News of the day was of course confirmation that the brothers Dardenne would be present with Deux Jours, une nuit, eligible for a third Golden Palm. Winning it would be a first in the history of the festival.
Deux Jours, une nuit is the story of a race around the clock for Sandra (Marion Cotillard), who with the help of her husband (Fabrizio Rongione) has just one weekend to convince her colleagues to give up their bonus so she can keep her job. Thierry Frémaux, managing director of the Cannes Festival, presented the film as a Belgian western, referencing Fred Zinnemann’s Le Train sifflera trois fois.
Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne are of course no strangers to the festival’s prize list. They won two Golden Palms for Rosetta and L’Enfant, the screenplay award for Le Silence de Lorna and the Grand Prix for Le Gamin au Vélo. Additionally, Émilie Dequenne and Olivier Gourmet won acting awards for their roles.
It had been known for a while that Olivier Dahan’s film Grace, co-financed by Wallimage/Bruxellimage, would open the festival. It was now confirmed that the version screened would be the one edited by the director. The programmers do not plan to show any alternative or cleaned versions.
Next week, the selections for the other sections will be announced, such as the Directors’ Fortnight, the Semaine de la Critique and the ACID section. A few films co-produced by Wallimage and Wallimage/Bruxellimage stand a chance to be among them.
