The Hindu : Chireau to head Cannes jury

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jan 15, 2003

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National

Chireau to head Cannes jury

By Gautaman Bhaskaran

CHENNAI JAN. 14. The renowned movie-maker, Patrice Chireau, will head the international jury at the Cannes International Film Festival beginning May 14. Last year, the director, David Lynch, presided over the jury.

Mr. Chireau has not only trained a new generation of French actors, but has also distinguished himself as an international theatre and opera director.

Many of the films that Mr. Chireau made, including "Flesh of the Orchid", "The Wounded Man", "Queen Margot" and "Those Who Love Me Can Take The Train", were part of Cannes' prestigious official sections.

His latest work, "Intimacy", shot in London on a story by Hanif Kureishi, got the top Golden Bear Award at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2001.

Mr. Chireau was quoted as having said: "To be at the heart of cinema's living memory, to be in contact with so many international movies — so different from our own — is to use these few days as a means of comprehending the state of the film industry, understanding our role in it and what stories need to be told. Above all, to watch and enjoy the films. It is also about leading a jury made up of people you admire, having to convince them or be convinced, to discuss and to work".

Gilles Jacob, president of the Cannes Festival, had this to say of him: "Chireau's challenging body of work has always been accompanied by a reflection on the nature of art. Satisfying his perpetual curiosity has often put him in harm's way. But it has also made him more daring amongst the fraternal orders of the theatre, opera and now cinema. The choice of encounters, his method with actors and the honing of his directing skills, have rendered him open-minded and a scrupulous witness of contemporary movies and world cinema".

True to this, Mr. Chireau's "Intimacy" is an absolutely bold work: sexually explicit and thematically revolutionary. It is a story that traces the lives of two people tied merely by a physical bond. One does not even know the name of the other. Of course, the relationship runs into foul weather when the man begins to stalk her, curious as he is to find out more about her.

Much like his cinema that has often been shocking, though elegant and classic at the same time, Mr. Chireau, one hopes, will inject all the ingredients of excitement into the Festival on the French Riviera.

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