Moviebreak Interviews und Festivals

Lav Diaz continues his prolific connection with the Venice Film Festival, where he won the Golden Lion in 2016 for The Woman Who Left, by returning to the current edition with his new feature film. Let Us Through, Dear Ancestors dives once more into Filipino history to excavate the painful heritage of Christian colonialism through missionary work. In the Palazzo del Cinema, which comes with its own problematic historical connections, the celebrated filmmaker opens up to Lidanoir about the past lingering in the present, facing a neglected chapter of history, and changes in his unique cinematic style.

The involuntary deception and white lies threatening to tear romantic and family bonds apart that play a key role in Michelle Zhou's intimate drama are all too familiar to her. In the most literal sense, since the Chinese director based the story of Big Little Things on her and her partner and producer Chun Yu's own experiences. On site at a rain-swept Venice where the queer romance premieres in the Orizzonti slate, Zhou and Yu talk with Lidanoir about bringing their personal struggle for love and acceptance to the screen, filmmaking as therapy, and the central role of queer cinema as an agent of social acceptance.

Only last year, her feature film debut won Anuparna Roy the Best Director award in the Venice Film Festival’s Orizzonti section. Now she returns to the same competitive slate with her ambitious sophomore work. Lovers in the Blue Night follows an ensemble cast of migrant workers as they strive for social acceptance, economic stability, and love in the working-class districts of Mumbai. Just ahead of the festival premiere, the Indian director sat down for an interview with Lidanoir about the importance of social realism as a central concept, displaying diversity through dialogue in different dialects, and openly showing female desire in a patriarchal society.

Her debut documentary Harlan County, USA marked Barbara Kopple as a fearless new perspective in non-fiction Film which she used timeless to stand against injustice and inequality. Fittingly, her second work American Dream made her the first female director to win an Oscar for Best Documentary. Union Town continues Kopple's involvement with workers' rights and the collective fight against repressive corporate tactics. Premiering out of competition at the Venice Film Festival, her gripping piece of cinéma vérité chronicles the struggle of gig workers and delivery agents against UPS and Amazon. In Venice posh hotel Excelsior, the filmmaker spoke with Lidnoir about her work in light of current US politics, the new wave of activities documentaries, and the importance of speaking out against repressive structures.

Dass er für seinen ersten Spielfilm nur ein A-List Festival in Frage kommt, stand früh für Manuel Wetscher fest - und gelang ihm auch mit einer Weltpremiere in Venedigs wichtigster Nebensektion Orizzonti. Dort erzählt Eklipse von einer Kinderfreundschaft Ende der 90er, als die Jahrtausendwende und eine totale Sonnenfinsternis biografische Wendepunkte markieren und. Familiengeheimnisse ans Licht bringen. Vor Ort im Palazzo del Cinema spricht der österreichische Regisseur mit Lidanoir über die autobiografische Inspiration der Geschichte, den Dreh nahe der Orte seiner Kindheit und das zentrale Motiv HIV in der damaligen und heutigen sozialen Wahrnehmung.

As a film critic and film programmer, Beatrice Fiorentino looks back on intense collaborations with a number of prestigious Italian publications. A year after winning the 2014 Akai Prize as best film critic at the 71st Venice Film Festival, she became part of the “Film della Critica” panel of the National Union of Italian Film Critics and, just the next year, of the selection committee for the Venice International Film Critics’ Week. For more than half a decade, she has shaped the independent section focused on debut features into a space of artistic discovery and topical timeliness in the position of its artistic director. At the Lido’s Casa della Critica, Fiorentino speaks with Lidanoir about this year’s contentious political climate, diversity within the Settimana della Critica and beyond, and why she believes in the persistence of film festivals.

Five years after premiering his spiritual drama Luzifer at Locarno’s Concorso Internazionale, Peter Brunner returns to the festival's Piazza Grande with an uncompromisingly realist exploration of homelessness in the US. Co-scriptwriter Caleb Landry Jones, who happened to share the prize for the best lead performance at Sitges 2021 with Lucifer’s Franz Rogowski, stars in Down thr Arm of God as an idealistic pastor facing resistance from his Texas small-town congregation as he tries to help the local unhoused people. Just a few hours before the premiere, the Austrian director, Jones, and the actors India Marie Cross, John P.W. Jones, Bart Guthrie, Kip Lee Billups, and Christopher Israel talk with Lidanoir about collaborating with actual homeless individuals, the challenges of portraying their experiences realistically, and the devastating consequences of a dysfunctional system.

Locarno is already familiar ground for Vincent Grashaw. His indigenous drama Keep Quiet debuted in 2025 Out of Competition at the Swiss Film Festival, after presenting in 2024 his fictional boxer biopic Bang Bang in the same section. Now he returns with Bruton, combining comedy, crime and drama in a story closely based on real events. After celebrating the international premiere at Piazza Grande, the US director found some time for an interview with Lidanoir about meeting the real Brian Bruton, navigating the film shoot in three active prisons, and finding humanity in outcast characters.

His roles in Sons of Anarchy and Luke Cage made Theo Rossi a standout presence on the TV screen. After bagging an Independent Spirit Award for his performance in Emily the Criminal, the American actor continues his rise by impersonating notorious prison breakout Brian Bruton in Vincent Grashaw’s tragicomic crime drama. After Bruton’s premiere the previous night at Locarno’s Piazza Grande, Theo Rossi talks in an interview with Lidanoir about shooting in three actual prisons, meeting the real-life character his role is based on, and the many issues with the US prison system.

With his broad spectrum of films, ranging from experimental to anthologie and genre, Denis Côté i a regular at the most renowened international film festivals. So it comes at no surprise that hi newest work - the first after a life-saving kidney transplant - runs in Locarno' prestigious Concorso Internazionale. On site at the Festival, the Canadian filmmaker spoke with Lidanoir about Nobody's Violence and its controversial themes of assistant dying and end-of-live, finding a new perspective after his transplant, and being even less occupied with cinematic convention.

Since his debut feature If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle earned him a nomination for best foreign film at the Oscars, Florin Serban has made a name for his intimate perspective on social, political and family issues. All of them intersect in You Don’t Belong Here, which premiered earlier this week at Locarno’s Concorso Internazionale. On site at the festival, the Romanian director sat down with Lidanoir to talk about the real-life elements of his harsh father-son story, the rift between Romania’s young and older generations, and outdated ideas of masculinity in neo-conservative times.

Das schwierige Gleichgewicht persönlicher Bedürfnisse und der moralischen Erwartungen des äußeren Umfelds ist ein konstantes Thema Isabelle Stevers filmischen Schaffens, das auch ihren Beitrag zum Wettbewerb prägte. I Rarely Wake Up Dreaming begleitet ein queeres unkrainisches Paar in der sensiblen Zeit der Transition, als unvermittelt die russische Invasion beginnt. In Locarno, wo das intime Drama im Wettbewerb Premiere feiert, sprachen die Regisseurin und ihre Frau und Drehbuchautorin Anna Melikova im Interview mit Lidanoir über die persönliche Inspiration der Handlung, den Dreh in Kiev, und den diffizielen dramaturgischen Umgang mit Gender Rollen.

Since the lead in Ruben Östlunds social satire The Square brought him international sucess in 2017, Claes Bang established himself as one of the most prominent actors of the European film scene. In Felix Randau's biographically inspired meditation on subjective and historical truths, Ich ist ein Anderer, the Danish actor shows once again his faible for murky characters. Premiering at Locarno's Piazza Grande, the historical investigation piece sees him in the role of the real-life impostor Felix Kersten, the massage therapist of Heinrich Himmler, who falsly claimed to have saved hundreds of thousands of people during the Nazi era. In an interview with Lidanoir, Bang talks about approaching the opaque character, the story's relevance in times of fake news and opinions, and the unexpected difficulties around the film's take on its notorious supporting character.

Fast zehn Jahre ist es her, dass Felix Randau sein Steinzeit-Drama Iceman auf Locarnos Piazza Grande de Pubiku präsentierte. Nun ist er zurück in der populärsten Sektion des internationalen Film Festivals mit seiner historischen Hochstapler-Story Ich ist ein Anderer. Am Tah nach der Premiere fand der deutsche Regisseur und Drehbuchautor Zeit für ein Gespräch mit Lidanoir über die Entwicklung seines Projekts, die kontroverse Recherche und die Zusammenarbeit mit Hauptdarsteller Claes Bang.

For the European premiere of her touching portrait of dementia and car in a US prison, Petra Volpe carefully chose the one most renowened for the quality of its independent and arthouse productions. After it's celebrated premiere at Sundance earlier this year, Frank & Louis screens now at Locarno's Piazza Grande. Rob Morgan, playing on screen a convict with early-onset Alzheimer's, Johns the Swiss director for a conversation with Lidanoir about the political issues ingrained in the story, the meticulous research of characters and story and the challenges of finding US distribution.

In seiner gewitzten Groteske Der Bunker, der auf der Berlinale 2015 in der Swektion Perspektive Deutsches Kino Premiere feierte, zeigte Nikias Chryssos bereits sein Gespür für bitterböse-bizarre Szenarien und eigenwillige Familienkonstellationen. Die Charakteristika wiederholten sich in seiner symbolreichen Sekten-StoryA Pure Place und durchdringen auch seine jüngste Kinoarbeit. Bloody Tennis folgt seiner ehrgeizigen Heldin auf eine isolierte Tennis-Akademie, wo die prädestinierte Sport-Elite für den Sieg trainiert - mit mörderischen Mitteln. In Locarno, wo ddie rabenschwarze Horrorkomödie in der Sektion Fuori Concorso premiert, sprach der deutsch-griechische Regisseur mit Lidanoir über seine Neigung zum Genre-Kino, Tennis als soziale Metapher, unersättliche Eliten und die praktische Umsetzung der titelgebenden Effekte.

Das Locarno Filmfestival sieht einer neuen spannende Runde entgegen mit einem Programm, das erneut Giona A. Nazarros Engagement für aufstrebende Kino-Talente und den Dialog über zeitaktuelle Themen spiegelt. In seinen sechs Jahren als künstlerischer Leiter hat der erfahrene Filmexperte und Festival Programmleiter Locarnos Ruf als führendes Forum für Autorenfilm und Arthouse, experimentelle Formate und cineastische Entdeckungen geprägt. Am Eröffnungstag der 79. Ausgabe reflektiert Giona A. Nazarro im Gespräch mit Lidanoir über die Formativen Themen des der Filmauswahl , die wachsenden finanziellen Herausforderungen Internationaler Film Festivals und die Bedeutung von Film Festivals in einer zunehmend reaktionären Welt.

An actor in his own right, Noah Segan seems to have a knack for assembling a great cast. His second feature film as a director stars John Turturro as the titular small-time crook, surrounded by iconic names such as his personal buddy Steve Buscemi, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Giancarlo Esposito. The rising star among them is Will Price, who recently worked with Luca Guadagnino and in Scarlett Johansson's directing debut. After debuting The Only Living Pickpocket in New York at Sundance, Segan and Price are now at Karlovy Vary, where their old-school crime drama is screening in the Horizons section. At the spa resort's most classic hotel, the two spoke with Lidanoir about making a classic New York film, director-actors and actor films, and being pickpocketed by John Turturro.

The big double anniversary of Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, celebrating 60 editions and 80 years, is also a jubilee for its longtime artistic director Karel Och. Starting out in 2001 as a programmer, he has been with the festival for 25 years, boosting its star power and prestige while aiming to stay true to its traditions. Halfway through the 10-day event, Karel Och found some time for an interview with Lidanoir, talking about the festival's historic consciousness, why there are no initiatives to increase diversity, inviting controversial personalities, and his hopes for the future.

In The Story of Film, Mark Cousins already undertook the mammoth project of capturing over a century of film history in a documentary collage spanning more than 18 hours. Some 15 years later, the Irish filmmaker is ready to deliver the next chapter. Premiering earlier this year at Sundance, The Story of Documentary Film undertakes the equally immense feat of encompassing decades of non-fiction film in one 16-hours-long chronicle. The latter is now screening at Karlovy Vary where Mark Cousins sat down for an interview with Lidanoir, talking his passion for cinema, tackling a project of such scale, and which works changed his own perspective.

First, Visar Morina's harsh drama of a family's social decline and the false promises of economic advancement won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, where it premiered in February in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition. Then, as a little add-on just a few weeks ago, Shame and Money won Best International Feature in Munich's CineMasters Competition. Now his third feature is screening at Karlovy Vary's Horizons section. On site at the busy festival hub, the Kosovan director talks with Lidanoir about how his biographical background is connected to the story, why the festival has a special place in his heart, and how his class experiences changed with fame.

With his first feature film, Ramzi Bashour landed a spot right in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at Sundance's final Park City edition. In Hot Water, the director, screenwriter, and musician born in Saudi Arabia and raised in Lebanon and the US explores the complicated relationship between a young adult son from Indiana and his Lebanese mother. On site at Karlovy Vary where his humorous drama screens in the Horizons section for international festival highlights, Ramzi Bashour spoke with Lidanoir about his personal connection to the story, his own mother's reaction to it, and creating a soundtrack like a mixtape made for long car trips.

William Friedkin, George A. Romero, Tobe Hooper: For the dark side of cinema, Alexandre O. Philippe always had his own fascination. In his canon of film favorites, Vertigo has its own special place, just like the legendary actress who played its mysterious main character. In Kim Novak's Vertigo, which premiered last year at Venice and is now at Karlovy Vary, the Swiss-American filmmaker lets Kim Novak tell her own story and opens up a new perspective on Hitchcock's masterpiece, informed by her personal experience. On site at Karlovy Vary's festival hub, Alexandre O. Philippe opened up to Lidanoir about his passion for genre film, becoming friends with Kim Novak and exploring the story of two cinematic icons.

Partly inspired by the personal experiences of both himself and co-screenwriter Christian Bengtson, Mads Mengel conceived a cinematic feature film debut that secured him Trine Dyrholm for the titular role. So it seems only fitting that the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival invited the Danish director into the renowned Crystal Globe Competition with "The Guest". The intimate drama touches upon the still-taboo subject of mental challenges within a young couple, confronted with an uninvited relative at their family celebration. On site in Karlovy Vary, Mads Mengel spoke with Lidanoir about tackling the sensitive subject, working with Trine Dyrholm, and his own connection to the theme of neurodiversity.

Die doppel- und dreibödigen Ideen aus Sven Amtsbergs zeitgenössischem Schelmenroman "Superbuhei" inspirierten Josef Brandl bereits zu einem gleichnamigen Kurzfilm. Doch dessen sieben Minuten Laufzeit waren nicht genug für die wilde Story um den Langenhagemer Kneipenbesitzer und maximal unzuverlässigen Erzähler Jesse Bronske. Der Ortsnachbar von Scorpions-Frontman Klaus Meine kriegt nun seinen eigenen Kinospielfilm, mit dem es der deutsche Regisseur prompt in den Wettbewerb des Shanghai International Film Festivals schaffte. Vor Ort sprach Brandl mit Lidanoir über die Zusammenarbeit mit dem Buchautor, Meta-Kino und wie sie den echten Klaus Meine mit an Bord kriegten.

As professor of philosophy Louis Godbout is no stranger to the theme of existentialist dread that becomes an unsetteling untercurrent of his third feature. The Parking Spot examines how a small disturbance in everyday life can errode a person's sense of social and self. On site at the Shanghai Internationl Film Festival where his surreal psychological drama has its world premiere in the main competition, the Canadian director-writer sat down for an interview with Lidanoir about the pressure of social self-assertation, fragil masculinity, and the influence of Goya's Dark Paintings on his film.

After numerous short films at renowned international festivals, Yassine El Idrissi takes his first feature straight to the competition of the Shanghai International Film Festival. Inspired by his background as a journalist, Halima combines nuanced character drama and social study into a powerful story of female resilience and structural marginalization. On site in Shanghai, the Moroccan director-writer sat down with Lidanoir to talk about the personal inspiration for the main character, tackling the subject of illegal cannabis trade in Morocco, and his own stance on legalization vs. criminalization.

The audience knows him mostly as an actor in films like the mystery drama Quo Vadis, Baby? and popular Italian TV series like Don Matteo and Inspector Ricciardi. But for the International Gastronomy Film Festival, born in 2025 from festival founder Gülper Ergün’s wish to bridge different cultures, cities, and countries via food and stories, Ferdinando Maddaloni stepped up as Artistic Director. Informed by his own multidisciplinary experience in film, he curates the short films competing for the main awards. On site in Çeşme, where the festival moved after its premiere edition in Urla, Maddaloni spoke with Lidanoir about his hope for movie theaters dedicated solely to short films, bringing film and food together, and the political side of both.

In der finalen Episode aus Cannes sprechen Lida, Jakob und Patrick über Valeska Grisebachs mit dem Preis der Jury ausgezeichneten "Das geträumte Abenteuer". Sie kommen überdies noch auf ein paar Favoriten zu sprechen, darunter Marine Atlans "La Gradiva" etwa, der den Preis der Semaine de la Critique mit nach Hause nahm, Bruno Dumonts "Red Rocks", Quentin Dupieux' skurriler "Le Vertige" sowie den neuen filmischen Tagebuch-Eintrag des französischen Altmeisters Alain Cavalier, "Merci d'être venu". Zum Schluss lässt sich das Trio noch etwas über "La bola negra" von 'Los Javis' aus, bevor die drei, mit nie zuvor dagewesener Präzision, den "Palme d'Or-Gewinner korrekt vorausahnen. Danke an alle fürs Zuhören, und bis nächstes Jahr an der Croisette!

His multidimensional works centering on the experience of the African diaspora established Alain Gomis as a leading voice of contemporary independent cinema. After winning the Berlinale Silver Bear for his sensitive drama Félicité, the French-Senegalese director has returned to the festival’s competition with his 2012 existentialist study Today, and his latest feature Dao. Moving between documentary and fiction, the experimental exploration of heritage, cultural identity, and belonging takes its group of French-Guinea-Bissauan protagonists on a transformative journey to the country of their ancestors and back to a French wedding. For the cinematic release of Dao, Alain Gomis spoke with Lidanoir about the personal origin of the film project, real emotions in fictional settings, the importance of representation, and why Europe’s cinematic image of African countries is stuck in the past.

In der siebten Episode von Cannes geht es für Lida, Jakob und Patrick allmählich in den Endspurt. Darin spricht das Trio über Her Private Hell, Nicolas Winding Refns' langersehnte Rückkehr auf die große Leinwand. Für viel Begeisterung sorgt die Österreicherin Sandra Wollner mit ihrem dritten Spielfilm Everytime, der nach der Aufnahme der Episode zurecht den Hauptpreis der Un Certain Regard"-Nebensektion erhielt. Und schließlich wissen die drei auch vielerlei Positives über Emmanuel Marres Familienaufarbeitung Notre Salut zu berichten.

In der sechsten Episode sprechen Lida, Jakob und Patrick über James Grays Paper Tiger, mit dem der Amerikaner zum sechsten Mal im Wettbewerb von Cannes vertreten ist. Darüber hinaus spricht das Trio, noch im Unwissen, über Christian Mungius Palme-d'Or-Gewinner Fjord und über Arthur Hararis Body-Switch-Film The Unknown.

After screening his films at Karlovy Vary, Raindance, and Visions du Réel, Viesturs Kairišs now arrives at Cannes with his daring portrait of an iconic figure, both of his Latvian home country and the history of sport. Ulya tells of the youth and professional ascent of basketball player Uljana Semjonova, whose records remain unmatched. At the Palais des Festivals, where his feature just premiered in the Un Certain Regard section, the Latvian director talks with Lidanoir about meeting Semjonova, his controversial casting choice, and the themes of gender and trans identity mirrored in the mise-en-scène.

Cannes is for her a well-acquainted sphere where she has presented more than half a dozen films. Most prominently, Portrait of a Lady on Fire drew international attention to her subtlety and depth. Now, Noémie Merlant is back with a work as fierce and fabulous as it is funny. Bertrand Mandico’s Roma Elastica, screening in the Midnight Movies slate, follows a fading star and her affectionate assistant on a journey into vintage Italian cinema and increasingly surreal territory. After the premiere the previous night, the French actress spoke with Lidanoir about her close friendship with co-star Marion Cotillard, the importance of queer cinema, and how her film’s themes of sexism and ageism in the film industry reflect on the present.

From big budget productions like Pixar's WALL-E and the mainstream animation success Asterix Louis Clichy went on his own artistic journey. It lead the French filmmaker to the 79th Cannes Film Festival where his feature film debut holds a prominent place as the only animated film in the prestigious Un Certain Regard section. In dreamy watercolors, Iron Boy imagines the coming-of-age of 10-year-old Christophe, suffering rom severe skoliosis, who struggles with medical and familiar restraints. On the rooftop terrasse just across from the Palais du Cinema, Clichy spoke about the story's connection to his own childhood, why he chose aquarell and 2D over CGI images, and the downside of lavish studio productions.

From her early writing collaborations for the Oscar-nominated drama Mustang over her acclaimed directing debut Augustine to her last feature film Couture - an empathic look at intersecting lives in the fashion world - Alice Winocour proved once more her creative range as both a screenwriter and director. From daring independent films to star-studded productions, from empathic look at intersecting lives in the fashion world, she established herself as an equally versatile and skilled rising talent of contemporary European cinema. At the Directors Fortnight of the 79th Cannes Film Festival, the French filmmaker spoke with Lidanoir about here work process and inspirations, the importance of representation of female directors, and why her next film with take a foray into the horror genre.

After showing his decisive films at Locarno, the Berlinale, and Toronto, Radu Jude has now made the leap to Cannes. Here the Romanian director once again proves his knack for scathing social satire with The Diary of a Chambermaid. Loosely based on Octave Mirbeau’s famed novel, the biting comedy screening in the Directors’ Fortnight highlights the struggles of a Romanian domestic help and the exploitative economic power structures of the EU’s globalized job market. On site in Cannes, Radu Jude discusses his personal experiences shaping the story, using non-traditional techniques to create his films, his shifting focus on classic sources, and more.

Am sechsten Tag kehrt Jakob wieder in die gewohnte Runde mit Lida und Patrick zurück. Zunächst diskutiert das Trio über die problematischen Aspekte rund um Marie Kreutzers Gentle Monster, der sich unter anderem mit der Aufdeckung von Pädokriminalität auseinanderzusetzen sucht. Mit Ryūsuke Hamaguchis All of a Sudden wartet das Festival zudem mit einem der meisterwarteten Titel des Festivaljahres auf. In der Folge zeigen sich Jakob und Patrick schwer begeistert von Lisandro Alonsos Fortsetzung seines Debütfilms La Libertad: La Libertad doble. Und schließlich kommen Lida und Jakob noch kurz auf Quentin Dupieux' Full Phil zu sprechen - einer von zwei Filmen des französischen Tausendsassas.

Am fünften Tag der Cannes-Filmfestspiele stehen Lida und Patrick unter massiven Zeitdruck und rasen förmlich durch die Filme. Im Schnelldurchlauf kommen die beiden zunächst auf Patricks Geheimtipp Virages aus der Schweiz zu sprechen, bevor das Gespräch zu Steven Soderberghs neuer Dokumentation über das letzte Interview mit John Lennon und Yoko Ono übergeht. Patrick empfiehlt überdies Reed Van Dyks Debütfilm Atonement, in der ein amerikanischer Soldat Buße für von ihm mitverursachte Morde an irakische Zivilist*innen während der amerikanischen Invasion 2003 in Irak zu üben sucht. Und schließlich zeigt sich Lida größtenteils enttäuscht vom neuen Film des früheren Palm-d'Or-Gewinners Hirokazu Kore-eda: Sheep in the Box.

Adapting comedic conventions to an equally profitable and popular form of cinematic entertainment proved a specialty of Pierre Salvadori. This mix of wit and whimsy makes it seem only fitting for the French filmmaker to open the 79th Cannes Film Festival with his newest work, The Electric Kiss. Historic comedy and romance mingle in a chaotic charade where art and amorous confusion collide with metaphysics and manipulation. In an interview on-site in Cannes, the director reflects on the origins of the burlesque comedy’s story, its themes of art and color, working with his frequent collaborator Pio Marmaï, and his favoring of humor over tragedy.

Am vierten Tag von Cannes 2026 zeigt sich das Moviebreak-Trio uneins über Jane Schoenbruns neuen Film Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma. Darüber hinaus kommen Lida, Jakob und Patrick auf den neuen Film des Ida-Regisseurs Paweł Pawlikowski zu sprechen, in dem sich Thomas Mann (Hanns Zischler) und Tochter Erika (Sandra Hüller) auf einen Road-Trip von Frankfurt nach Weimar durch das geteilte Deutschland begeben. Und schließlich ist auch noch über Radu Judes Version des bereits häufig adaptierten Romans Le Journal d'une femme de chambre des Franzosen Octave Mirbau zu reden.

Am dritten Tag sprechen Lida und Patrick über Charline Bourgeois-Tacquets Wettbewerbstitel La vie d'une femme, stellen sich die Frage, ob wahre Fußballfans in Juan Cabral and Santiago Francos The Match noch etwas Neues über die legendäre Viertelfinalpartie 1986 zwischen England und Argentinien lernen können, und werfen mit We Are Aliens einen Blick auf einen der traditionell eher rar gesähten Animationsfilme in Cannes.

In der ersten Podcast-Episode von den Filmfestspielen von Cannes sprechen Lida, Jakob und Patrick über Pierre Salvadoris The Electric Kiss, der das Festival eröffnete, sowie Butterfly Jam, das heißersehnte Comeback des im amerikanischen Exil lebenden russischen Wunderkinds Kantemir Balagov, sowie Nagi Notes, mit dem der Japaner Koji Fukada erstmals im Wettbewerb von Cannes vertreten ist.

Since he took over the most prominent parallel section of the Cannes Film Festival three years ago, the Quinzaine des cinéastes, formerly known as Quinzaine des réalisateurs, has both sharpened its profile as aplatform for cinematic discoveries and its status as a forum for prominent artists beyond the mainstream. Under the artistic direction of Julien Rejl, the Directors' Fortnight claims to strive to increase diversity and champion singular artistic voices, despite the omnipresent pressure of commercialization and uniformity. Before the opening ceremony initiates this year's edition, Julien Rejl sat down with Lidanoir to talk about Cannes' conflicting impulses of artistic equality and economic elitism, the dynamic between the festival's different sections, and what makes this year's program unique.

It has been two decades since his charming feature debut Waking Ned Devine became an international surprise success. Since then, Kirk Jones has only directed a handful of films, the last one about ten years ago. But I Swear was worth the wait. With empathy and eccentric humor, the biopic of Scottish Tourette activist John Davidson shows his difficult youth with the illness. Back in the '80s where the story is set, Tourette's was little known and even less understood. That this has changed is also thanks to Davidson, with whom the director worked closely. When presenting his film in Berlin, Jones found time for an interview with Lidanoir about taking financial risks to realize his project, helping to create Robert Aramayo's BAFTA-winning

Already his fictional feature debut Suicide Room earned him a name with audiences and critics. His daring drama Corpus Christi premiered at the Berlinale and received an Oscar nomination for best foreign film. In his first English-language feature, Jan Komasa once again tests audiences' moral boundaries with a provocative premise that blends psycho thriller with social satire and dark humor. Good Boy has a young delinquent kidnapped by an afluent family whose patriarch wants to condition him into becoming their perfect son. In an interview with Lidanoir, the Polish director discusses the sinister comedy‘s themes of class and violent rehabilitation, taking the audience out of their comfort zone, and Stephen Graham's reaction to his role.

War, patriarchal structures, and the absence of an established local film industry couldn’t hold Suzannah Mirghani back from realizing her first feature film which is a special kind of debut: the first fiction feature from Sudan directed by a woman and only the second Sudanese feature production to screen at the Venice Film Festival. From there Cotton Queen went on a prestigious festival journey, earning prizes at Thessaloniki, Geneva, Doha, and Luxor. The nuanced story of a Sudanese teenage girl’s emancipation against the backdrop of her village’s complicated past and uncertain future is now in German cinemas. During its screening at the Arabic Film Festival Berlin, the Sudanese-Russian filmmaker spoke with Lidanoir about the Sudanese war’s impact on the production, overcoming moral skepticism about young women acting, and the return of colonialist capitalism in a globalized world.

What happens when nature is reduced to a problem that needs solving and a capitalizable attraction at once? Gabriela Osio Vanden and Jack Weisman explore that question in their captivating feature documentary debut, taking a close look at the relationship between humans and polar bears in Churchill, Manitoba. Its status is complicated in the proclaimed Polar Bear Capital of the World, where the awe-inspiring animals venture close to residential areas. After winning Sundance’s US Documentary Competition with its breathtaking footage and nuanced approach to the conflict between human interests and animal preservation, Nuisance Bear screens at Visions du Réel. Here, the filmmakers talk with Lidanoir about coming close, but not too close, to polar bears, capturing never-before-seen wildlife images, and earning the trust of the local communities.

Social pressure, professional strains, and emotional tension come together in Viv Li’s personal and disarmingly humorous portrait of herself at a crossroads. Witty and visually arresting, her feature documentary debut finds the universal in individual issues and vice versa while meditating on identity, insecurity, and ideals. Just a couple of weeks after premiering at the Berlinale and MoMA’s ND/NF forum, Two Mountains Weighing Down My Chest comes to Visions du Réel’s main competition. Before heading to her next screening in New York, the Chinese filmmaker based in Berlin spoke with Lidanoir about the detailed development process, the challenges aspiring filmmakers face, and finding the humor in everyday events.

In a world shaped by militarized conflict and displacement, Janay Boulos and Abd Alkader Habak manage to find the love that overcomes violence and repression - on a personal and a cinematic level. Both come together in their intimate chronicle of a romance against all odds. Birds of War tells their very own love story during the Syrian Civil War and the Lebanese war, witnessing the devastation and brutal impact on people's lives but also moments of unexpected beauty. After premiering at Sundance where it won the prestigious Special Jury Award for its journalistic impact, the moving documentary is now at Visions du Réel. On site in Nyon, the filmmakers spoke with Lidanoir about bringing their own lives to the screen, the importance of not reducing people to headlines, and the future they see for themselves.