "Benedetta" by Paul Verhoeven (director of "Basic Instinct", among other successes). Laura Wandel's "Un monde" (Playground) in the category "Un Certain Regard", which aims to honour bold and original works by lesser-known filmmakers, should also be of interest for its interpretation of the lives of schoolchildren through the eyes of a child.

 

We should also mention "Mon légionnaire" (Our Men), in which Rachel Lang tells the story of the men fighting for France and their wives who struggle to keep their love alive. This is her second feature film, produced by the Belgian company Wrong Men with the support of the Centre du Cinéma of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, and will be presented during Directors' Fortnight. And from the same production company for Critics' Week, which is dedicated to discovering young talent by honouring first and second films, "Rien à foutre" (Zero Fucks Given) has been selected, a film about the daily life of a flight attendant on a low-cost airline. This is Julie Lecoustre and Emmanuel Marre's first feature film starring Adèle Exarchopoulos. Let's hope that with all this talent, Belgian cinema will create a surprise on La Croisette.