How odd that Bruno Dumont, one of the more celebrated auteurs of French cinema, has been ignored for Cannes competition yet again. Don’t get me wrong, he’s been there before, but over the past 15 or so years, more often than not, some of his strongest films have been relegated to sidebars.
As mentioned a few days ago, and now made official, Dumont’s “Red Rocks” has been added to this year’s Directors’ Fortnight lineup, in what appears to be another exclusion from Cannes competition.
The film will screen as a special presentation, with Dumont also giving a masterclass afterward during the 58th edition of the parallel section.
In 2014, Directors’ Fortnight showcased Dumont’s excellent four-part television miniseries “Li’l Quinquin,” and he returned in 2017 with the musical film “Jeannette, the Childhood of Joan of Arc.” Dumont’s work has also appeared in Cannes’ Official Selection, with “Humanity” and “Flanders” winning the Grand Jury Prize in 1999 and 2006, respectively.
“Red Rocks” follows the rivalry between two gangs of kids—a mix of local residents and summer visitors—who compete in the perilous game of cliff jumping. “Shot in the French Riviera with very young children, the film adopts a documentary-like approach, guided by the deliberate use of wide-angle lenses. Once again, Dumont explores the grace that can emerge from cinema,” said the section.
Dumont has had an eccentric, genre-hopping career since his 1997 debut, “La Vie de Jésus.” Other highlights in his filmography include “Humanité,” “Li’l Quinquin,” and “France.” He is coming off his sci-fi film “The Empire,” which premiered at the 2024 Berlin Film Festival.
This year’s Directors’ Fortnight lineup, filled with major auteurs, may help explain why the Cannes Premiere section has been comparatively depleted of director-driven titles this year. Filmmakers such as Dumont, Lisandro Alonso, and Kantemir Balagov are expected to screen new works.