Deadline talked to Rejl about the line-up and his uncompromising vision for the Cannes parallel section.
I didn’t want us to jump on what the market was proposing and films that had already been identified, whether that was in co-production markets or state funding commissions. The idea was to remain open and watch films that weren’t on everyone’s radar. I kept my independence, even if I encountered a lot of disappointment, resistance and insistence. I tried not to be distracted by this and to stay faithful to the line we were building bit by bit. You said that the submissions revealed creative hotspots all over the world and in unexpected places. Were there any territories that particularly stood out?We saw a particular vivacity in Asia, where young filmmakers have a very powerful cinematic language.
What we see is that there are territories all over the world where young cineastes are emerging with a unique language. One of the surprises of the selection was the inclusion of three titles by U.S. indie directors: Sean Price Williams’sRiddle Of Fire