Can't blame the coolest and most important film festival in the world for wanting to launch with a crackle and a bang. The festival in question is Cannes (but of course) and the so-called bang will be emanating from the George Miller-directed MAD MAX, FURY ROAD, which opens fest out of competition, as per the local protocol. Film was shot in Namibia and stars Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron and Nicholas Hoult.

This year's Cannes Festival selection will be revealed during a press conference given in Paris on April 16th. At this time about a third of the contending films have been identified, according to the festival's general delegate (and programmer) Thierry Frémaux. A whopping 1,800 films have been submitted this year. "Everything happens in the next two weeks," Frémaux told the French National Assembly's Committee on Cultural Affairs on Wednesday here in Paris.

The film world a political injustice loveth (but it also loveth good cinema). And in a perfect storm of urgent, inspired filmmaking and jurisdictional accuracy the Golden Bear, the top award at the Berlinale, went to Jafar Panahi for his film "Taxi," a day after the FIPRESCI prize was given to him. Many of the other awards given out last night went to the underdogs, directors making cinema on a small but vital scale.

As usual, lots of mesmerizingly-good cinema to see and report on at the ongoing Berlinale. I'm a die-hard Cannester (it sounds weird, I know) but somehow Berlin being held in February just seems to work out better timing-wise for a lot of the more vital and less-established filmmakers. The wild, young things are here in Berlin and the older, more reliable filmmakers wait until May to make an appearance. Some, like Terrence Malick

The 67th Cannes Festival was capped with a lively closing ceremony last night. There were tears, there was comedy and there was scandal. Some of the night's victories were well-deserved—Timothy Spall's winning of the best actor prize was a fait accompli, his turn as the British painter Turner in Mike Leigh's romanticized biopic being well above exceptional. Upon receiving his prize Spall did a very entertaining (but unintended, perhaps?)

For an unbeatable view of the Swiss Alps and their picture-perfect mountaintops see the “Clouds of Sils Maria.” This new film by French director Olivier Assayas (“Summer hours,” “Carlos”) shot entirely within the idyllic spreads of rural Switzerland puts in focus the coming undone of Maria Enders, an older actress (played by Juliette Binoche) who is confronted by her past when an actress half her age (Chloe Grace Moretz) is handed the role

CANNES (France) - In a brief ceremony in the Debussy theater prizes for the Un Certain Regard (“a certain look” in French translation) program were given by the jury, presided over by Pablo Trapero.

While these films run in the non-competitive selection, they are awarded prizes.

Something happened tonight which I’ve never seen before.

The Cinéfondation and Short Films Jury headed by Abbas Kiarostami and including Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, Noémie Lvovsky, Daniela Thomas and Joachim Trier, has awarded the 2014 Cinéfondation Prizes during a ceremony held in the Buñuel Theatre, followed by the screening of the winning films.

The Cinéfondation Selection consisted of sixteen student films, chosen out of 1,631

This Cannes Festival has finally been unshackled from the supremacy of older males turning out less than stellar work: Xavier Dolan, a twenty five year-old filmmaker from Québec who's brought films to Cannes before has thrown down the gauntlet. His new film "Mommy" is the first one to appear in the competition section and is the new favorite for the top prize this year. In “Mommy” single-mother Diane raises her violent son Steve

Major rush trying to get into the Lumiere theater for the mid-afternoon premiere of Godard’s “Adieu au Langage” yesterday, people pushing, shoving, huffing and puffing their way inside the theater.

“We’re about to go watch the new Godard film in Cannes,” I told my colleague in the rush to the theater, “it’s incredible.” In the end, it felt more like we were stuck in a space-time continuum.