Cannes award-winning films on view

For decades, the Cannes film festival has been a symbol of arthouse filmmaking. It has earned a reputation for being the most glamorous such event in the world, showcasing the latest cinematic trends.
The basis of that standard, however, came from filmmakers who gained prominence through winning the Camera d’or, an award that was created in 1978 for films that are screened for the first time at Cannes out of all the categories presented at the festival.
Starting Friday, 12 films that have won the Camera d’or will be presented at Cine Cube, an arthouse cinema in central Seoul.
“Stranger than Paradise” by Jim Jarmusch, often dubbed “the father of American independent film,” will be screened. It is the story of two New York City friends who take a road trip to Florida.
“Slam,” by Marc Levin, a winner of the Sundance Grand Jury prize, is a tale of a gifted black rapper-poet who ends up in a Washington, D.C. prison on drug charges.
“Boy Meets Girl,” by French director Leos Carax, is a black-and-white thriller that is said to have some of the most stunning night scenes of Paris.
For films in a lighter vein, the theater presents “Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner),” Canada’s first feature-length film made in the Inuit language, which depicts the tale of the fastest runner among a group of Inuit.
Twisted love stories also have won hearts at Cannes.
“Sweetie,” by Australian filmmaker Jane Campion, is a disturbing film about sisters in a dysfunctional family; critic Roger Ebert describes his “curious experience” in watching the film. “Tough Life,” by French director Eric Rochant, is an unusual love story with a series of unexpected surprises.
Films also deal with innocence and the loss of nostalgia through the eyes of third world cinema.
“White Balloon,” by Iranian director Jafar Panahi, relates the adventures of a poor young girl who eyes a pretty goldfish and wants to have it. “The Day I Became a Woman,” a film by another Iranian director, Marzieh Meshkini, is an observation of three generations of women in Iran from the perspective of the 20-year-old female director. A Swiss/French co-production, “Yaaba,” by Idrissa Ouedraogo, is a poetic tale about growing up.
Themes of war and history have also been subjects that lured the juries of Camera d’or.
“Time For Drunken Horses,” also from Iran, is a film by Kurdish-Iranian filmmaker Bahman Ghobadi, dealing with a sibling’s struggle to survive near the Iraqi border in Iranian Kurdistan.
In 2001, the festival awarded “No Man’s Land” by Danis Tanovic, a film about two soldiers during the Bosnian war who are stuck in the crossfire. “Freeze, Die, Come to Life” is set in a Soviet mining town during World War II, near a Japanese prison camp.

by Park Soo-mee

Screenings run through Jan. 20. The tickets cost 6,000 won. For more information call 02-2002-7770/1.