‘Julia’ Showrunners Dish on Mixing Fact and Fiction and All the Delicacies in Store for the Childs

Peter Debruge Chief Film CriticIn “Leila’s Brothers,” a once proud, now pathetic Persian family teeters on the brink of ruin, held together by the assertive sister who’s tired of relying on men to decide her fortune. Taking matters into her own hands may be empowering to watch — there’s no question that “The Salesman” alum Taraneh Alidoosti, who plays Leila, towers over this male-dominated ensemble — but it’s also a recipe for potential tragedy in Iranian writer-director Saeed Roustaee’s novelistic, nearly-three-hour saga, his first to be selected for Cannes.Some audiences may recognize Roustaee from another turbulent family portrait, “Life and a Day” (2016), whereas it was his terrific cop thriller “Just 6.5” (2019) — the closest thing Iran has produced to “The French Connection,” still unreleased in the U.S.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentWhen Italian-French actress and director Valeria Bruni Tedeschi was in her twenties she had the formative experience of attending the prestigious acting school at the Théâtre des Amandiers in Nanterre, France, led by late great auteur Patrice Chéreau. Her fifth directorial effort, “Forever Young,” which is in competition in Cannes, is a tribute to that time and, ultimately, to any young person’s passion for the theatre. Tedeschi spoke to Variety in Cannes about how she mixed remembrances and re-invention to make this film.

“Sexism is everywhere — so are we.” It’s just one of many slogans plastered across the streets of France in the timely documentary Feminist Riposte (Riposte Féministe) which is in the Special Screenings section at Cannes. Filmmakers Marie Perennès and Simon Depardon follow 10 groups of women around the country who are protesting about harassment, rape, femicide — and about the police response to these crimes. “Les flics” — aka the cops — are a silent force in this film, policing protests with grim faces. This is about giving a voice to the young women, recording their dialogue about the cause.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentMia Hansen-Løve, the French writer-director whose last film “Bergman Island” competed at last year’s Cannes, is back at the festival with “One Fine Morning,” a romance drama headlined by Lea Seydoux. The movie world premiered at Directors’ Fortnight and has earned stellar reviews with Variety‘s Guy Lodge describing it as a “wistful, wandering character study” and “gently moving reflection on parenting one’s children and parents at once,” which marks Hansen-Løve’s “returns to French, and to form.” “One Fine Morning” stars Seydoux as a long-single mother who’s coping with her father’s degenerative illness while embarking on a new, uncertain romance with a charming, yet emotionally unavailable man (Melvil Poupaud).

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentGaumont has locked major territory deals on “Father & Soldier,” Mathieu Vadepied’s WWI action-drama about headlined by “Lupin” star Omar Sy. The movie world premiered on opening night of Cannes’ Un Certain Regard.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentMK2 Films is shooting “Curiosity Room,” a remake of Wim Wenders’s cult 1982 documentary “Room 666,” during the Cannes Film Festival. Produced by MK Prods.

Julia Roberts attended two events in one night at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival!

Not quite a musical, sort of a folktale, and almost but not entirely a hardscrabble hunk of post-war realism before all of a sudden changing gears, “Scarlet” – which opened the 2022 Cannes Film Festival’s Directors’ Fortnight sidebar on Wednesday – is a tricky project to pin down. Of course, director Pietro Marcello wouldn’t have it any other way.Shooting in French for the first time, the Italian filmmaker made his name with documentaries before working found and historical footage into the world of make-believe with 2019’s “Martin Eden.” With this more ambitious (if more uneven) follow-up, Marcello continues at a similar pace, folding fact into fiction as he explores both the landscapes of rural Normandy in the aftermath of the First World War and the plight of the working poor, all through the crags of his leading man’s brow.That brow (and those crags) belongs to Raphael (Raphaël Thiéry), who we discover limping home from the front interspersed with historical footage of fellow soldiers doing the same.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent“Lost And Found” has closed first sales to Italy (Eagle Pictures), France (KMBO) and Taiwan (Creative Century Entertainment) on thriller “Lost and Found,” starring Álvaro Morte, “Money Heist’s” Professor, and directed by “The Head” helmer Jorge Dorado.The caliber of the distributors – Eagle Pictures is one of Italy’s most muscular mainstream buyers, for instance – and the movie’s high-profile talent package confirm “Lost and Found” as a preeminent title in Spain’s currently most exportable product line: Upscale ambitious thrillers with a social-issue underbelly.Filmax, “Lost and Found’s” sales company, screened a promo at Berlin’s European Film Market. The first sales news comes just before the film’s first market screening at a private event at Cannes.

The Cannes Film Festival officially kicks off tomorrow. One of the big films to be screened there is David Cronenberg‘s body horror “Crimes of The Future,” which stars Lea Seydoux (“No Time To Die“) alongside the filmmaker’s longtime muse Viggo Mortensen.

Naman Ramachandran The second edition of the Ponta Lopud Festival (June 22-27) on the island of Lopud, near Dubrovnik, Croatia, will feature masterclasses from Oscar winners Frances McDormand and Joel Coen. “At this point in our professional lives, we can’t think of a better way to spend the warm days of summer than in conversation about the process of filmmaking and the love of film watching with a group of other filmmakers on an island in the Adriatic Sea,” said McDormand and Coen.Participants at this year’s edition include filmmakers Tamara Kotevska (“Honeyland”), Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović (“Murina), Una Gunjak (“Chicken”), and actor Gordan Bogdan (“Fargo”).

Frances McDormand and Joel Coen are set to headline as ‘masters’ at the second edition of the Ponta Lopud Festival next month.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentFriendship, mountains, growing up, and our changed rapport with the planet in the wake of the pandemic are the main elements in Cannes competition title “The Eight Mountains” by Belgian directors Felix van Groeningen (“Beautiful Boy”) and Charlotte Vandermeersch. (Watch the trailer above.)The film is based on an Italian novel of the same title by Paolo Cognetti.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“Julia” has been renewed for Season 2 at HBO Max.The series is inspired by the life of Julia Childs and her long-running cooking show “The French Chef.” Through Childs’ perspective, the series explores the emergence of public television as a new social institution, feminism and the women’s movement, the nature of celebrity and America’s cultural evolution.Sarah Lancashire stars as Childs. The cast also includes David Hyde Pierce, Bebe Neuwirth, Brittany Bradford, Fran Kranz, and Fiona Glascott.

The UK’s influential Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee (DCMSC) has called Elon Musk to a hearing to discuss how he “will balance his clear commitment to free speech with new obligations to protect Twitter’s users from online harms.”

 is bringing in a new member of its creative family. Following Justin Lin's departure from the upcoming 10th installment of the franchise, ET can confirm that French filmmaker Louis Leterrier has been chosen to step in and direct the action-packed film.Leterrier is best known for directing the first two  films, as well as 2008's 2010's 2013's and the Netflix streaming series Lin announced his directorial departure last Tuesday, but shared with fans that he would be remaining on the project as a producer.

 is bringing in a new member of its creative family. Following Justin Lin's departure from the upcoming 10th installment of the franchise, ET can confirm that French filmmaker Louis Leterrier is the top choice to step in and direct the action-packed film.Leterrier is best known for directing the first two  films, as well as 2008's 2010's 2013's and the Netflix streaming series Lin announced his directorial departure last Tuesday, but shared with fans that he would be remaining on the project as a producer.

The Monte-Carlo Television Festival has outlined its plans for the 61st edition which takes place in the principality from June 17-21 this year. Vying for the Golden Nymph awards which honor the best in international television production are 21 programs from 12 countries across three categories. They include Paramount+’s The Offer, Amy Poehler’s doc Lucy And Desi and Jamie Dornan-starrer The Tourist.