Reporting from Cannes, as he has done every year since 1967, Samir Farid basks in an unprecedented Arab presence at Cannes This year the main poster of the Cannes Film Festival (16-27 May) features Marilyn Monroe blowing out the candle on her 30th birthday cake in a limo �ê" Gary Bettman's famous photo �ê" commemorating 50 years since Monroe died and Cannes's own 65th birthday. For the first time in 15 years an Egyptian film was officially selected: Youssry Nassrallah's Baad el mawkeaa (After the Battle) is competing with 21 other features from all over the world. In its 50th round in 1997 Youssef Chahine's Al Massir (The Destiny) entered the official competition, and Chahine received the golden jubilee lifetime achievement award. Yet Egyptian film has never been a stranger to this cinematic fete since its first round in 1946, when Egypt contributed not one but two films. After the Battle is the 15th Egyptian (and the 21st Arab) production to feature in Cannes's official competition. Nassrallah, for his part �ê" the festivals' director par exellance �ê" has been a constant presence at the festival since 1988. His debut Sariqat Sayfiyya (Summer Robberies) premiered in the Directors' Fortnight, and his two-part Bab Al Shams was screened outside the official competition in 2004. The Arab contribution to Cannes this year is indeed quantitatively and qualitatively unprecedented, no doubt due to worldwide interest in the Arab Spring. After the Battle was selected not only because of its topic �ê" the "Battle of the Camel" episode in the Egyptian revolution �ê" but also, since it was selected for the official competition, because of its remarkable artistic achievement. For the first time in the short film competition there are two Arab films: the Syrian-Palestinian film Falastein, Sandouk al intezar lil burtuqal (Waiting for the PO Box) by Bassam Chekhes; and the Algerian director Mohamed Bourokba's Ce chemin devant moi (This Path Ahead), a French production. Likewise the Cin��fondation includes the Lebanese film Derriere moi les olivers (Behind Me Olive Trees) by Pascale Abou Jamra. Un certain regard also features the Moroccan filmmaker Nabil Ayouch's Les chevaux de Dieu (God's Horses) and the well-known, innovative Palestinian filmmaker Elia Suleiman's segment of the seven-part Spanish production 7 Days in Havana. Even in the Cannes Classics programme, Hitchcock's 1927 silent movie, The Ring, was restored in part by the foundation of the Saudi patron of the arts Mohamed S. Farsi. Also featured are the Algerian filmmakers Rachid Djaidani and Merzak Allouache, with El Taaib (The Repentant) and Rengaine (Hold Back), respectively. The Egyptian filmmaker Marianne Khouri is on the Short Films Competition jury. And for the first time in the history of Cannes an Arab actress, the Palestinian Hiam Abbass, is on the Official Competition jury headed by the great Italian filmmaker Nanni Moretti. Born in Haifa, Abbass was with the Hakawati Theatre troupe for a long time before making her screen debut in Michel Khleifi's 1987 Wedding in Galilee. It is worth mentioning that the Special Screenings programme features the first ever film on the Libyan revolution, Le serment de Tobrouk (The Oath of Tobruk), by the Middle East scholar Bernard-Henri Levy with Marc Roussel. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ FESTIVAL PROGRAMME Competition -- AMOUR (LOVE) directed by Michael HANEKE -- BAAD EL MAWKEAA (AFTER THE BATTLE) directed by Yousry NASRALLAH -- COSMOPOLIS directed by David CRONENBERG -- DA-REUN NA-RA-E-SUH (IN ANOTHER COUNTRY) directed by HONG Sangsoo -- DE ROUILLE ET D'OS (RUST AND BONE) directed by Jacques AUDIARD -- DO-NUI MAT (THE TASTE OF MONEY) directed by IM Sang-Soo -- DUP�E DEALURI (BEYOND THE HILLS) directed by Cristian MUNGIU -- HOLY MOTORS directed by Leos CARAX -- JAGTEN (THE HUNT) directed by Thomas VINTERBERG -- KILLING THEM SOFTLY directed by Andrew DOMINIK -- LAWLESS directed by John HILLCOAT -- LIKE SOMEONE IN LOVE directed by Abbas KIAROSTAMI -- MOONRISE KINGDOM directed by Wes ANDERSON -- MUD directed by Jeff NICHOLS -- ON THE ROAD directed by Walter SALLES -- PARADIES: LIEBE (PARADISE: LOVE) directed by Ulrich SEIDL -- POST TENEBRAS LUX directed by Carlos REYGADAS -- REALITY directed by Matteo GARRONE -- THE ANGELS' SHARE directed by Ken LOACH -- THE PAPERBOY directed by Lee DANIELS -- V TUMANE (IN THE FOG) directed by Sergei LOZNITSA -- VOUS N'AVEZ ENCORE RIEN VU (YOU AIN'T SEEN NOTHIN' YET!) directed by Alain RESNAIS Un Certain Regard -- 11.25 JIKETSU NO HI, MISHIMA YUKIO TO WAKAMONOTACHI (11/25 THE DAY MISHIMA CHOSE HIS OWN FATE) directed by Koji WAKAMATSU -- 7 D�çAS EN LA HABANA (7 DAYS IN HAVANA) directed by Benicio del TORO, Pablo TRAPERO, Julio MEDEM, Elia SULEIMAN, Gaspar NO�â, Juan Carlos TABIO, Laurent CANTET -- ê PERDRE LA RAISON directed by Joachim LAFOSSE -- ANTIVIRAL directed by Brandon CRONENBERG -- BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD directed by Benh ZEITLIN -- CONFESSION OF A CHILD OF THE CENTURY directed by Sylvie VERHEYDE -- DESPU�âS DE LUCIA directed by Michel FRANCO -- DJECA (CHILDREN OF SARAJEVO) directed by Aida BEGIC -- ELEFANTE BLANCO (WHITE ELEPHANT) directed by Pablo TRAPERO -- GIMME THE LOOT directed by Adam LEON -- LA PIROGUE (THE PIROGUE) directed by Moussa TOUR�â -- LA PLAYA D.C. directed by Juan Andr��s ARANGO -- LAURENCE ANYWAYS directed by Xavier DOLAN -- LE GRAND SOIR directed by Beno��t DEL�âPINE, Gustave KERVERN -- LES CHEVAUX DE DIEU (GOD'S HORSES) directed by Nabil AYOUCH -- MISS LOVELY directed by Ashim AHLUWALIA -- MYSTERY directed by LOU Ye -- RENOIR directed by Gilles BOURDOS -- STUDENT directed by Darezhan OMIRBAYEV -- TROIS MONDES (THREE WORLDS) directed by Catherine CORSINI Out of Competition -- AI TO MAKOTO (FOR LOVE'S SAKE) directed by Takashi MIIKE -- DARIO ARGENTO DRACULA (DARIO ARGENTO'S DRACULA) directed by Dario ARGENTO -- HEMINGWAY & GELLHORN directed by Philip KAUFMAN -- IO E TE (ME AND YOU) directed by Bernardo BERTOLUCCI -- LE FILM ANNIVERSAIRE : UNE JOURN�âE PARTICULI�àRE - HISTOIRE(S) DE FESTIVAL N��4 (FILM ANNIVERSARY: A SPECIAL DAY) directed by Gilles JACOB -- MADAGASCAR 3: EUROPE'S MOST WANTED directed by Eric DARNELL, Tom MCGRATH, Conrad VERNON -- MANIAC directed by Franck KHALFOUN -- THE SAPPHIRES directed by Wayne BLAIR -- THERESE DESQUEYROUX directed by Claude MILLER Special screenings -- A M�öSICA SEGUNDO TOM JOBIM (The Music According to Antonio Carlos Jobim) directed by Nelson PEREIRA DOS SANTOS, Dora JOBIM -- JOURNAL DE FRANCE directed by Raymond DEPARDON, Claudine NOUGARET -- LE SERMENT DE TOBROUK (THE OATH OF TOBRUK) directed by Bernard-Henri LEVY, Marc ROUSSEL -- LES INVISIBLES directed by S��bastien LIFSHITZ -- MEKONG HOTEL directed by Apichatpong WEERASETHAKUL -- M��LL IM GARTEN EDEN (POLLUTING PARADISE) directed by Fatih AKIN -- ROMAN POLANSKI : A FILM MEMOIR directed by Laurent BOUZEREAU -- THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE directed by Ken BURNS, David MCMAHON -- TRASHED directed by Candida BRADY -- VILLEGAS directed by Gonzalo TOBAL Cinefondation -- ABIGAIL directed by Matthew James REILLY -- DERRI�àRE MOI LES OLIVIERS (BEHIND ME OLIVE TREES) directed by Pascale ABOU JAMRA -- DOROGA NA (THE ROAD TO) directed by Taisia IGUMENTSEVA -- HEAD OVER HEELS directed by Timothy RECKART -- LES RAVISSEMENTS (The Raptures) directed by Arthur CAHN -- LOS ANFITRIONES (THE HOSTS) directed by Miguel Angel MOULET -- MATTEUS directed by Leni HUYGHE -- PUDE VER UN PUMA (COULD SEE A PUMA) directed by Eduardo WILLIAMS -- RESEN (DOG LEASH) directed by Eti TSICKO -- RIYOUSHI (THE BARBER) directed by Shoichi AKINO -- SLUG INVASION directed by Morten HELGELAND, Casper WERMUTH -- TABARA DIN RAZOARE (THE CAMP IN RAZOARE) directed by Cristi IFTIME -- TAMBYLLES directed by Michal HOGENAUER -- TERRA (LAND) directed by Piero MESSINA -- THE BALLAD OF FINN + YETI directed by Meryl O'CONNOR Short films in Competition -- CE CHEMIN DEVANT MOI (THIS PATH AHEAD) directed by Mohamed (dit Ham��) BOUROKBA -- CHEF DE MEUTE (HERD LEADER) directed by Chlo�� ROBICHAUD -- COCKAIGNE directed by Emilie VERHAMME -- FALASTEIN, SANDOUK AL INTEZAR LIL BURTUQAL (WAITING FOR P.O BOX) directed by Bassam CHEKHES -- GASP directed by Eicke BETTINGA -- MI SANTA MIRADA (MY HOLY GAZE) directed by �Elvaro APONTE-CENTENO -- NIGHT SHIFT directed by Zia MANDVIWALLA -- SESSIZ-BE DENG (SILENT) directed by L.Rezan YESILBAS -- THE CHAIR directed by Grainger DAVID -- YARDBIRD directed by Michael SPICCIA
