Though the 2020 Cannes Film Festival could not take place in its usual form, the long-standing tradition of offering a platform for new films from around the globe persisted in a modified format. The Official Selection of the Committee was released this summer, and the festival took place on a much smaller scale in October, rather than May.
The organizers write that the Cannes Film Festival boasts more submissions than ever, especially of films by newcomers to the Festival.
One such film comes from French-Algerian director Farid Bentoumi. His submission, titled Rouge, or Red Soil, focuses on the struggle people face while attempting to ensure their community’s survival.
In Rouge, Farid Bentoumi explores the weight of a whistleblower’s decision
Bentoumi’s Rouge, or Red Soil in English, is the director’s second film. It “pits a tireless underdog against the forces of corporate greed and looming environmental catastrophe.”
The main character, Fatima, works as a nurse. Her father works in a factory plant. Fatima learns that this plant is covering up a massive toxic waste dumping scheme, with the complacency of the local government. Soon, Fatima face a difficult choice. On one hand, she has her father, whose livelihood depends on the factory (as does the community’s). On the other, she must consider saving the town from devastating pollution.
Reviews praise the personal drama central to the film.
“There is a fond chemistry between Hanrot (Fatima) and Bouajila (Slimane, her father) that makes the collision between daughter and father the emotional core of the film,” writes Screen Daily’s Allan Hunter.
Hollywood Reporter’s Jordan Mintzer writes, “ you get the feeling that Bentoumi knows where he wants his movie to go — toward a rather predictable if satisfying resolution — and then takes a few too many shortcuts to get there. Still, his characters are convincing, as is the small-town setting…”
Farid Bentoumi focused on family before Rouge
Bentoumi has played in a multitude of short films and television series. His notable 2011 film Burners focuses on the story of amateur filmmaker Amine from Algiers, who treks with his friends through Europe. Bentoumi won the Muhr Arab Special Jury Prize at the 2011 Dubai International Film Festival for Burners.
For his full-length directorial debut, Bentoumi turned the lens to his own family. He told the story of his brother Noureddine Maurice Bentoumi.
Good Luck Algeria focuses on the story of a ski business attempting to survive by registering one of the owners for the Olympic Games. His French-Algerian status allows Algeria, an unusual skiing participant, to have a representative at an international ski event. The film tells a serious story lightheartedly, speaking to themes such as mixed-ethnicity relationships, corruption, and patriotism.
The 2020 Cannes Film Festival played on despite the pandemic
The Cannes Film Festival has only been cancelled once in its history, in 1939. Originally, the 2020 Festival should have taken place in May. But due to the pandemic, many things changed.
The viewing of films that typically takes place on the Croisette in May moved to October. This took place over three days instead of a week, in front of a limited audience. But despite these changes, the Festival persevered. They released the Official Selections of the Cannes critics in June of this year.
The Selection Committee received more movies than ever this year, 2,067 total including 909 first films. They chose 15 of these, more than ever before out of that demographic.
“Even though movie theatres have been shut down for three months – for the first time since the invention of film screening by the Lumiere Brothers on December 28, 1895 – this Selection still reflects that cinema is more alive than ever,” wrote Cannes Film Festival representatives in July of 2020. “It remains unique, irreplaceable.”
Bentoumi joins a handful of other newcomers in accepting the honor of taking part in a cultural milestone during such a tumultuous time.
Learn more here.
