The 2023 Cannes Classics section will include works on the late Jean-Luc Godard, the Rassam-Berri dynasty, Liv Ullmann and filmmakers discussing the future of cinema in Lubna Playoust’s Room 999, inspired Wim Wenders’ Room 666 (1982). Other subjects getting the doc treatment are Agnès Varda, Nelson Pereira dos Santos, Anita Pallenberg and Warner Bros, as the studio celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2023.
The Cannes Classics list is as follows (with notes provided by the festival):
Godard by Godard by Florence Platarets, written by Frédéric Bonnaud. 60 mins. France. An archival self-portrait of Jean-Luc Godard. It retraces the unique and unheard-of path, made up of sudden detours and dramatic returns, of a filmmaker who never looks back on his past, never makes the same film twice, and tirelessly pursues his research, in a truly inexhaustible diversity of inspiration. Through Godard’s words, his gaze and his work, the film tells the story of a life of cinema; that of a man who will always demand a lot of himself and his art, to the point of merging with it.
Room 999 by Lubna Playoust. 85 mins, France. “Is cinema a language about to get lost, an art about to die?” In 1982, Wim Wenders asked 16 of his fellow directors to speak on the future of cinema, resulting in the film Room 666. Now, 40 years later, in Cannes, director Lubna Playoust asks Wim Wenders himself and a new generation of filmmakers (James Gray, Rebecca Zlotowski, Claire Denis, Olivier Assayas, Nadav Lapid, Asghar Farhadi, Alice Rohrwacher and more) the same question…
Berri-Rassam: a family! by Michel Denisot & Florent Maillet. 90 mins, France. The Rassam-Berri. Two intertwined families who have made half a century of cinema. La Grande Bouffe, We won’t grow old together, Tchao Pantin, Apocalypse Now, Bienvenue Chez les Ch’tis, The Artist. At the center of this family, an unknown to the general public: Paul Rassam. His brother and his brother-in-law are more famous: the sulphurous Jean-Pierre Rassam and Claude Berri. It is a story peppered with drama, and today, a new generation has taken over.
Liv Ullmann – A Road Less Travelled by Dheeraj Akolkar 132 mins. Norway. Divided in three chapters, this film explores the iconic actor, writer, director, author and activist Liv Ullmann’s multifaceted life, and her extraordinary international career spanning over 66 years.
100 Years of Warner Bros by Leslie Iwerks. 120 mins. US. A historical look at the powerful legacy of one of America’s leading studios. The documentary special explores the origin, evolution and endurance of Warner Bros. – from a family affair to a global juggernaut – as it celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2023.
Nelson Pereira dos Santos – A Life of Cinema by Aida Marques & Ivelise Ferreira. 102 mins. Brazil. For six decades, the cinema of Nelson Pereira dos Santos has projected Brazil into the eyes of the world. Precursor of Cinema Novo, Nelson was, more than a director, he was an ideologue, a thinker of his country. The film shows us the man behind the camera. Through his legacy it is possible to ser all the richness of Brazilian culture reflected.
Viva Varda! by Pierre-Henri Gibert 67 mins. France. A pioneering post-war female film director, an instigator of the New Wave who was honored by Hollywood in her own lifetime, Agnès Varda has become a source of inspiration for a whole new generation of young filmmakers. Always one finger on the pulse, she shook everything up, including cinema itself which she refused to constrict to pure fiction or long-form films.
Anita by Svetlana Zill and Alexis Bloom. 110 mins. US. An exploration of the life of Anita Pallenberg, European actress and rock ’n’ roll muse. Told in Anita’s own words, from her unpublished memoir, and in the words of her family, this bittersweet film is a never-seen-before look at life with The Rolling Stones. Using Super 8mm home movies shot in the 1960s and 1970s, and contemporary interviews, the filmmakers weave together an intimate and profoundly moving story.
Michael Douglas, The Prodigal Son by Amine Mestari. 52 mins. France. Not easy being his father’s son. Especially in Hollywood. Especially when his father was for more than 30 years one of the major figures of American cinema. Eldest son of the tremendous Kirk Douglas, Michael Douglas took a long time to emerge from the father’s shadow. By tracing his tormented life, this documentary shows us how Michael, an actor and producer like his father, had to accept their resemblance throughout his exceptional career to assert his difference.
