Nominees for the Golden Palm

Mondovino by Jonathan Nossiter
Press Conference: "Mondovino"
Jonathan Nossiter's Mondovino made it into the official selection, a story of the globalization of wine over three continents. The drink of the gods—or what he calls “the sole guardian of Western civilization” has lost its personal stamp and perhaps its soul. "It is the reflection of the land from which it came and should also reflect its cultivator," one of the sad conclusions the filmmaker has come to terms with and presents in the film.
Mondovino and winegrower Hubert de Montille who has a reverence for the earth and the grapes of his area, met the sparsely assembled press. The documentary shows how complex wines are being swallowed up by easy varieties in pretty packaging. It would appear that the Mondavi brothers in Napa Valley, the wine critic Robert Parker and star consultant Rolland from Bordeaux have taken control of the wine business. Jonathan Nossiter remarked: "I was making a trip to Burgundy with my Uruguayan filmmaker friend Juan Pittaluga. We share the same penchant for wine and noted how difficult – yet rewarding - it is to pass this taste for wine onto the next generation. We also thought about our respective fathers wondering whether we measured up to the heritage they had passed on to us. So I must admit that the film was the offspring of very personal reflections.”

Life Is A Miracle by Emir Kusturica
If he wins a third Palme Emir Kusturica will be in a class of his own, but the reactions to his newest film are cool. The temperamental Kusturica reported to the press why he refused to be interviewed by his countrymen from the former Yugoslavia: “When it was the 50th anniversary of Cannes, I was travelling from Paris and met Francis Ford Coppola. I had 1 1/2 hours to introduce myself. It was highly unsuccessful. If Coppola doesn't understand, how do you expect some journalist from a science fiction magazine to understand the differences between Serbians and Muslims!” He claims love is the message of his film, and admits that with his title: “I still believe that miracles exist.”

Out Of Competition
Five by Abbas KIAROSTAMI

There is always much more to the provocative and poetic Kiarostami:
And this is what 'Five' encounters:1- The camera accompanies a piece of wood which the waves toy with at the beach.
2- People walk along the seaside:older people stop, look at the waves, then walk away. Nobody walks by now. All that remains is the sea and the waves breaking on the beach.
3- Indistinct shapes on a beach in winter. A group of dogs. A love story.
4- Ducks noisily cross the frame in one direction, then the other.
5- A pond. Nighttime. Frogs. A chorus of sounds. Then, the storm. And finally, dawn. In these images, says Kiarostami, "an entire world is revealed to us. It's a work that approaches poetry, painting. It let me escape from the obligation of narration and of the slavery of mise en scène."

Born To Film by Frédéric Sojcher BELGIUM/FRANCE
Three filmmakers work on a non-budget film with non-actors described as Don Quixote mavericks who question Hollywood.

The 10th District Courts by Raymond Depardon (France)
Raymond Depardon latest documentary tackles twelve cases, twelve stories on the French justice machine with hearings of a Paris court dealing with misdemeanors:
"The respect accorded these people was exhibited in the way we filmed and listened to them. We shot these men and women at eye level so as to be as transparent as possible and the least obtrusive in this structured courtroom. Their facial gestures and words contribute to a collective memory. They were courageous enough to let themselves be examples, to show their humiliation..."

A Certain Regard
Earth And Ashes (Afghanistan/France) by Atiq Rahimi
Atiq Rahimi first feature is an adaptation of his novel—a “fable on the devastating loss, redemption and perseverance of the human spirit in the face of the atrocities of war”. The film will be a contender for the Caméra d'Or.
The family of Dastaguir is killed in a bombing raid on their village in Afghanistan, and he must go with his grandson, Yassin, to tell his son about the tragedy.
“Time in the story is suspended time, says the director. “The past and the future take fragmented shape in the characters' spirits. It's in this space-time of the present that scenes from the past rush back. It's the characters' waiting and the doubt that characterizes the drama of the film.

Lu Cheng by Yang Chao (China)
Yang Chao's first feature also up for the Caméra d'Or. A previous Cannes winner in 2001 for his short 'Run Away' in the Cinéfondation section.
Students Si Xu and his girlfriend decided to leave their village and move to the city for work where they experience difficulties.Yang Chao reports at his press conference: “In a way, I'm lucky to be a director in China today because the country throws up so much material for a filmmaker.”

A Tout De Suite by Benoît Jacquot (France)
Set in the 1970’s in Paris, 19 year old Lille lives in a bourgeois apartment with her father and aunt. Bored with her life, she meets Bada in a bar.

Moira Sullivan