Day 1
The 78th Festival de Cannes has officially kicked off, and so has the business of the industry. Day 1 saw countless deals made between studios, filmmakers, and countries from around the world.
Closer Media is on the hunt for international auteur filmmakers, The New York-based producer-financier is in Cannes with Oliver Hermanus’s The History of Sound (Palme d’Or contender) and Raoul Peck’s premiere title Orwell: 2+2=5.
On the same note, China-based distributor Hishow is in town looking for prestige festival titles. “We’re aiming for new Cannes and Venice [films] and a few studio titles,” said Wang Haiyi co-founder and CEO of Hishow as reported by Screen Daily.
Actor Jason Isaacs is gearing up to begin filming Donovan Marsh’s action drama The Bleeding Ground. Filming will take place in South Africa and stars Isaacs alongside Djimon Hounsou and Ariyon Bakare.
The highlight of the day was Robert de Niro’s acceptance of an honorary Palme d’Or, presented by Leonardo DiCaprio. Previous Palme d’Or winners Quentin Tarantino and Sean Baker were also in attendance.
Check back in tomorrow for Film Tampa Bay’s Cannes blogs following international business here on the French Riviera.
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