NEON, CJ ENM Take Domestic On Kore-eda Hirokazu’s ‘Broker’ Ahead Of Cannes Premiere

Following the sparsely attended media conference for Close at Cannes this morning, journalists packed their way into the press room to hear Broker director Hirokazu Kore-Eda and cast, giving them a standing ovation.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefKore-eda Hirokazu, director of the well-received Cannes competition film “Broker” says his diverse and lonely characters constitute a family of choice.“This film tells the story of a family which came together by choice. Each character had been rejected. They set off on a car journey, as if by accident.

In Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Palme d’Or winner “Shoplifters,” a group of small-time thieves forms their own makeshift family, living every day not only through pure survival instinct but a genuine love for each other. For his first film set in Korea, the Japanese filmmaker reflects on similar themes in “Broker,” a road trip odyssey reflecting on the family we choose and the family we tearfully let go of.

The Palme d’Or can be a blessing and curse, a gold-plated sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of filmmakers lucky enough to claim it. After the first waves of shock and joy recede, and their subsequent year-long victory lap reaches the finish line, those same filmmakers are left alone with one troubling thought: What’s next? Director Hirokazu Kore-eda offers a fine case study in how that question might trip someone up.

Esteemed Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda walks a fine line between keen social observation and overt sentimental emotionalism in Cannes competition title Broker.

Peter Debruge Chief Film CriticWhile Americans’ attention is consumed with the issue of abortion, halfway across the world, director Kore-eda Hirokazu (“Shoplifters”) focuses on the alternative for mothers who carry their pregnancies to term, but can’t raise the children on their own. A warm and unexpectedly nonjudgmental look at the Korean gray market for adoption, “Broker” was inspired by the idea of “baby hatches” — essentially, a donation station for unwanted infants — and follows the director’s natural curiosity through to its most humanistic conclusion, as audiences unexpectedly come to empathize with practically everyone involved in the buying and selling of a little bundle of joy.What is Kore-eda, who is Japanese, doing making a film in South Korea, you might ask? It’s not his first time working abroad.

A24 has made another acquisition out of Cannes, acquiring the North American rights to “Close,” the next film from Lukas Dhont, which is set to debut tonight in the main competition at Cannes. Dhont is the director of 2018’s “Girl,” which won the Camera d’Or at Cannes, and the film stars Eden Dambrine and Gustav De Waele, and Émilie Dequenne, Léa Drucker, Kevin Janssens, Marc Weiss, Igor Van Dessel, and Léon Bataille.“Close” is described as a film about friendship and responsibility and follows two 13-year-old boys, Léo and Rémi, whose friendship suddenly gets disrupted.

Cannes Film Festival.Members of the production team for “Butterly Vision,” by Ukrainian director Maksym Nakonechni, protested the ongoing war in Ukraine while on the red carpet Wednesday.In front of Salle Debussy, the second-largest theater in Cannes, the team — including producers Darya Bassel and Yelizaveta Smit, plus actress Rita Burkovska — held a banner that read, “Russians kill Ukrainians. Do you find it offensive or disturbing to talk about this genocide?”The sirens heard on the red carpet stairs were meant to symbolize air raids in Ukraine, while the protestors held signs that read “sensitive content” over their faces.Not only were they demonstrating the ongoing devastation in Ukraine, but they were also attempting to show the extent of Russian censorship.The film “Butterfly Vision” explores a similar idea, albeit in a fictional world.

Austin Butler, Tom Hanks, and Olivia DeJonge headlined the star-studded premiere for the upcoming Elvis Presley biopic at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday. The group was also joined by the singer’s ex-wife, Priscilla Presley. On the red carpet, Luhrmann showed off a flashy Elvis belt buckle to an impressed Butler. The group was also peppered with a long list of other stars showing their support, including Shakira, Sharon Stone, Ricky Martin, Kylie Minogue, Maye Musk, Jwan Yosef, Winnie Harlow, Shanina Shaik, Elsa Hosk, Candice Swanepoel, Stella Maxwell, Adriana Lima, and Andre Lemmers. Team #Elvis has entered the building.

Neon has acquired North American rights to Ruben Östlund’s buzzy satire, Triangle of Sadness, following its world premiere in competition at the Cannes Film Festival.

Hirokazu Kore-eda‘s next directorial effort is the baby-napping (kidnapping for babies) drama “Broker” which stars Song Kang-ho, who previously played the patriarch in the Best Picture winner “Parasite” and is a fixture of South Korean cinema. Kore-eda, a Japanese filmmaker, made waves in the film awards circuit with his fantastic 2018 drama “Shoplifters” which won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and even etched out a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar nomination.

Naomi Campbell looks amazing on the red carpet at the premiere of Decision To Leave during the 2022 Cannes Film Festival on Monday (May 23) in Cannes, France.

Kristen Stewart just gave us another great red carpet moment!

Thania Garcia Ahead of its Monday evening premiere at the Cannes Film Festival’s Midnight Screenings section, the first trailer for filmmaker Brett Morgen’s “Moonage Daydream” — a feature-length film dissecting David Bowie’s creative, musical and spiritual journey — has been released.Featuring never-before-seen footage, performances, and music, the documentary is piloted by Bowie’s own narration. It is the first film project officially sanctioned by Bowie’s estate.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film WriterA group of women protestors staged a dramatic scene at the Cannes Film Festival on Sunday, releasing plumes of smoke from handheld devices and displaying a long banner for the global press.At the premiere of “Holy Spider,” director Ali Abbasi’s female-centered thriller, roughly 12 women in formalwear gathered on the famed stairs of the festival’s Grand Palais with raised fists — filling the space with thick black smoke and holding a long scroll of women’s names.Security seemed unfazed by the event, allowing the protestors to be filmed and photographed. One insider close to the production said the protest was not a coordinated stunt to promote the film, about a journalist who travels to the Iranian holy city of Mashhad to investigate a serial killer murdering sex workers.

Cannes Film Festival in France. The granddaughter of Charlie Chaplin, 39, exposed her cleavage in a black glittery gown featuring a cutout slit, while elevating her height with sparkly gold heels.

Nina Dobrev and Shaun White are walking the red carpet together for the very first time!

K.J. Yossman When “War Pony” debuts in Cannes on May 21, it will represent the culmination of a project almost a decade in the making.

EXCLUSIVE:  NEON has taken the North American distribution rights to Mark Jenkin’s horror feature Enys Men, starring Mary Woodvine and Edward Rowe. The deal was hatched before Cannes, ahead of the pic’s world premiere in the Directors’ Fortnight section.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaNeon has purchased North American distribution rights to Mark Jenkin’s “Enys Men,” ahead of the horror film’s premiere in the Directors’ Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival.The film, which sounds very shades of “The Wicker Man,” stars Mary Woodvine and Edward Rowe. Jenkin wore a lot of hats on this one.