Canadians At Cannes: New Looks At Brandon Cronenberg's 'Antiviral' & Xavier Dolan's 'Laurence Anyways'

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by Kevin Jagernauth
May 2, 2012 6:03 PM
3 Comments

The Cannes Film Festival is just two weeks away and excitement continues to grow, and as filmmakers, producers, directors, actors and sales agents pack their bags, more peeks of the films hitting the Croisette are landing online. The latest comes from two Canadian filmmakers who will both be competing in the Un Certain Regard section.

First up is two more snaps from Brandon Cronenberg's feature film debut "Antiviral." Starring Caleb Landry Jones ("X-Men: First Class"), the film follows a salesman for a clinic that replicates celebrity diseases for public consumption, who himself becomes obsessed with a celebrity and injects himself with her disease, then must figure out how to cure it before time runs out. So yes, a perfectly Cronenberg-esque tale. Sarah Gadon, Douglas Smith, Matt Watts, James Cade and Malcolm McDowell round out the cast with Brandon representing the younger half of the Cronenberg team heading to France with his dad David unveiling "Cosmopolis" in competition.

Meanwhile, Xavier Dolan will premiere his epic, nearly three hour "Laurence Anyways." Already earning buzz thanks to the film's gorgeous trailer, his latest is set in 1989, and centers on Laurence, who reveals on his 30th birthday his secret desire to become a woman. His girlfriend is shocked, but agrees to stay by his side, and the next year Laurence goes back to working as a professor where he teaches literature -- only this time as a woman. A new life begins, but the weight of social stigma, family rejection and the incompatibility of the couple become toxic. Melvil Poupad, Nathalie Baye, Suzanne Clement and Monia Chokri star in the film which opens in Quebec on May 18th.

The Cannes Film Festival runs from May 16-27.

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More: Antiviral, Laurence Anyways, Cannes Film Festival

3 Comments

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jingmei | May 6, 2012 12:07 AMReply

Melvil Poupad this hot french dude also occasionally stars in some sideway English projects such as The Broken.
Doc | May 3, 2012 1:00 PMReply

Canadian actress Ashley Peoples stars in 'Abigail', an Official Selection of Cannes Cinefondation. www.ashleypeoples.com www.abigailthefilm.com
killing me softly | May 2, 2012 8:10 PMReply

Jones is a brilliant actor. Cant wait to see this film.