The 66th Annual Cannes Film Festival was held in the South of France from May 15 through May 26, 2013. Every year, actors and actresses from around the world attend the most prestigious festival honoring the craft of cinema. On opening night, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s magnum opus, was screened to lukewarm reviews. However, that would not dampen the mood of the festival—even though it rained almost every day. For the next eleven days, films from the official selection premiered; actors, directors, and producers attended the premieres for their movies, and were subject to being booed or praised by the audience after the screening. The official selection consisted of three sections: In Competition, Un Certain Regard, and Out of Competition. Juries, which were made up of admirable persons in the film world, were present for the In Competition and the Un Certain Regard. Each section had a jury, which voted for the best film, actor, actress, and director for movies that were screened during the festival. Steven Spielberg was the president of the jury for the In Competition section. He, along with Christoph Waltz, Nicole Kidman and others, gave out the Palme d’Or and Grand Prix, which is first and second place, respectively, for competing films. The Palme d’Or, which is the most prestigious award any director can receive at the festival, was given to Abdellatif Kechiche for his controversial film, Blue is the Warmest Color. In an unexpected move, the jury also gave the two main actresses in his film, Lea Seydoux and Adele Exarchopoulous, an Honorary Palme d’Or. For the Grand Prix, American directors Joel and Ethan Coen were handed this award for Inside Llewyn Davis, a depressing tale about a struggling musician in the 1950s. Best Actor and Best Actress were given to American actor Bruce Dern and French actress Berenice Bejo, respectively. Although the festival contained many spectacular films that many will enjoy, there are high hopes that next year’s festival will continue on that tradition.
2013 Cannes Film Festival
May 31, 2013
About the Contributor
Rodas Hailu, Co-Editor-in-Chief
Rodas Hailu, Co-Editor-in-Chief of The Downey Legend, leads the 2013-2014 staff into a busy and exciting year, introducing them to the journalistic world and all its wonders. The writer and photographer first entered the online newspaper as a junior, landing the position of Student Life Editor and turned heads when her stories revealed a seemingly natural instinct for investigative journalism. One year in newspaper left Hailu craving more: a position of leadership where she could let her ideas flourish and create a more successful website. As this year’s editor, she hopes to lead her team into greatness and provide a comfortable workspace. According to the senior, there is no room for mediocrity in the online newspaper. “I don’t want the writers and photographers to be apathetic at all,” Hailu said. “If they are in The Downey Legend, they are in The Downey Legend.” Full force and with great efforts, the talented student hopes to heighten the newspaper’s popularity and implement new ideas, hopefully capturing a new, wider audience.
The senior, who is often described as an old soul, admires classical music and is moved by each powerful note in pieces composed by Prokofiev, Shostakovich, and Khatchaturian. A violinist of 7 years, her appreciation for works of art extends to cinema, and claims to be an avid movie watcher. “I really love to watch movies with a good script, amazing characters, and wonderful cinematography,” Hailu said. With a sixth sense for different forms of human creativity, she hopes to become a student in a liberal arts college and experience the intimacy of a less populated university. The future awaits Hailu, a force to be reckoned with in the arts field, and she predicts she will be living on her own because of her “innate independence.” Living day by day and constantly telling herself, “whatever happens, happens,” she tunnels her focus on The Downey Legend and its future success. A true leader with a mind coiled with layers of depth, Hailu reveals bits and pieces of her vision through her various works or art, photographs and stories.