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Cannes 2013: Surprises & Notable Absence ...

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Interviews

Watch: Teaser Trailer For Brillante Mendoza's Horror Film 'Sapi'

By Joe Cunningham
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February 15, 2013 11:33 AM
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1 Comment

News

Filipino director Brillante Mendoza is proving to be a pretty prolific filmmaker. Since 2005 he has 11 feature film and three short film directing credits to his name, and has also directed a segment in an anthology series and an episode of television for good measure. Although he’s yet to have one film truly break out, he’s been quite a hit on the festival circuit last year. “Thy Womb” was in competition for the Golden Lion at Venice while "Captive" with Isabelle Huppert premiered in Berlin. Now, after several arthouse successes, Mendoza is trying something a litltle different, with his next feature by taking on the horror genre.

By Oliver Lyttelton
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July 26, 2012 5:40 AM
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16 Comments

News

After something of wild goose chase (see above), the Venice line-up was announced this morning on the festival's official site, and although somewhat given away by the TIFF announcement a few days back, the big ticket is "To The Wonder," the second film in two years from anti-prolific auteur Terrence Malick. The film stars Ben Affleck, Olga Kurylenko, Javier Bardem, Barry Pepper, Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams, and the latter also features in another big premiere, starring alongside Noomi Rapace in Brian DePalma's latest, "Passion." The U.S. line-up is also completed by Ramin Bahrani's "At Any Price," with Zac Efron and Dennis Quaid, and in a surprise move, Harmony Korine's "Spring Breakers," with James Franco, Vanessa Hudgens and Selena Gomez.

By Jessica Kiang
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February 17, 2012 1:34 PM
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1 Comment

Features

Brillante Mendoza has a killer work ethic: the Filipino director made nine films between 2005's "Masahista" and 2009's "Lola," the latter of which, along with Cannes in-competition entry "Kinatay" the same year, really launched him into the major leagues of international helmers. He's taken an uncharacteristic two-and-a-half year break, but returned this week at the Berlin Film Festival with "Captive," a gripping, Herzogian drama that should see him reach his widest audience yet, thanks to the presence of international star Isabelle Huppert.

By Jessica Kiang
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February 16, 2012 2:06 PM
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1 Comment

Features

Few actresses are quite as fearless as Isabelle Huppert. She's been a near-legend for going on forty years, but has never taken a paycheck job, preferring to seek out challenging work with some of international cinema's most uncompromising auteurs. And that's embodied neatly in "Captive," her collaboration with Filipino filmmaker Brillante Mendoza, which just premiered at the Berlin Film Festival.

By Jessica Kiang
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February 15, 2012 11:04 AM
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2 Comments

Festivals

Recipient of one of the more controversial Cannes Best Director awards of recent memory (for "Kinatay," a film we found problematic, to say the least) Filipino director Brillante Mendoza returns to screens and to the festival circuit with "Captive," which marks, if not a departure from his previous style, then a welcome evolution of it. Based on real events, it is an account, by turns thrilling, moving, and harrowing, of the kidnapping ordeal of a group of holidaymakers from a resort in the Philippines; an ordeal which lasts over a year for some.

By Simon Dang
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February 13, 2012 11:02 AM
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0 Comments

News

Festival scene regular Brillante Mendoza is certainly a divisive filmmaker with his shaky-cam, documentary-like sensibilities. Like Hong Sang-soo has evidently uncovered, if you're a filmmaker who frequents Cannes with success, you're likely to catch the eyes of French-thesp Isabelle Huppert who's starring in the helmer's latest effort, "Captive."

By Edward Davis
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April 14, 2011 3:04 AM
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22 Comments

As one of the most highly anticipated film festivals on the planet -- the Olympics of cinema as it were -- each spring the looming arrival of the Cannes Film Festival line-up brings with it a near feeding frenzy of anticipation (except for those actually awaiting the summer tentpole season).