There are lots and lots of film screenings at the festival, but there is one film that is getting lots of buzz and praise. No, it’s not Top Gun: Maverick which opened the festival with a bang, but it’s Ruben Östlund’s ‘Triangle of Sadness.’
The film is a rollercoaster that feels so much shorter than it’s 149-minute running time. Told in three parts, and with many twists and turns, it’s from the director who brought us ‘Force Majeur’ and ‘The Square’ that won the top award here in 2019 and included a man pretending to be a gorilla. ‘Triangle of Sadness’ is even wackier and stars Harris Dickinson and Charlbi Dean Kriek as male models and influencers respectively who get a free luxury cruise alongside many crazy and eccentric fellow passengers, but not all goes to plan on the cruise. It’s zany, hilarious and very very original, while Woody Harrelson plays the crazy captain. Look for this one at UK cinemas later this year – it’s definitely not one to miss!
At the British Pavilion, We Are UK Film presented a panel discussion on Diversity, hosted by the Head of Inclusion at the BFI Melanie Hayes. Leading film professionals, including Matthijs Wouter Knol, CEO and Director of the European Film Academy, gave their views on diversity and inclusion in the workplace and how to spread the message within and outside the industry.
‘Holy Spider’ is a gripping, and true story, of Saeed Hanaei, who killed sixteen prostitutes between 2000-2001 in the city of Mashhad, deeming them “impure”. His trial created a lot of buzz in Iran, not only because of the horror of what happened but also because some media and conservative elements made him out to be a hero. Zar Amir Ebrahimi plays a journalist investigating the killings while Mehdi Bajestan is excellent as the serial killer, a family man with a wife and children who feels he needs to clean up the streets of prostitutes. It’s a gripping film by director Ali Abbasi.
At the press conference, Fab Uk asked Ebrahimi and Bajestan how they prepared for their roles. Ebrahimi said that she was an actual journalist many years ago while Bajestan, through a translator, mentioned that he watched and studied a documentary about the serial killer aptly called ‘And Along Came a Spider.’
Photo: Mariana Cattoir, Karen Di Paola
By: Cem Kaplan