The Directors' Fortnight (Quinzaine des Realisateurs) of the Festival de Cannes announced its lineup today. Among the films debuting in the festival sidebar, begun in 1968, are: Factotum (Germany), an adaptation of Charles Bukowski's eponymous story, from the Norwegian director Bent Hamer, and starring Matt Dillon; American director Lodge Kerrigan's Keane, produced by Steven Soderbergh and featuring a breakthrough performance by Damian Lewis; and two films which debuted earlier this year at Sundance, Kyle Henry's Room and Greg McLean's Wolf Creek (Australia).

I am also thrilled to see Joao Pedro Rodrigues's second feature Odete in the lineup. Joao Pedro's controversial first feature O Fantasma debuted at Venice and was subsequently released in the States via PictureThis! Entertainment. (You can buy it on DVD through TLA Video.) I met Joao Pedro through our mutul friend Ian Birnie, and he and his partner Joao Rui took me on a tour of Lisbon's nightlife during a memorable trip to Portugal some years back. (Full disclosure: I was on the jury of the New Fest in NY the year O Fantasma was named Best Feature, but I didn't meet Joao Pedro until after this.)

According to the Directors' Fortnight Web site: Odete features two interlocking stories: "Odete works in a hypermarket in Lisbon. She dreams of having a child with her boyfriend, Alberto, who works in the same hypermarket as a night watchman. But when Odete tells him about her desire for a child, Alberto runs away. Left alone, Odete becomes obsessed with her dream. Two youths, Pedro and Rui, are kissing outside a bar. They have been together for a year now and exchange engagement rings and oaths of love. Pedro goes home by car and Rui returns to the bar where he works at night. A few streets away, and a few minutes later, Pedro has a car accident. He dies in the arms of Rui, who comes running to help him. Rui, forlorn and hopeless, loses the desire to live. But the love between Pedro and Rui is eternal. Strangely, their destiny will meet that of Odete, who is summoned by Pedro's ghost."

"Directors' Fortnight has a reputation for elitist or difficult films," said artistic director Oliver Pere, "but my aim was to showcase films that are intelligent and achieve what they set out to do."
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# posted by Steve Gallagher @ 4/26/2005 11:01:00 AM

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