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Miranda July Reveals "The Future"

Art | 04 August 2011

by Annie

Of all the films in all the film classes I’ve taken over the years, the first movie that, well, moved me to run home and click “buy now” was Miranda July’s Me and You and Everyone We Know. After a few hilarious, yet touching, clips (“Back and Forth Forever” is a delightfully inappropriate highlight-NSFW, just so you know), I was almost embarassed to laugh, but I knew I had to see the rest of this story unfold.

I was expecting a quirky comedy, and it definitely has a few laughs, but to be more accurate: it’s odd, a little bit uncomfortable, but it all feels so genuine and real. I kind of loved it. So when I saw her on the cover of The New York Times Magazine recently, I was thrilled to see her back on the scene, and toting her sophomore film debut, The Future. So far, it’s a hit among the critics, and it’s just recently had a limited release to theatres, so a lucky few of you may have a chance to see it on the big screen (and if you just so happen to be touring European film festivals, you’re in luck!).

The Future has been described in the New York Times as “more controlled”, “tighter than the
free-ranging Me and You but also more mature and tonally darker”, and the artist herself said she was “feeling older and less rainbow colored.” From the looks of the trailer, I just want to see it!

I was even more interested, and honestly, not horrible surprised, to find that Miranda July has almost as many haters as she does fans. To be fair, her art is something that not everybody “gets”, and I don’t always get it myself… A jack of many trades, she is also an accomplished performance artist, writer, and has made quite a few short films and art installations, as well as some web-based projects that I can’t even begin to describe.

Check out some of her work, and you’ll understand why the tagline for the aptly titled article, “Miranda July is Totally Not Kidding” says, “She is one of the most talented filmmakers of her generation. She is one of the most aggravating filmmakers of her generation. Could both of these statements be true?”

At the end of the day, I don’t pretend to “get” it all, but I do have immense respect for a woman with such a fearless attitude, who has to know that most people aren’t going to understand her vision, but would never let a silly thing like doubt stand in her way.

(Images courtesy of The New York Times Magazine and MirandaJuly.com)

(Videos courtesy of YouTube)

Cannes Film Festival: Then and Now

General | 16 May 2011

by Laurie Hartt

As many of you may have heard, the 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival begun just this past Wedesday, luring in stars and celebrities from all over the world. Besides the appeal of the ocean and the exotic French coastline, this festival is reknowned for its private status and epic fashion statements.

The idea for the film festival began in 1939, when Jean Zay, the French Minister of National Education decided to protest the intevention of the fascist government in choosing films for the Venice Film Festival. With the support of British and Americans in the area, he proposed to create an international cinematographic festival in France. Unfortunately, the advent of WWII delayed things for several years, and the first festival did not officially begin until 1946. Although originally designed as a competition of arts between France and Italy, the festival has since evolved into a venue for producers to air their new films and an opportunity to promote European cinema. (Read more history here.)

Over the years, this exclusive event has been privileged to host some truly beautiful people. Take a look at some of my favs:

The lovely Brigitte Bardot, on the brink of becoming one of the most famous actresses of her time. * It was at the 1955 festival that Grace Kelly met Prince Rainer III, whom she eventually married.

Warren Beatty & Natalie Wood * Elizabeth Taylor & husband Mike Todd

Click here if you want to see more old Hollywood pics from the Festival (worth a look! They were so glamorous!)

Other pics from here.

While studying in France several years ago, I was lucky enough to get a chance to attend the festival myself! Of course, the red carpet was on the other side of the rope, but being able to wander the streets and take in all the sights was definitely something to remember.

Ohhh the red carpet! I got to see Juliette Binoche (remember her from Chocolat?), and a few of the group were lucky enough to see Natalie Portman after her Star Wars debut.

Eating snacks at an ampitheatre near the beach. We actually ended up sleeping there that night because we wanted to see more stars the next day and all the hotels were filled up with visitors and movie stars!