Here Comes Cannes 2008

Harrison Ford in Indy4

The Riviera resort of Cannes prepares to welcome the who's who of filmdom Wednesday. That's the opening day of the 61st Cannes International Film Festival, which means the festival is much older than the majority of the potential attendees.

One of the biggest premieres at the festival will surely be INDIANA JONES and the KINGDOM of the CRYSTAL SCULL, or Indy4 for short. It is screening out of competition. Of course, it would be unlikely to win the Golden Palm (Palme d'Or), anyway. But, it will generate a lot of excitement.

One of the longest features, Steven Soderberg's CHE (a.k.a., GUERRILLA - USA, France, Spain), a two-part, four-and-a-half-hour epic on Argentine revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara, will premiere in competition. Benicio del Toro stars as the charismatic Guevara.

These are only two top motion pictures in the 12-day movie marathon, which will command world attention while cinephiles watch for the two, or three, break-out feature films that will make cinematic history in 2008. Then, the question becomes, "Will any one of the favorites at Cannes claim the biggest prize of all, the Oscar® for Best Motion Picture of 2008?"

You can read about Cannes, and 18 other major and/or popular festivals already completed this year, on my Film Festivals Page. This year, I am dividing the festivals into three sections. Every year, I add more, and every year I write more, so it was the only sensible thing to do. Cannes completes Part I for 2008, which began with Palm Springs in January.

Part II is now online. It begins with Jackson Hole, Wyoming, in June, and ends with the New York Film Festival, opening in late September.

Next up will be Part III, beginning with the International Film Festival of Catalonia (Sitges, Spain) the first week in October, and probably ending with the Dubai Festival in mid-December. I can't say for sure yet because the Dubai dates run very close to the New Latin American Festival in Havana, Cuba.

Part III should be online by the last of August. By the end of October the action will shift to my Awards Page, which is the time the Oscar race really shifts into high gear, but there will still be some interesting film festivals to follow until Christmas. Then, my Film Festivals Page for 2009 begins.

I think you will find my Festivals Page handy. I try to note interesting tidbits, sometimes from my personal experience, and I always include handy links to help viewers quickly find the information in which they may be most interested. You can access the page by clicking the title of this post, or the permanent link on the right sidebar. Hope you enjoy!