„The Traitor“ by Marco Bellocchio in the Competition of Cannes
- German-Italian co-production from Cologne-based Match Factory Productions
- Film- und Medienstiftung NRW backed the film with 400,000 Euros
- Festival de Cannes from 14 – 25 May, 2019
The Festival de Cannes announced at today’s programme press conference that "The Traitor", a biopic supported by the Filmstiftung, has been selected for the festival’s Official Competition. The film is a production of Cologne-based Match Factory Productions and was backed with 400,000 Euros; it was shot in Cologne, among other places.
About „The Traitor“
„The Traitor“ („Il Tradittore“) by Marco Bellochio is a biopic about Tommaso Buscetta, the first high-ranking Italian Mafia boss to break the Sicilian Mafia’s oath of silence. His testimony helped convict hundreds of members of the Sicilian Cosa Nostra in Italy and the USA during the maxi trials in the 1980s. Bellochio wrote the screenplay together with Ludovica Rampoldi, Valia Santella, Francesco Piccolo and Francesco La Licata. The executive producers are Kavac (I) und IBC Movie (I), together with producers Ad Vitam Production (F), Gullane Entretenimento (BRA), and in association with the broadcasters ZDF and Arte. Pandora will release the film theatrically in Germany, with world sales being handled by The Match Factory.
The jury in Cannes
This year’s jury president is the Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu, known for such films as „Amores Perros“, „21 Grams“, „Babel“, „Biutiful“, „Birdman“ or the Oscar-winning „The Revenant“. The filmmaker and screenwriter Claire Denis is the jury president for Short Films and Cinéfondation. Claire Denis‘ most recent film „High Life“, with Robert Pattinson and Juliette Binoche, was also backed by the Filmstiftung and had its world premiere in Toronto. Denis received the Cologne Film Prize during the Film Festival Cologne in 2016. She has directed over 20 films and also written the screenplays for the majority of them. Her works include „Chocolat“, „Beau Travail“, „White Material“, „Shots of Rum“ or „Les Salauds“.
The Film- und Medienstiftung NRW in Cannes
The Film- und Medienstiftung NRW will again have a presence in the German Pavilion this year at the umbrella stand of Focus Germany – the amalgamation of the eight largest German regional film funds – and German Films within Cannes' Marché du Film. The German Pavilion is the meeting place and point of contact at the Festival de Cannes for the accredited festival delegates from the German and international film industries