Canada’s making waves in the Official Selection of the 73rd Cannes Film Festival, which was recently announced!
Cannes isn’t taking place in its usual format this year, the festival explained in a statement, written by festival director Thierry Frémaux, but still announced its Official Selection comprising of 56 titles as a way to accompany the films and support cinema. Canada’s got a feature and a coproduction on this prestigious list!
Pascal Plante’s Nadia, Butterfly
This Quebec director’s second feature follows a young competitive swimmer approaching retirement (played by real-life Olympic swimmer Katerine Savard). The film is hot on the heels of Plante’s 2017 Fake Tattoos (Les faux tatouages), which was supported by Telefilm Canada’s Talent to Watch program. The punky teen love story enjoyed international success on the festival circuit, from Slamdance to the Berlinale.
Viggo Mortensen’s Falling
Canada also has a Canada-UK coproduction in this year’s Cannes selection; Falling premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. Actor Viggo Mortensen directs his first feature, a family relationship drama that he also wrote and co-produced, about an elderly man who goes to L.A. to be with his son (played by Mortensen), his husband and family.
Graham Foy’s August 22, this year
The short film received the 2020 Semaine de la Critique label! The film presents a mix of observed and constructed vignettes to examine a population at peace with apocalypse. The Alberta filmmaker who currently resides in Toronto directed his first short films under the pseudonym Fantavious Fritz and presented at numerous festivals including TIFF.
