Rendez-vous with Steve McQueen © John Russo
Rendez-vous with Steve McQueen
During Cannes 2021, four masterclasses will take place with directors, actresses and actors invited to talk about their work and their careers, during Rendez-vous open to all festival-goers.
In this year's program: Bong Joon Ho, Jodie Foster, Matt Damon, Isabelle Huppert, Marco Bellocchio and Steve McQueen.
Steve McQueen
Friday, 16th July at 3 pm
Winner of the Caméra d’or award for his hard-hitting first film Hunger in 2008, Steve McQueen is now a major filmmaker and a renowned contemporary artist. However, he has not been back to Cannes since his win. In 2020, two of his films were selected for the Festival, but couldn’t be shown. One of them, Lovers Rock, which has never been seen on the big screen, will be presented at the Cinéma de la plage on Thursday, 15th July at 9.30 pm, in his presence. He will also appear on the stage of the Buñuel Theatre to talk about his exciting approach to the art of cinema.
His vision of the profession:
As an artist, you are there to present a certain perspective. I am in search of images, in search of their composition: that has always fascinated me. You can see a painting every morning and still be in awe of it every time. The difference as a director is that you can put three or four subjects in a scene and the audience can see that. You try to respect the intelligence of the audience.
The difficulties with the Twelve Years a Slave project:
I talked about hunger strikes, sex addiction… I did my best to fail! But it turns out that people are interested in the subjects I dealt with. Before I made Twelve Years a Slave, people told me it would be impossible to make, there were no films on this subject, the idea was new. The problem was that the main character was black and was not considered profitable enough in the United States. I feel that things changed thanks to Twelve Years a Slave, producers understood that this kind of film could make money.
His love of cinema:
I've seen many of the films I love on TV. But there is nothing better than cinema, the quality of the sound, the image, the reaction of the audience… There is a kind of chemistry. I prefer films made for the cinema. It's like seeing a painting in a museum and seeing a photo of the same painting in a magazine. It's much more powerful in the museum.
About Spike Lee's role as President of the Jury:
It's fantastic, he makes masterpieces. I was blown away the first time I saw his films. I came out of the theatre and thought: "This is cinema and it has an impact on the audience".
The Rendez-vous will take place in the Buñuel Theatre on the 5th floor of the Palais des Festivals.
Tickets must be booked online.
Tickets must be booked online.
