Throughout May, Rialto Channel is all about the Festival de Cannes and each night I’ll be introducing you to an eclectic collection of award winning and critically acclaimed feature films that have screened in competition at Cannes recently. It’s fitting we kick off our celebration of Cannes with festival veteran David Cronenberg and his anti-capitalist day of reckoning story Cosmopolis. The film stars Sarah Gadon, who appeared in Cronenberg’s A Dangerous Method, and who also stars in his son Brandon Cronenberg’s debut feature film Anitviral that screens the following evening. Before the Cronenbergs and Gadon take over the weekend though, don’t miss Lebanese director Nadine Labaki’s charming and chaotic melodrama in Rialto World on Tuesday.

Throughout May, Rialto Channel is all about the Festival de Cannes and each night I’ll be introducing you to an eclectic collection of award winning and critically acclaimed feature films that have screened in competition at Cannes recently. It’s fitting we kick off our celebration of Cannes with festival veteran David Cronenberg and his anti-capitalist day of reckoning story Cosmopolis. The film stars Sarah Gadon, who appeared in Cronenberg’s A Dangerous Method, and who also stars in his son Brandon Cronenberg’s debut feature film Anitviral that screens the following evening. Before the Cronenbergs and Gadon take over the weekend though, don’t miss Lebanese director Nadine Labaki’s charming and chaotic melodrama in Rialto World on Tuesday.

Here are the highlights for the week.

Lebanese director, writer and actress Nadine Labaki likes to tackle serious issues in a light hearted, melodramatic manner. I loved her debut feature film Caramel, and there’s plenty to like about this, her heartwarming and eccentric follow-up. Where Do We Go Now? took out the coveted People's Choice Award at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival, no doubt thanks to its mischievous sense of humour, colourful characters and nurturing tone. It’s both an amusing and subtlety poignant film about a group of Christian and Muslin women who live in a small Lebanese village that do whatever it takes to prevent their husbands and sons from going to war against each other again. It’s a chaotic mix of comedy, drama, melodrama, and even musical numbers that doesn’t always work, but it makes for a unique, delightful farce all the same. 

Screening: Official Selection, Saturday 3^rd May, 8.30pm 

Unlike The Wolf of Wall Street, this anti-capitalist day of reckoning story doesn’t contain the F-word over 500 times, but does feature some interesting behavior from an actor keen to leave his teen heart throb fan base behind. Robert Pattinson stars in this cold, precise adaptation of Don DeLillo's novel as a hot shot New York financier who watches his whole world crumble as he drives across town in his white, customized limousine. Many things take place within this impressive vehicle including a rather invasive medical, sex and conversations about life, love and making money. Pattinson doesn’t knock it out of the park, but does an OK job. Obviously Cronenberg was impressed though casting Pattinson in his latest film premiering in Cannes this May called Maps and of the Stars.