Cannes Film Festival 2000
By Rajan Malhotra

AS the quotation from Jean Cocteau on the Cannes Film Festival web site reminds you, this is meant to be the thinking filmgoer's festival.

The Oscars can be relied upon to provide its usual dose of melodrama, lipstick and lights, but Cannes, which opened on 10th and runs until 21 May, is a rather more serious affair: "a nonpolitical no-man's land" is Cocteau's rather dull and meandering description of it.

The festival made its first appearance in 1946 and since then has assumed an authority and reputation which has transformed it into arguably the most significant film forum in the world. Although the highlight of the festival is the award of the prestigious Palm d'Or, the Cannes organisers are keen to point out that the fortnight represents much more than a protracted awards ceremony.

Bjork, the Icelandic songstress, will be in Cannes for the premiere
of Lars von Trier's Dancer In The Dark (above)

Amongst this year's offerings, for example, is the Le Monde symposium where various artists and intellectuals will meet to discuss the technical and economic future of cinema in the 21st century. Another of the major highlights will be a tribute to legendary director Luis Bunuel. Bunuel, who would have been 100 this year, will be honoured with a special exhibition charting his life and work.

Tributes will also be paid, through special screenings, to Gregory Peck, French actor Philippe Noiret and director Robert Bresson. The main focus, however, will be on the competition.

Already there has been some controversy surrounding the festival's programme with major American studio based films being passed over in favour of smaller European and, in particular, Asian films.

The festival's long-time programme co-ordinator Gilles Jacob attributed the dearth of American films to the American studios who he claimed were "not wanting to release films that were up to quality".

Announcing the festival line-up, Jacob described the programme as "satisfactory", adding that the selection of films was "getting no easier".

This year's competition sees 23 films showcased with such prominent figures as Ken Loach (Bread and Roses) and James Ivory (The Golden Bowl starring Angelica Bridges and Nick Nolte) in the running for awards.

The dominance of the middle eastern and Oriental films is reflected in the presence of, amongst others, Im Kwon-Taek's South Korean costume drama Chunyang and 20 year old Iranian, Samira Makhmalbaf's, The Blackboard.

The diverse nature of this year's competition is illustrated by the fact that such European veterans as Lars Von Trier (Dancer In The Dark) and Ingmar Bergman (who scripted Liv Ullmann's The Faithless) compete alongside young American indie directors Neil La Bute (Nurse Betty featuring Morgan Freeman and Renee Zellweger), The Coen Brothers' O Brother and James Gray's The Yards (featuring Mark Whalberg and James Caan).

The competition jury is headed by Fifth Element director Luc Besson and features, amongst others, Jeremy Irons, Kristin Scott Thomas, German actress Barbara Sukowa and Indian writer Arundhati Roy.

Amongst the A-list celebrities confirmed for the Palais red carpet are Calista Flockhart and Holly Hunter (who both appear in Rodrigo Garcia's out of competition film, Things You Can Tell Just By Looking At Her), George Clooney, Icelandic songstress Bjork, Melanie Griffith and Tim Roth.