Cannes needs anti-Oscar spirit
2008-05-24 20:51
Cannes - Cannes jury president Sean Penn says the festival should "do just the opposite" of the Oscars and crown a groundbreaking, unconventional film, in an interview to be published on Sunday.
Penn, 47, told French daily Le Monde that he and the rest of the nine-strong jury at the world's biggest film festival should reward a picture at the closing ceremony on Sunday that bucks current trends in cinema.
"The best way to be honest is to try to emancipate ourselves from the effects of fashion, to try to find what will stay with us forever," he is quoted as saying.
"We've got to do the opposite of the Academy that gives out the Oscars, where manipulation and very good marketing are rewarded."
Penn, who won an Oscar for best actor in 2004 for his performance in Clint Eastwood's drama Mystic River, said it had been a very good year for films at Cannes.
He only regretted "there weren't a few more comedies in competition" - a wry reference to the predominantly dark fare at the 61st edition of the festival.
Shadow over festival
Penn, an outspoken leftist activist, had said at the beginning of the festival that the devastating earthquake in China and the cyclone in Myanmar would cast a shadow over the festival.
He told Le Monde that the question of which of the 22 films in competition at Cannes were political or relevant was open to question.
"You would be surprised to see at what point questions about the political order are raised by each of the jury members relating to films or elements of films that on the surface do not appear to have them," he said.
"But in general we focused on the cinematic experience. A principle that, of course, can be interpreted in many different ways."
He said he had asked the jury members not to read reviews of the films, which might colour their judgment.
Penn is leading a jury including Italian actor and director Sergio Castellitto, Hollywood actress Natalie Portman, Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron, Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul, German actress Alexandra Maria Lara, French directors Rachid Bouchareb and Marjane Satrapi, and French actress Jeanne Balibar.