69th Cannes Film Festival: Woody Allen's 'Cafe Society' to Open Festival
The 69th Cannes Film Festival will feature a beautiful film from a familiar individual in the industry—Woody Allen. The veteran director's 49th film titled "Café Society" is reportedly screening out of competition and will be given the honor to open the film festivities.
The Guardian reports that this is Allen's third film to open Cannes, having claimed a similar privilege back in 2002 when his "Hollywood Ending" kicked off the festival, and then the critically acclaimed romantic comedy "Midnight in Paris" back in 2011.
This time, Café Society will be featuring Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart, in a story set in Hollywood during the 1930s. In the romantic comedy, Eisenberg plays as a screenwriter who searches for a career in the film industry, eventually finding himself in love in the lively café society that "defined the spirit of age." Other notable stars in the film include Steve Carell and Blake Lively.
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Allen collaborated with Vittorio Storaro for the making of this film. The Italian cinematographer is credited as one of the most influential in the industry, through a 2003 survey conducted by the International Cinematographers Guild. The legendary director of photography is an owner of three Oscar awards for the classics "Reds," "Apocalypse Now," and "The Last Emperor."
Allen is himself an acclaimed director and veteran in the film industry for more than 60 years. His best films as a director are "Annie Hall", "Manhattan", and Hannah and Her Sisters". Before he ventured into directing several decades back, he also was an actor and comedian as well as a playwright.
Aside from him, some of the industry's best directors are set to join him in this year's festival, including Steven Spielberg (The BFG), Jodie Foster (Money Monster), and Pedro Almodovar (Julieta). The 69th Cannes Film Festival is set for May 11-22, 2016.
