By The SHOOT Staff
CANNES, France --The 53rd annual Cannes International Advertising Festival, slated for June 18-24, has seen its entries increase 12.5 percent as compared to last year. Fueling this growth have been a high level of submitted work in new media as reflected in the Cyber Lion and Titanium categories which went up a whopping nearly 32 and 52 percent, respectively.
Indeed grappling with new ways and varied outlets to break through creatively to audiences is the lynchpin of the Titanium Lions competition. Titanium jury president David Lubars of BBDO North America related, “The Titanium is for creative people who’ve thought of something so unique and pure, it cannot be labeled in a conventional way. It recognizes and rewards the brave thinkers who are reconsidering the way forward, who are breaking the rules–even rules set down by famous award shows.”
There were 2,502 Cyber Lion entries, 605 more than in ’05. Titanium entries went from 133 in ’05 to 202 this year.
Meanwhile the Cannes film competition held its own, with a slight decrease in entries of about three percent. Still there were 4,860 film entries this time around, signaling that broadcast/cinema outlets remain viable. David Droga, creative chairman of Drogafive, is the president of both the film and press juries.
Handicapping the Lions derby is an annual ritual, with assorted spots on preview lists, such as work for Honda out of Wieden+Kennedy, London (“Impossible Dream,” “Choir), Carlton Draught from George Patterson Y&R, Sydney (“Big Ad”), adidas from TBWA/Chiat/Day, San Francisco (“Hello Tomorrow”), Xbox 360 via McCann Erickson, San Francisco, and 72 and Sunny, El Segundo, Calif. (“Jump Rope,” “Water Balloons”), Sony Bravia out of Fallon, London (“Balls”), Hummer from Modernista!, Boston (“Monster,” “Three Bears,” “Giants”), and Guinness via Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, London (“noitulovE”).
Beyond the awards, several sessions of interest are on the Cannes calendar, including: a discussion about brands building relationships with prospective consumers in the gaming sector. Featured speakers will be from Reza Ghaem-Maghami, director of Proximity, Paris, and Simon Bond, head of international clients (Asia), from Proximity, Singapore. Also on tap are: a presentation by the Screen Advertising World Association on 3D digital cinema; a digital media discussion with panelists such as Nick Brien, president/CEO of Universal McCann, New York, and Alastair Duncan, CEO of MRM Worldwide, London; an exploration of Web opportunities by Farah Golant, chief exec of Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, London, and Leslie Dance, VP, global marketing, Motorola, among others; a Heads of Production session moderated by Tim Mellors, chief creative officer, Grey, New York, with such panelists as Wiliam Gelner, creative director, BBH, New York, and David Rolfe, head of branded production, DDB Chicago; Saatchi & Saatchi’s New Directors Showcase presentation; and a new agency business model discussion featuring Bob Greenberg, chairman/CEO/chief creative officer, R/GA, New York and London.
Jennifer Kent On Why Her Feature Directing Debut, “The Babadook,” Continues To Haunt Us
"The Babadook," when it was released 10 years ago, didn't seem to portend a cultural sensation.
It was the first film by a little-known Australian filmmaker, Jennifer Kent. It had that strange name. On opening weekend, it played in two theaters.
But with time, the long shadows of "The Babadook" continued to envelop moviegoers. Its rerelease this weekend in theaters, a decade later, is less of a reminder of a sleeper 2014 indie hit than it is a chance to revisit a horror milestone that continues to cast a dark spell.
Not many small-budget, first-feature films can be fairly said to have shifted cinema but Kent's directorial debut may be one of them. It was at the nexus of that much-debated term "elevated horror." But regardless of that label, it helped kicked off a wave of challenging, filmmaker-driven genre movies like "It Follows," "Get Out" and "Hereditary."
Kent, 55, has watched all of this — and those many "Babadook" memes — unfold over the years with a mix of elation and confusion. Her film was inspired in part by the death of her father, and its horror elements likewise arise out of the suppression of emotions. A single mother (Essie Davis) is struggling with raising her young son (Noah Wiseman) years after the tragic death of her husband. A figure from a pop-up children's book begins to appear. As things grow more intense, his name is drawn out in three chilling syllables — "Bah-Bah-Doooook" — an incantation of unprocessed grief.
Kent recently spoke from her native Australia to reflect on the origins and continuing life of "The Babadook."
Q: Given that you didn't set out to in any way "change" horror, how have you regarded the unique afterlife of "The... Read More