Two-time Palme d’Or winnter Emir Kusturica — in 1985 for “When Father Was Away On Business” and in 1995 for “Underground” — will be returning to the Croisette this year, but this time, he won’t have a film in his hands.
The director has been chosen to head the jury for the Un Certain Regard programming of the upcoming festival. Run parallel to the official competition films, this section of the festival is dedicated to visionary, original work looking for international exposure. Hong Sang-soo‘s “Hahaha,” Yorgos Lanthimos‘s “Dogtooth” and Sergey Dvortsevoy‘s “Tulpan” were the last three winners, which should give you an idea of the kind of films that are selected for this branch of the fest.
As for Kusturica, we will anxiously await for when he’ll get rolling on his next feature, but he’s not without a plethora of options. Gael Garcia Bernal and Benicio Del Toro are apparently vying for the lead in “Wild Roses, Tender Roses”; there’s the adaptation of the Bosnian novel “The Bridge on the Drina” somewhere in development; the child custody drama “Tweakers Delight” as well as the Palestinian comedy “Cool Water” that had Tahar Rahim attached a year ago.
He’ll have time to think about it and perhaps get inspired to do something else entirely after hitting Cannes. The festival runs from May 11-21. [THR]
