Cannes Director Spotlight: Sergei Loznitsa

Sergei Loznitsa
New Film: In the Fog
Country: Ukraine
Age: 47
Best Known for: 2010's My Joy, his first and, so far, only narrative feature

Cannes History
Since Loznitsa made the transformation from documentary to narrative filmmaking, every film of his has been granted entry into the Competition. Unfortunately, he's only made two films since that time: My Joy and In the Fog.

His Resume
Pretty small, compared to those of his competitors. Loznitsa, as I mentioned above, started his career a documentarian. His non-fiction films include the descriptively titled The Settlement, Landscape, and Blockade. My Joy, his narrative debut, is about a truck driver who's quickly losing his mind.

Loznitsa On-Demand
Hulu Plus: N/A
iTunes: N/A
Netflix Instant: My Joy
Vudu: N/A

In the Fog
"After a train is derailed by a resistance fighter, innocent rail worker Sushenya is arrested by German officers, only to be set free—prompting suspicions of treason among his compatriots." —In Contention

In the Fog is definitely one of the more under-the-radar titles at Cannes this year, but it sounds like a good one. Loznitsa doesn't have the experience or the profile of a Kiarostami, Cronenberg, or even a Jeff Nichols, but My Joy is a well-respected character study, and making a WWII drama never hurt one's chances for getting recognized (right, Kate Winslet on Extras?)

Loznitsa wrote the script for In the Fog, and the rest of his My Joy craft team is back, including cinematographer Oleg Mutu, who famously lensed 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. The cast is mostly a mystery for yours truly.

It's hard to say much about this one because I know so little about the director. But the film's inclusion in the Competition—Loznitsa's second of two narrative features—means he's a figure on the rise. Combine that with the film's favorable subject matter, and In the Fog might be a long shot worthy of your bet.