ARTNEWSPRESS: Bruno Dumont’s “Joan of Arc (“Jeanne”), a semi-musical period drama that world premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and won a special mention in the Un Certain Regard section, has received the Louis Delluc prize from French Critics.
The jury of the Louis Delluc prize is headed by Gilles Jacob, the former president of the Cannes Film Festival.
Dumont’s film follows the journey of the young Joan (Lise Leplat Prudhomme), who believes that God has chosen her and leads the king of France’s army in the 15th century as both France and England fight for the French throne. When she is captured, the church sends her for trial on charges of heresy.
“Joan of Arc,” which is a follow-up to Dumont’s 2017 film “Jeannette, the Childhood of Joan of Arc,” beat out Alain Cavalier’s “Living and Knowing You’re Alive,” Francois Ozon’s “By the Grace of God,” Nadav Lapid’s “Synonymes,” Rebecca Zlotowski’s “An Easy Girl,” Pierre Trividic and Patrick Mario Bernard’s “L’angle mort,” Arnaud Desplechin’s “Oh Mercy” and André Téchiné’s “Farewell to the Night.”
“Joan of Arc” is also nominated for two Lumiere Awards, France’s equivalent to the Golden Globes.
The Louis Delluc prize for best first film went to “Burning Ghost” (“Vif-argent”), directed by Stephane Batut, a casting agent-turned-filmmaker. Set in Paris, the movie follows Juste, played by newcomer Thimotée Robart, a lonely young man who can see dead people and who comes across Agathe (Judith Chemla), a girl he met more than a decade earlier when she was still alive. Earlier this year, “Burning Ghost” won the prestigious Prix Jean-Vigo.
“Burning Ghost” won over Mati Diop’s Cannes competition title “Atlantics,” Jeremy Clapin’s “I Lost My Body,” Judith Davis’ “Ce qu’il me reste de la révolution” and Frank Beauvais’ “Ne croyez surtout pas que je hurle.”
https://variety.com
ELSA KESLASSY
