World films link Jakarta to Cannes

World films link Jakarta to Cannes

Kenny Santana, Contributor, Cannes/Jakarta, qnoy2k@yahoo.com

Every May, the biggest film festival in the world, Festival de
Cannes, opens to offer great films, international stars and
glamour. In the past two years, the festival has premiered what
have come to be remembered as some of the world's great, if not
best, cinematographic achievements: 2046, Fahrenheit 9/11, Hidden
and A History of Violence, to name a few.

Aside from films, Cannes -- the second most covered media
event after the Olympics -- is about the stars sashaying down and
posing on the red carpet, and opening nights. Journalists around
the globe flock to the French Riviera city for news and a glimpse
of their faves, from Charlotte Rampling to Sharon Stone, from
Zhang Ziyi to Natalie Portman.

Bill Murray, who appeared at Cannes this year to promote
Broken Flowers, commented on the madness: "I came in here from
the feeding pan of the photographers out there. It's a kind of
delirious experience that all people should be allowed to
participate in, you know? I think each and every one of you
(reporters) should be allowed to go out there and be screamed at
while being photographed. So just put a happy face on."

The global stars, the media frenzy and the hectic film market
make the festival a total zoo -- it's hard to imagine having a
festival like Cannes in a city like Jakarta.

We don't have grand, 3,000-seat movie theaters, beach-weather,
or dozens of venues that are accessible by foot -- more to the
point, we don't have strong government support.

Yet, it must be said, it's not fair to compare a 58-year-old
tradition like Cannes to the Jakarta International Film Festival
(Jiffest), which celebrated its seventh birthday just this past
week -- Jiffest has all the time to grow.

Closing today, this year's Jiffest has shown much development
and expansion since its birth. The year 2005 marked the
festival's biggest event ever with over 200 screenings that
boasted a highly impressive array of award-winning films, great
documentaries and a wide selection of world-class filmmakers'
works.

For the past week, Jakartans have been bedazzled by the
presence of -- at least on celluloid, if not in flesh -- Gerard
Butler, Tommy Lee Jones, Bill Murray and Tony Leung in films that
premiered at Cannes, respectively Dear Frankie, Three Burials of
Melquiades Estrada, Broken Flowers and 2046.

The Jakarta Post looks back at Cannes' best moments featuring
international stars, a hardcore fan and one Indonesian director
whose films were screened at this year's Jiffest.

Broken Flowers, 2046, Dear Frankie, The Sea Inside and Kara
Anak Sebatang Pohon, all of which premiered at Cannes, were
screened at Jiffest. Broken Flowers will be shown at 21
Cineplexes in 2006.