Last year, at this point, “Anola” was played like the Gangbusters in the Palais (audience applause is a performance and some performance, a Cannes ritual that is difficult to quantify). Neon gave him confidence to play Oscar’s long hand and successfully won five Oscar victories, including Best Picture, Director, Editor, Actress and Screenplay.
The later festival films performed this year are Joachim Trier’s Norwegian Oscar entry “Sentimental Value,” a fierce family drama about an established actress (Renate Reines), whose estranged father (Swedish Stellan Skarsgard) is plagued with anxiety issues that seek to reclaim his plants in his film industry in his daughter’s industry. When she is not interested, he casts an American actress (El Fanning) instead. Both Reinsve and Skarsgård are skilled at playing award games when Neon, who bought a film at Cannes a year ago, are skilled at playing awards games, and recently added Oscar whispering Ryan Warner (Cinetic Media) to their house team to their billing team, giving them a towering performance that is not rejected in the Oscar era. This could be their sixth Palme d’Or.
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Additionally, two set pieces are scene stoppers, including Reinsve’s panic attack before going to the stage opening night and a heartfelt moment with his sister (Inga Ibsdotter lilleas). Emotion-based films are often for winners, especially for actors. In addition to President Juliet Binoche, there are four ju umpires of this year, including Halle Berry, Alba Rollwahher and Jeremy Strong.
What gives the film a huge leg is that Trier is already established with Oscar voters. He played the awards in Joachim Trier’s neon “The Worst Man in the World” (2021). It won two Oscar nominations, including original scripts by Tria and Eskill Fogg, which recreates “sentimental value” and the best international features. They are members of the club. And “Sentimental Value” is a great film about not only family but also art, heritage and reconciliation, with both the actress and her senior director’s father struggling to pursue their art.
Raines won the best actress in Joachim Trier’s “Worst Man in the World” in Cannes in 2021, and has since added many English projects to her slate, from “Presumed Innocence” on Apple TV+ to “Another Man” by Aaron Simberg. Her star is rising and she is ready to play for major state awards.
Just as Neon scooped up the “sacred fig seeds” at the very end of the night last year, this year added to Jafar Panahhi’s “It Was Just a Accident” in case “Anola” didn’t bring the award home. Iranian Oater returned to Cannes for the first time since 2003. He recalls the story in an Iranian prison. Neon partnered with Panahhi in 2021 to release Cannes’ special screening, “Year of the Eternal Storm.”
“It was just an accident.”Les Films Pelléas and Jafar Panahi Productions
And without seizing the chance, Neon just acquired North American rights to Brazilian manager Clever Mendon Filho’s 70s caper “The Secret Agent.” Star Wagner Moura grabbed Cannes’ best actor Heat as a running technology expert, hoping to be reunited with his son. The film has earned strong reviews for the Brazilian Oater behind “Baccalau”.
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