Earlier this month, I posted about a secret film debuting at the Cannes Film Festival. All that was known at the time was that it would be a compilation of 30 shorts, each about three minutes long and directed by an internationally respected filmmaker, and that it wouldn't be shown to the public. Now, thanks to an official press release, we learn that there are in fact 33 shorts from 35 filmmakers (including two pairs of brothers) and that the film, titled To Each his Own Cinema, will air on French television on May 20 following its premiere at the festival. So now I don't have to wish I could attend Cannes; I have to wish I got Canal +.

Also revealed are the names of the 35 participants, all of whom were supposed to be kept secret until the film's unveiling, and a few details about the project. Each director was assigned the task of filming, "their current state of mind as inspired by the motion-picture theater." The only individual specifics mentioned in the press release, which was written by festival head Giles Jacob, are that Wim Wenders shot in the Congo, Tsai Ming Liang shot in Kuala Lumpur and David Cronenberg shot "in the ... toilet!" (probably meaning the bathroom, not the bowl). But anyone familiar with the directors involved can imagine the kind of diversity that will be seen in the film.

See the names of the 35 collaborators after the jump.

With only a week away from announcing the Oscar nominations, and with no apparent need to do so, the Academy has pared down its list of eligible foreign-language films from 61 to nine. This is the first time the Academy has shortlisted the category, but the decision to do so falls in line with a number of other changes pertaining to the category.

Those changes, which I told you about last summer, are a good thing for at least two of the nine films. Water and Black Book each would have been disqualified in previous years, but now their language issues are in full compliance with the rules. Of course, had they not made the cut, there might have been some happier countries in Asia or Australia, the two continents not represented (Antarctica may get some love from Happy Feet's animation nomination). It is too bad that Japan couldn't claim Golden Globe winner Letters From Iwo Jima and also too bad for Oz that Ten Canoes wasn't chosen.

Not to sound too self-deprecating, but going to Cannes will invariably make you feel acutely self-conscious of how much you don't know about world cinema. Case in point: A friend who knew about my heading to this year's festival said "Oh, exciting -- you get to see the new Kaurismäki ... " and I sort of agreed, trying to conceal my ignorance with reflected enthusiasm. A brief bit of research brought Aki Kaurismäki's resume back to the forefront of my brain -- a Finnish writer-director, he's perhaps best known for the 1989 comedy Leningrad Cowboys Go America. Playing as part of the official competition selection here in Cannes, Kaurismäki's Lights in the Dusk wound up being a surprising highlight -- a perfectly-pitched deadpan existential comedy shot with style and meticulous timing, helped along by performances from actors perfectly in tune with the sensibilities of the material.

Koistinen (Janne Hyytiäien) works as a security guard; he walks his route clad in his uniform, making sure the city's supermarkets and streets are safe, a stoic face peering into the night. Koistinen seems like an odd man out; his supervisors harass him, and his co-workers leave en masse after work for a drink without inviting him. Koistinen's face tells you he's been through this before; he expects it. One night, a beautiful woman named Mirja (Maria Järvenhelmi) approaches him and asks him out; they have an evening together, and although his face doesn't show it (indeed, his face rarely shows anything) Koistinen can't believe his good fortune. ...