Guy Maddin arrives at Cannes – Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg filmmaker Guy Maddin is finally heading to the Cannes Film Festival, his first trip to the prestigious event on the French Riviera, in support of a feature film. RumorCo-directed by a local triumvirate that includes Evan Johnson and Galen Johnson.

In an email interview, Maddin, 68, calls the event “the last satisfying step in my 40-year plan to get there.”

“I mean it means something. It probably means that I have been persistent in making films for a long time,” he says.

This isn't Maddin's first film to play at the festival. To his surprise, The saddest music in the world Helmer found out she was short a few days ago The heart of the world In 2001, he played the role of directors fortnight in Cannes.

“I had no idea. I remember my producer, Niv Fichman, at the time, turned down the look and made it sound like we rented a tent on the beach to play the short on a video monitor, but it was really at a festival,” he says.

“I need to ask Niv for a special engagement ribbon.”

The festival, which begins on May 14, is a glittering event historically associated with directors such as Francois Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard, or American mavericks such as Martin Scorsese or Francis Ford Coppola. (The glamor component is mandatory enough that in 2015, actresses were banned from wearing flat shoes to premieres, a scandal known as “Heelgate”.)

“Honestly, I've never done Cannes-style films before,” says Maddin. “Everyone who heard about me knew about me especially.

“But my co-directors Evan and Galen Johnson elevated the work, changed its style, and when Oscar-winning movie stars (Cate Blanchett and Alicia Vikander) came along, it was possible to fill out the cast with other veterans. Cannes red carpet and — voilà! We will all go.”

Maddin says he's thrilled to have young American filmmaker Ari Aster (Hereditary, Midsummer) as one of the main producers of the film.

“Everybody in the business wants to work with him, so anyone who mentions his name gets emails answered,” says Maddin.

For his part, Aster praised the dark comedy, which featured an international cast including Charles Bee, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Roy Dupuis and Takehiro Hira. He told Deadline on Tuesday: “Rumor bent, funny and brilliant, and it has the best cast ever assembled. The spirit of Buñuel and Monty Python and the excesses of '70s television (and of course the Maddin/Johnson sensibility, which has no real counterpart) is alive and kicking.”

Rumor follows seven world leaders who get lost in the woods while trying to make a statement about the global crisis during the annual G7 summit.

“The representation of Manitoba on the Croisette is amazing,” says Maddin, referring to the famous street that runs along the Cannes waterfront.

“Maybe while I'm there, the Jets will be playing hair-raising games while I sleep!” It would be nice if they were still playing in the middle of May.”

says Liz Jarvis, producer of Winnipeg's Buffalo Gal Pictures Rumor should open in theaters later this year.

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