Cannes do

Just 19 films are in the running for the coveted Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival's main competition, but hundreds more features and dozens of shorts will be shown over the course of the festival, which runs through May 23. Aside from the main competition - which generally highlights films by well-known directors - there are parallel selections. These include "Un Certain Regard," a showcase for film from younger or more unusual directors, films shown out of competition, special screenings, and Cannes Classics, among others.

There are also longstanding and independent festivals that run parallel to the official event, such as the highly regarded Directors' Fortnight, organized by the association of French film directors.

Deutsche Welle: Ms. Rissenbeek, over the years the Cannes Film Festival has earned quite a reputation as a hub of hype, where seeing and being seen is of primary importance. Is the festival still meaningful in the world of film?

Marianne Rissenbeek: Cannes is no doubt the most important festival for film - and the most important market for films - up to today. I think it is still the leading film market. And a lot of the films in the official program are rather author-driven. So it's not only about glitz and glamour, but about filmmaking.

Last year a German-language film "Das weisse Band" ("The White Ribbon") won the Palme d'Or. Coming out after "The Lives of Others" won the Oscar in 2007, it seemed to signal a sort of renaissance in German art film. This year, though, there is just one German film in competition - and in fact it is a German-Ukrainian-Dutch co-production - "My Joy," by Sergei Loznitsa. Are the tides turning for German film?

Well, "My Joy" is indeed a German production, which a German producer has developed. He developed the script together with the director, so it's not only a co-production with a financial commitment from Germany. There was creative input and engagement from Germany. I don’t think we feel neglected or ignored by the festival selection committee.

What else is Germany showing at the festival, either out of competition, or on the sidelines as part of the Un Certain Regard series, or as part of the Directors' Fortnight?

In Un Certain Regard there are two German films, one from Christoph Hochhaeusler, called "Unter dir die Stadt" ("The City Below"), and the other one, "Life, Above All," is a production that was developed in Germany. Even though the director, Oliver Schmitz, is South African-German, he has both nationalities. And then in the Directors' Fortnight there is a German film, "Picco," by Philip Koch. So actually we feel there is quite a strong presence from Germany.

What are you most looking forward to seeing or experiencing at this year's festival?

Well of course, for us it is more important to see how German films will do. It will be exciting to see how Christoph Hochhaeusler has developed - he was at Cannes a few years ago with another film. It will be interesting to see how his film is received this year. And "Picco," by Philip Koch, is a first film, so that is exciting too. It is very seldom that you gain access to Cannes with your first film, and then to the Directors' Fortnight… the film will get a lot of publicity, so that's good.

And then maybe you noticed that the directors' cut of "The Tin Drum" by Volker Schloendorff will be shown, 30 years after it was premiered in Cannes. I look forward to seeing how audiences react to that.

There are a lot of films from Asia in competition this year - South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan. What do you make of that? Does it indicate anything about the future of European versus Asian film?

Cannes always had an input from Asia, there were always Asian films in the program, from China, or Taiwan… I don't think it's new. This year maybe the films were more interesting from Asia, so they chose more for competition, but I couldn't really say if it means anything.

We have organized screenings in the market of 28 films overall, many of which have already been premiered elsewhere. They all have special attributes, so it's hard to say which ones will be most successful. (…) It used to be that you were guaranteed a certain number of contracts if you came to Cannes, but since the financial crisis two years ago, that's not true anymore. Still, it is an important market.

Interview: Jennifer Abramsohn

Editor: Kate Bowen