One of the big highlights of the Cannes Film Festival is the luncheon that the Mayor of Cannes (David Lisnard) holds for the press at Place de Castre – which is on a hilltop overlooking Cannes and the harbour – it’s a sumptuous view.
Several FAB UK members attended and agreed that the food was also sumptuous. Cod served with steamed vegetables with hard boiled egg and olive oil, smashed potato in aioli oil, and for dessert delicious lemon meringue pie coupled with apple tart all served with wine, coffee and bottles of still and sparking water. The luncheon is always a memorable event where the guests get to eat alongside the Film Festival jury (who are actually in a roped off section).
‘The Stars at Noon’ film, a romantic thriller drama based from a 1986 book by Denis Johnson, is set in current day Nicaragua. It has the fantastic Margaret Qualley as a journalist who meets a mysterious English businessman (Joe Alwyn) who both don’t know a whole lot about each but join forces to try to escape mysterious agents. It’s a film noir beautifully shot and directed (Claire Denis) with a spectacular performance by Qualley (Once Upon a Time oh Hollywood). FAB UK was at the press conference after the screening and praised Qualley for her performance and mentioned that she is a definite Best Actress contender.
FAB UK also attended the La Cinef Selection Awards, the short film strand of the festival. The La Cinef Jury, presided by Yousry Nasrallah and comprised of Monia Chokri, Félix Moati, Jean-Claude Raspiengeas et Laura Wandel, awarded the 2022 La Cinef Prizes during a ceremony held in the Buñuel Theater, followed by the screening of the winning films. La Cinef Selection included 16 student films, chosen out of 1,528 entries coming from 378 film schools around the world. First place winner was Il Barbiete Complottista (A Conspiracy Man), a comedy directed by Valerio Ferrara. UK based Moshi Novikova from the London Film School tied for third place with her film ‘Glorious Revolution), about a Ukrainian mother trying to find a grave for her son who died fighting for his country. It’s a very timely and moving short film.
By: Cem Kaplan
