MUBI heads to Cannes with festival retrospective
David Farnor | On 10, May 2016
MUBI is heading to Cannes this year – in more ways than one.
The subscription streaming site, which offers a revolving carousel of titles, each for 30 days a time, has made a name for itself with its curated slate of arthouse and world cinema classics, both new and old. Indeed, the site is constantly stepping up its catalogue of exclusive content, from the recent acquisition of I, Olga to Mathieu Amalric’s The Blue Room, which first premiered at Cannes back in 2014.
The Croisette is something of a favourite spot for the SVOD service: later this month, MUBI will release Miguel Gomes’ three-part epic Arabian Nights online, after partnering with New Wave Films to distribute it in UK cinemas. MUBI is not resting on its festival laurels, though: Bobby Allen, MUBI’s VP of Content, says the site aims to “bring the best of global cinema to our subscribers” and is “looking forward to a very active Cannes to round up our slate”.
While MUBI is scouting out its next streaming titles across the Channel, subscribers back on British soil will be treated to a mini-festival of Cannes hits from the past 40 years. Every day during the Cannes Film Festival, MUBI will add another old title, starting with Ridley Scott’s The Duellists on opening day Wednesday 11th May.
The 1997 feature won Best Debut Film award at the festival, charting an epic feud between two Napoleonic officers, who fight 17 battles over several decades.
Everyone from Bill Murray and Tom Waits to Roberto Benigni and RZA will then appear in Jim Jarmusch’s Coffee and Cigarettes anthology, followed by Jia Zhangke’s A Touch Of Sin, which was barred a release in the director’s home country, due to its timely look at the collateral damage that China’s progress has wrought.
Other, more recent festival hits on the way include Thomas Vinterberg’s The Hunt, Vincent Gallo’s The Brown Bunny and Jean-Charles Hue’s Eat Your Bones, while older classics range from John Frankenheimer’s Seconds to Jean-Luc Godard’s Masculin Féminin.
The whole thing, though, kicks off early today, with Alfred Hitchcock’s To Catch a Thief, which sees Grace Kelly and Cary Grant take off to the French Riviera in a tale of a reformed jewel thief trying to clear his name, after he’s suspected of returning to his former occupation.
With Cannes embracing VOD like never before this year, we’ll be bringing you updates from the Croisette over the coming fortnight. In the meantime, here’s the full MUBI line-up (exact dates and order subject to change):
11th May
Ridley Scott’s The Duellists (Read our review) | 1977
12th May
Jim Jarmusch’s Coffee and Cigarettes | 2003
13th May
Jia Zhang-ke’s A Touch of Sin (Read our review) | 2013
14th May
Vincent Gallo’s The Brown Bunny | 2003
15th May
Thomas Vinterberg’s The Hunt | 2012
16th May
Jean-Charles Hue’s Eat Your Bones | 2014
17th May
John Frankenheimer’s Seconds | 1966
18th May
Wim Wender’s Don’t Come Knocking | 2005
19th May
Jessica Hausner’s Amour Fou | 2014
20th May
Walter Salles’ On the Road | 2012
21st May
Bruno Dumont’s Humanité | 1999
22nd May
Jean-Luc Godard’s Masculin Féminin | 1966
For more information, visit www.mubi.com – or for a weekly guide to what’s new and coming soon on the site, head this way.