Cannes: Favoritas to win the Golden Palm

Cannes – The film market of the 78th Cannes Festival has just ended the participation of some 1,500 films, of which more than 100 are the members of the various sessions (International Official Competition, a certain look, fortnight of filmmakers, Critics Week, Acid and several out of competition).

At this point from the press festival, it only needs to see four titles, which will be screened between today and tomorrow. The March (Market) already advanced them. Personal contacts between press and market allow the latter to have references to quality and chances of winning the golden palm and other awards. However, there is an embargo on the press that prevents publishing comments on those four titles.

Hermeticism is a characteristic of the market, in the sense that distributors from the same country or region (Latin America) do not comment among themselves the offers they have made about films for sale. Even less, they reveal the prices that are willing to pay.

For the specific case of Argentina it is almost impossible to buy the exhibition rights of a film limited to our country, Uruguay and very often Chile. Sales agents privilege offers for all of Latin America, with values ​​whose magnitude usually exceeds half a million dollars and sometimes duplicate or even more that figure.

Specialized magazines (Variety, Screen, Hollywood Reporter, Le Film Francais), daily and free during the week that the market lasts, rarely get and publish economic data of some sale in Latin America. This information is more an exception than the rule and until now the best known refers to the film “Máte, love”which is known has been acquired by the MUBI platform in around 20 million euros.

“Die, My Love”such as its original title, is one of the very few films with Argentine presence this year in Cannes, and that is limited to the fact that the author of the book on which it is based is Ariana Harwiczresident in France. Carlos Harwiczhis father, is an important independent distributor in Argentina and can be understood and shared the pride that the film is in the official international competition.

The chances of one of the major trophies are meager, despite having Lynne Ramsay (“Ratcatcher”, “We need to talk with kevin”)a prestigious Scottish filmmaker and with a group of relevant actors, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert Pattinson, Sissy Spacek In small paper, and Nick Nolte. Criticism, especially French, has been adverse, but its acquisition by MUBI, plus the attraction of its cast and the plot can ensure some commercial success.

Returning to marching, and in particular to the official international competition, the concentration in some sales agents draws attention. Of the 22 films in competition, two companies have, each, five titles, something quite unusual. They are MK2 (Marin Karmitz) and Goodfellas (former Wild Bunch). In the last forty years a similar concentration situation is not remembered.

For those who know in depth the market they find it strange that prestigious firms such as Pathé. Flms du losang, Playtime and Pyramide have a single film in competition, and only the company Charade Dos, but far from the two initially named.

At the beginning of most films, the viewer discovers that more than five and sometimes up to ten co -producers have often participated. Such the art case (Franco-German), Studio Canal, BBC, Neon and A24 (two new American Majors).

Favorites to win the golden palm

An always thorny issue is to forecast which candidates for the Gold palm This year.

Of the four French in competition, there is one that emerges with Chances. It’s about “Nouvelle vague”, Although its director is the American Richard Linklater. It is a beautiful reconstruction of the filming of “Out of breath”first film of Jean Luc Godard. Of the four North Americans, or “Eddington” (Ari Aster) neither “The Phoenician Scheme” of the habita Wes Anderson It has merits that justify a gold palm (although Anderson It should not be discarded).

Two other countries have more than one film in official competition and in both chances are seen: the two of Spain (“Pilgrimage” and “SIRAT”) and of the two Iranians, the Jafar Panahi (“A simple accident”) It has many merits.

Completing the wide list of candidates are added: “Sound of Falling” (German), another French (“The Petite Dernière”), “Two Prosecutors” (of the Ukrainian Loznitssa), “O Secret agent” (From the Brazilian Kleber Mendonça Filho), And last but not least, “Sentimental Value” (Norway, from Joachim Trier). The brothers has not yet been seen Dardenne (“Jeunes Meres”) Not even China “Resurrection”.