India scores an ace at the recently concluded Cannes Film Festival. Palador, has acquired the extra-special “60th anniversary prize” winner film “Paranoid Park”. The movie by Cannes Golden Palm and Best Director winner (Elephant) and Oscar Nominated (Good Will Hunting) director Gus Van Sant, had a special screening in the festival this year. The last time a special prize was given at Cannes was to Satyajit Ray for ‘Pather Panchali’ in 1972.
‘Paranoid Park’ would be released world wide in September. Palador has also lined up plans to release the film simultaneously in India. This will be a landmark event for the country, as no Cannes winner has ever seen a simultaneous release in India.
Commenting on the acquisition, Gautam Shiknis, Managing Director of Palador said, “This is the best to come out for India from Cannes this year, where India received special significance, being the 60th year of Cannes, as well as the 60th year of Indian Independence. It has always been Palador’s aim to bring the best films from the world to the country before it becomes yesterday’s news in developed countries. What better way to assert this, than by bringing in the best film of the festival.”
‘Paranoid Park’, based on the novel of the same name by author Blake Nelson, follows Alex, a 16-year-old skateboarder, who accidentally kills a security guard outside Paranoid Park, Portland’s most infamous skateboarding locale. When he decides not to tell anyone, he takes on a crushing burden of guilt that envelopes his life.
Shot in both super 8 and 35mm, the film is unique as it features young amateur actors hired through MySpace. Gus Van Sant has previously been honored by the Cannes Festival with the selection of ‘To Die For’ in 1995 and ‘Last Days’ in 2005, besides winning the two most coveted Cannes award for Elephant in 2003.
Mo Polamar, joint Managing Director at Palador states, “Palador had identified ‘Paranoid Park’, Wong Kar Wai’s ‘My Blueberry Nights’, The Edge of Heaven, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, ‘The Diving Bell and the Butterfly’ before visiting the festival. We found ‘Paranoid Park’ a classic and the most suitable for India and the times Indian teens are going through. It is a lilting poetic teenager film that brings to life renaissance paintings in the most modern context. We are negotiating for the other films as well.”
“Our strength is in identifying upcoming classics. As soon as we hear a title, we begin to analyze it naturally. We have already acquired the next Lars Von Tier film, ‘The Antichrist’ based on the script. It has not yet begun production. The other movie is David Lynch’s ‘Inland Empire’. Lynch has a special place in the inner sanctum of Pala.”
This year Cannes ended up becoming special for India, as Palador acquired the rights for 300 new films, taking its total catalogue of the best and most awarded films in the world to 750. Among the many films they have acquired is the complete catalogue of Werner Herzog. Palador is also bringing this highly acclaimed director to India next year for workshops and seminars.
