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Around Tinsel Town
>> Cannes 2024 | Winners list and closing weekend highlights
The jury led by director Greta Gerwig announced the winners at the 77th Cannes Film Festival on Saturday. Sean Baker’s performance at the event Anora Beating tough competition from Payal Kapadia to win the prestigious Palme d’Or award We all imagine ourselves as light and Mohammed Rasoulof The seed of the sacred fig.
Kapadia made history by becoming the first Indian filmmaker to win the Cannes Grand Prix award. A congratulatory message from Kapadia’s alma mater, the Film and Television Institute of India, on Sunday attracted a lot of attention, as Kapadia has been on a collision course with the FTII since he led student protests against the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan as the institute’s chairman. Following Kapadia’s win, Oscar winner Resul Pookutty congratulated Kapadia, highlighting the role played by teachers at the FTII and pointing to the lack of support from the mainstream Indian film industry and government delegations usually sent to Cannes.
Meanwhile, Anasuya Sengupta became the first Indian artiste to win the Un Certain Regard Best Actress trophy for her performance in Bulgarian director Konstantin Bozanov’s Hindi-language film. shameless
Some of the major highlights of this programme are as follows
From ‘Anora’ to ‘All We Imagine as Light’, here is the list of winners of the 77th Cannes Film Festival
> Payal Kapadia’s journey to winning the Grand Prix at Cannes and her chances at the Oscars 2025
> Mysore filmmaker Chidananda S Naik wins top award at La Cinéfe
> George Lucas receives the Honorary Palme d’Or Award from his dear friend Francis Ford Coppola
> Kani Kusruti showed solidarity with Palestine, walked the red carpet carrying a watermelon bag
Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof recalls difficult decision to deport
> Cannes winner Carla Sofia Gascón faces transphobic insult from far-right French politician
> Preity Zinta presents Pierre Agenieux Excellence Award to Santosh Sivan
‘Dog on Trial’ star Kody wins top dog award
>> ‘All Eyes on Rafah’: Indian cinema raises voice against Israeli attack in Palestine
Following Israeli airstrikes on a refugee camp in Rafah last Sunday, which killed over 40 civilians including children and injured dozens, the phrase ‘All Eyes on Rafah’ went viral on social media. Several Bollywood actors like Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Varun Dhawan, Tripati Dimri, Richa Chadha, Dia Mirza and others showed support for the Palestinian people by trending the popular phrase on their social media, despite facing strong backlash from anti-Palestine supporters. From the southern film industries, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Trisha, Dulquer Salmaan, Rashmika Mandanna and others also posted the phrase condemning the attack.
Bollywood
Siddhant Chaturvedi, Tripti Dimri will be seen in ‘Dhadak 2’, the remake of Tamil film ‘Pariyerum Perumal’
Ranveer Singh, Prashanth Varma stop ‘Rakshas’, promise to work together in future
‘Mrs’ and ‘Sumo Didi’ to participate in New York Indian Film Festival
Kajol and Prabhu Deva will be together again after 27 years in ‘Maharagni’
Anurag Kashyap and Gulshan Devaiah will be face to face in the crime series ‘Bad Cop’
Saif Ali Khan, Siddharth Anand reunite for ‘Jewel Thief – The Red Sun Chapter’
The premiere date of Ananya Pandey’s film ‘Call Me Bay’ has been fixed
‘Kota Factory’ season 3 release date set on Netflix
Netflix sets June 14 premiere of Aamir Khan’s son Junaid’s debut film ‘Maharaj’
Work has started on ‘Panchayat 4’, there are plans to make the fifth season as well: Director Deepak Kumar Mishra
Hollywood
Daniel Craig returns for third ‘Knives Out’ film; Andrew Scott, Josh O’Connor, Mila Kunis join cast
Albert Ruddy, Oscar-winning producer of ‘The Godfather’, dies at 94
Judge denies Alex Baldwin’s request to dismiss criminal charges in ‘Rust’ fatal shooting
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos says ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer’ would have been “just as big” on Netflix
Richard Dreyfuss spews transphobic hate at ‘Jaws’ screening, criticizes #MeToo movement
Brad Pitt and George Clooney reunite for Apple TV’s ‘Wolves’
Mike Flanagan will direct Blumhouse’s new film ‘The Exorcist’
Guy Ritchie to direct Prime Video series on young Sherlock Holmes
Nicholas Galitzine cast to play ‘He-Man’ in ‘Masters of the Universe’
Damon Lindelof and Chris Mundy will write the script for DC Studios’ upcoming Green Lantern series, ‘Lanterns.’
Regional Cinema
Actress Anjali reacts on Balakrishna controversy in ‘Gangs of Godavari’ program
Ajith Kumar meets and greets Chiranjeevi on the sets of ‘Vishwambhara’
Karthi’s movie with Prem Kumar is titled ‘Maiyazhagan’.
The Karthi-Nalan Kumarasamy film is titled ‘Vaa Vaathiyar’.
Dhruva Sarja’s ‘Martin’ gets a release date
Sathyaraj joins Rajinikanth-Lokesh Kanagaraj’s ‘Coolie’
Nazriya Nazim’s comeback Malayalam film ‘Sukshmadarshini’, also starring Basil Joseph, has begun shooting
The release date of Keerthy Suresh’s ‘Raghu Thatha’ is finalised
First look of Allari Naresh’s ‘Bachchala Malli’ is out
Suraj Venjaramoodu turns producer for his next film with Aamir Pallikal
Vasanth Ravi, Sathyaraj’s ‘Weapon’ gets a release date
Tamil filmmaker Surya Prakash passes away
World Cinema
‘Anatomy of a Fall’ star Sandra Hüller joins Ryan Gosling in Amazon MGM’s ‘Project Hail Mary’ adaptation
Léa Seydoux criticizes the French president’s support for Gérard Depardieu: “A bad image for France”
Donald Trump orders ban on release of Ali Abbasi’s film ‘The Apprentice’ in US
‘Dream Scenario’ director Christopher Borgli to direct HBO’s ‘The Shards’
Trailers
‘The Bear’ Season 3 Trailer: Chef Carmi is once again on the quest for perfection, with high stakes
Vishwak Sen plays an angry anti-hero in the trailer of ‘Gangs of Godavari’.
‘Reagan’ trailer starring Dennis Quaid depicts epic journey of 40th President of the United States
The superhero siblings reunite to restore order in the teaser for the fourth and final season of ‘The Umbrella Academy’
‘Moana 2’ trailer shows Dwayne Johnson and Auli’i Cravalho return for round two
Vijay Sethupathi is all set to take revenge on Anurag Kashyap in the trailer of his 50th film ‘Maharaja’
Sudheer Babu is a smart gunman who serves the helpless in ‘Haram Hara’ trailer
Vikrant Massey, Mouni Roy’s ‘Blackout’ trailer shows darkness looming over Pune
Mohan returns after 16 years in a completely new action avatar in the trailer of ‘Hara’
‘Once Upon a Time in Kochi’ teaser features Arjun Ashokan’s police investigating Devika Sanjay, Mubin M Rafi
Surbhi Jyoti, Gashmeer Mahajani and Zain Ibad Khan weave a tale of revenge in the trailer of ‘Gunaah’
Required Reading
1) Kajal Aggarwal interview: ‘Satyabhama’ is a common man’s film, but not a female ‘Singham’
>> The actress talks about training for action scenes after maternity leave, ‘Indian 2’ and her 17-year career
2) Suri interview on ‘Garudan’: I stopped getting comedy roles after ‘Viduthalai’
>> He spoke about his films ‘Kottukali’, ‘Viduthalai’ and ‘Yezhu Kadhal Yezhu Malai’ and said that commercial films like ‘Garudan’ are equally important.
3) Karthikeya Gummakonda: The success of ‘Bhaje Vayu Vegam’ will confirm my choice
>> The actor opens up about his new Telugu action entertainer and his openness to playing antagonistic roles
4) What does the Cannes 2024 win mean for Oscars 2025?
>> As history has shown, the road from the Croisette to the Dolby Theatre is a tough one, and this year’s winners are set to walk it.
5) Anand Deverakonda: I turned my fear into inspiration for ‘Gum Gum Ganesha’
>> The actor discusses his new Telugu crime comedy, how he is different from his brother Vijay Deverakonda, and why he doesn’t chase stardom
6) RS Durai Senthkumar interview: ‘Garudan’ is like a relay race with Suri, Sasikumar and Unni Mukundan
>> The filmmaker reveals why he loves writing multi-hero stories, the influence of Vetri Maaran in his films and more
7) The truth about India’s LGBTQ+ voices on screen
>> Filmmakers, actors and festival directors reflect on why we need more normalised gay characters and stories in Indian cinema
8) Studio Ghibli’s untold secret behind the success of ‘The Boy and the Heron’
>> With a career spanning over four decades, Japanese composer Joe Hisaishi’s intimate compositions bring the fantasy world of Ghibli to life
9) Actor Aziz Nedumangad regrets missing the opportunity to go to Cannes with the cast of ‘All We Imagine As Light’
>> The actor opens up about his experience working in Payal Kapadia’s film, which won the Grand Prix award at the Cannes Film Festival
10) How does the portrayal of class, caste and gender hierarchies in ‘Manthan’ remain relevant?
>> Shyam Benegal’s film made waves at Cannes, and before its re-release in theatres, let’s see how the film reflects today’s agricultural economy
11) Urfi Javed Interview: Men chase me, women pursue me
>> She talks about her role on ‘MTV Splitsvilla’ and her sartorial innovations, from the black dress with mechanical birds to the one with glow-in-the-dark planets
12) ‘Maxton Hall’ course: Clichés with optional subject in romance
>> What does the latest addition to the ‘poor girl rich boy’ adage bring for all of us who love a happily ever after?
13) Actress Kani Kusruti’s watermelon clutch at Cannes was designed in Kochi.
>> The watermelon slice is a symbol of Palestinian resistance against Israeli occupation, and Kochi-based designer Diya John explains how the watermelon slice bag came to be
what to watch
1) Janhvi Kapoor and Rajkumar Rao’s film ‘Mr. and Mrs. Mahi’ was not successful
Read the full review here
2) In ‘Garudan’, a brilliant Suri presents a tale of friendship, loyalty and deceit
Read the full review here
3) The spirited Vishwak Sen helms an ambitious gangster drama in ‘Gangs of Godavari’
Read the full review here
4) ‘The Strangers: Chapter 1’ is just for silly scares
Read the full review here
5) The magic of the popular volleyball anime ‘Haikyuu!! The Dumpster Battle’ doesn’t translate to the big screen
Read the full review here
6) Anand Deverakonda’s low-risk crime comedy, ‘Gum Gum Ganesh’, entertains sporadically
Read the full review here
7) ‘Once Upon a Time in Kochi’ is a forgettable ‘comedy thriller’ that is neither funny nor thrilling
Read the full review here
