Yesterday brought a bounty of good news to anyone headed to the Cannes Film Festival next month. An impressive slate of films were unveiled in what is shaping up to be a helluva strong lineup and it looks like there will be some enticing titles unspooling off the Croisette as well.
We're a bit late noticing this, but about a week ago, Robbie Collin, film critic for the Daily Telegraph, tweeted out: "Ben 'KILL LIST' Wheatley's newie, SIGHTSEERS, is in Directors' Fortnight at Cannes – exciting stuff." Of course, this isn't official as that sidebar lineup won't be unveiling their slate until later this month, but we presume the man has his ear to the ground. It's a good place for Ben Wheatley to break his Cannes cherry as the Directors' Fortnight tends to highlight edgy films from young filmmakers. And Francis Ford Coppola also made waves when he premiered "Tetro" there in 2009 after turning down an Out Of Competition slot at Cannes.
But no matter where it is, "Sightseers" will certainly be one many will be eager to see. He made an unshakeable impression last year with "Kill List" which wowed and unsettled audiences, but this is apparently something quite different from the helmer. Described as "romantic" and "a bit of a love story," the film follows Alice Lowe and Steve Oram, who play Tina and Chris, a couple on their first big camping trip together that get tangled up in a murder plot. It's apparently "lighter" than both "Kill List" and "Down Terrace" so we're curious to see what kind of tone this will strike.
So mark this one down as another Cannes contender. The rest of the Directors' Fortnight lineup will be announced on April 24th, while the Cannes Film Festival also has a few more slots to fill by May 16th.
