Montreal filmmaker Xavier Dolan honoured by Cannes invitation, but ...

Editor's note: This story has been corrected. Details below.

MONTREAL - Xavier Dolan is going back to Cannes, and he?s not happy. The 23-year-old Montreal director will return to the world?s most respected film festival for the third time in four years with his third film, Laurence Anyways, which will appear in the Un certain regard series.

?It?s not the news we were waiting for,? Dolan said in a round table discussion with Montreal media Thursday morning. ?For sure, there?s disappointment. We had envisioned ? like any filmmaker who dreams of going to Cannes ? of being in competition and winning the Palme d?Or.?

For months, there had been predictions that Laurence Anyways would be part of the Official Competition for the fest?s grand prize. But while outspoken, Dolan was taking it all in stride.

?The fact is the film was judged by the Cannes people to belong in Un certain regard,? he said. ?It?s still part of the official selection. And it remains the most coveted film festival in the world. So it?s still an honour. The disappointment was momentary and is replaced by the excitement of returning to a place that has come to feel like family.?

Dolan?s second film, Les amours imaginaires, was also featured in the Un certain regard section in 2010.

?There?s a bit of d?j? vu,? he said, of returning in the same section this year. ?But it doesn?t alter the joy of going to Cannes and being part of it.?

Un certain regard is a series intended to promote young talent with a unique cinematic vision. It was introduced in 1978 and runs parallel to the competition for the coveted Palme d?Or. Actor Tim Roth heads this year?s Un certain regard jury.

Dolan?s first film, J?ai tu? ma m?re ? which he wrote, directed and co-starred in with Anne Dorval ? was shown as part of the Director?s Fortnight in 2009; it launched his career by winning three awards at the festival.

Having your first three films at Cannes is an incredible feat. While Toronto may be the biggest, Cannes remains the most prestigious film festival on the planet. Dolan?s latest accomplishment further cements him as one of the world?s top young filmmakers. And the fest holds a special place in his heart.

He dreamed of going to Cannes as a teenager, and began telling people that J?ai tu? ma m?re would get into the fest before the movie was even finished.

?Because I?m a megalomaniac, I (always) said that?s where I want to go,? he said, with a twinkle in his eye. ?How could I go anywhere else? I will be in official competition right away, and win the Palme d?Or immediately, thank you. You should always dream of reaching the highest point so that you fall just below it. One shouldn?t have Earthly ambitions.?

While he isn?t part of the Official Competition this year, Dolan knows there will be other opportunities. Festival director Thierry Fr?maux has already defended the decision to put Laurence Anyways in Un certain regard by explaining that Dolan is a young director with his whole life ahead of him.

It?s a relationship that is obviously far from over, and one that Dolan cherishes.

?Cannes was my first contact with cinema,? he said. ?It?s where I was born as a filmmaker.?

Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, he knows he is a lucky man with a career path that would be the envy of many a filmmaker, and that falls in line with some great ones.

?It?s a logical trajectory,? he said, ?taken by Wong Kar-wai and Jim Jarmusch, who were discovered in categories running parallel to the festival ? and graduated through the ranks.?

Dolan hopes to get one step closer to his goal with Laurence Anyways, which he calls his best film. At an ambitious two hours and 39 minutes, it is also his longest.

?I?m proud,? he said. ?I gave it my all. I?m sure every director thinks their film works and is proud. But I?m young, je suis bitch and I?m able to be critical of movies.?

Laurence Anyways will be released in May, after it premieres at Cannes.

tdunlevy@montrealgazette.com

twitter.com/tchadunlevy

Corrections: The original online version of this story has been changed to correct reporting and typographical editing errors.Un certain regard was introduced as a series in 1978, not 1998 when the category was introduced.

? Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette

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