The global film calendar is beginning to take shape for the coming season, anchored by the announcement that the 79th Cannes Film Festival will open on May 12 with Pierre Salvadori’s *La Vénus électrique*. Set in 1920s Paris, the comedy signals a return to historical whimsy for the Croisette. Simultaneously, the French Directors’ Guild has named Claire Denis as the recipient of the Carrosse d’Or, an honor reserved for filmmakers whose work has fundamentally reshaped the medium’s trajectory.
In the United States, the San Francisco International Film Festival is preparing for a significant reopening of the newly restored Castro Theatre on April 24. The festival will debut with an ambitious double feature: Kent Jones’s *Late Fame*, featuring Willem Dafoe and Greta Lee, followed by Olivia Wilde’s *The Invite*. The programming reflects a curated mix of independent rigor and star-driven narratives, including Boots Riley’s *I Love Boosters* as the Centerpiece presentation, before closing on May 4 with a legacy screening of *The Empire Strikes Back*.
Amidst these preparations for the future of the medium, the industry is also reflecting on its past following the death of Mary Beth Hurt at age 79. Hurt, who transitioned from a celebrated stage career to a haunting screen debut in Woody Allen’s *Interiors* (1978), died after a decade-long struggle with Alzheimer’s. Her work, often characterized by a quiet, intellectual intensity, remained a fixture of American independent cinema through collaborations with directors like Joan Micklin Silver and her husband, Paul Schrader.
With reporting from Criterion Daily.
Source · Criterion Daily
