Östlund is the first Swede in history to chair the Cannes jury
Photo: GLOBAL LOOK PRESS
A few years ago, it was hard to imagine that the Swede Ruben Östlund would be called to preside over the jury of one of the main film festivals on the planet. His films “The Game” and “Force Majeure” were shown in Cannes (the second – in the “Un Certain Regard” competition, where he received the jury prize), but he was not considered a master. The situation changed in 2017: Östlund’s satire on contemporary art “The Square” entered and won the main competition, and then also took the Oscar for best film not in English. Last year, Östlund repeated his triumph: his “Triangle of Pain”, a black satirical tragicomedy about the adventures of the rich, first on a luxurious ship and then (after a pirate attack) on an island lost in the ocean, again received the Palme d’Or. He became the ninth director in history whose films received this award twice (this club also includes Östlund compatriot Alf Sjoberg, American Francis Ford Coppola, Dane Bille August, Serbian Emir Kusturica, the Japanese Shohei Imamura, the Belgians Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, the Austrian Michael Haneke and the British Ken Loach). Now “The Triangle of Sorrow” is nominated for an Oscar in the main category “Best Picture of the Year”, and Estlund personally has a chance (albeit a very small one) to receive an Academy Award for Best Director.
Östlund has already shared his plans for the next film with journalists. It will be called “Broken Entertainment System”, and the action will take place on a commercial plane making a long flight. Suddenly, everything related to entertainment is turned off there: Wi-Fi, showing movies on screens built into the backs of chairs, etc. The passengers are left alone with boredom and their own thoughts. And Estlund intends to show that boredom in every detail: for example, he will have a scene in which a boy asks his brother for an iPad, and he tells him that he will return it in five minutes. The child turns, languishing with longing, asks the mother: “How much time is left?” (the answer is “4 minutes 45 seconds”)… And all these excruciating five minutes will be displayed in real time. The director also plans to show this picture in Cannes and jokes: “I expect a record number of people to leave the room!”
Östlund is the first Swede in history to chair the Cannes jury. He explodes in gratitude: “I am happy, proud and shocked by the honor that has been done to me… Nowhere in the world of cinema are expectations higher than the moment the curtain rises and the films begin to be released contest of this festival. shown.” He also promises” to remind his fellow jury members of the social role of cinema “.
The 2023 Cannes Film Festival will take place from May 16 to 27. The names of the other members of the jury, as well as the competition program, will be tentatively announced in April.
