The 2006 Cannes Film Festival ran from 17 May 2006 to 28 May 2006. Twenty films from eleven countries were in competition for the Palme d'Or. The President of the Official Jury was Wong Kar-wai, the first Chinese director to preside over the jury.

English director Ken Loach won Palme d'Or, with his movie The Wind That Shakes the Barley. Other winners were Pedro Almodóvar (Best Screenplay, Volver) and Alejandro González Iñárritu (Best Director, Babel). This also marked the first time in three years that no American film, actor, actress, or filmmaker won any awards in Cannes.

The festival opened with the premiere screening of The Da Vinci Code, based on the controversial novel by Dan Brown. Journalists gave the film a cool reception at its first press screening, with loud laughter breaking out at one of the pivotal scenes.

Jury[link]

• Wong Kar-wai, President (Hong Kong)
• Monica Bellucci (Italy)
• Helena Bonham Carter (United Kingdom)
• Samuel L. Jackson (United States)
• Patrice Leconte (France)
• Lucrecia Martel (Argentina)
• Tim Roth (United Kingdom)
• Elia Suleiman (Palestine)
• Zhang Ziyi (China)

Films in Competition[link]

• Babel by Alejandro González Iñárritu
• Crónica de una fuga by Israel Adrián Caetano
• El Laberinto del Fauno by Guillermo del Toro
• Fast Food Nation by Richard Linklater
• Flandres by Bruno Dumont
• İklimler by Nuri Bilge Ceylan
• Il caimano by Nanni Moretti
• Indigènes by Rachid Bouchareb
• Juventude Em Marcha by Pedro Costa
• L'amico di famiglia by Paolo Sorrentino
• La Raison du plus faible by Lucas Belvaux
• Laitakaupungin valot by Aki Kaurismäki
• Marie Antoinette by Sofia Coppola
• Quand j'étais chanteur by Xavier Giannoli
• Red Road by Andrea Arnold
• Selon Charlie by Nicole Garcia
• Southland Tales by Richard Kelly
• Volver by Pedro Almodóvar
• The Wind That Shakes the Barley by Ken Loach
• Yíhé Yuán by Lou Ye

Un Certain Regard[link]

• 977 by Nikolay Khomeriki
• A Scanner Darkly by Richard Linklater
• Bihisht faqat baroi murdagon by Djamshed Usmonov
• Bled Number One by Rabah Ameur-Zaïmeche
• Cum mi-am petrecut sfârşitul lumii by Cătălin Mitulescu
• El violin by Francisco Vargas
• Gwaï wik by Oxide Pang & Danny Pang
• Hamaca paraguaya by Paz Encina
• Il regista di matrimoni by Marco Bellocchio
• La Californie by Jacques Fieschi
• La Tourneuse de pages by Denis Dercourt
• Luxury Car by Wang Chao
• Meurtrières by Patrick Grandperret
• Paris, je t'aime by Gurinder Chadha, Bruno Podalydès, Gus Van Sant, Coen brothers, Walter Salles, Daniela Thomas, Christopher Doyle, Isabel Coixet, Suwa Nobuhiro, Sylvain Chomet, Alfonso Cuarón, Olivier Assayas, Oliver Schmitz, Richard LaGravenese, Vincenzo Natali, Wes Craven, Tom Tykwer, Gérard Depardieu, Frédéric Auburtin, Alexander Payne
• Salvador by Manuel Huerga
• Serambi by Garin Nugroho, Tonny Trimarsanto, Viva Westi, Lianto Luseno
• Suburban Mayhem by Paul Goldman
• Taxidermia by György Pálfi
• Ten Canoes by Rolf de Heer
• Yongseobadji mothan ja by Jong-bin Yun
• 2:37 by Murali K. Thalluri
• Uro by Stefan Faldbakken
• You Am I by Kristijonas Vildziunas
• Z odzysku by Sławomir Fabicki

Films out of Competition[link]

• An Inconvenient Truth by Davis Guggenheim
• Avida by Benoît Delépine
• Bamako by Abderrahmane Sissako
• Boffo! Tinseltown's Bombs and Blockbusters by Bill Couturié
• Chambre 666 by Wim Wenders
• Chlopiec na galopujacym koniu by Adam Guziński
• Clerks II by Kevin Smith
• The Da Vinci Code by Ron Howard
• El-banate dol by Tahani Rached
• Election 2 by Johnnie To
• Silk by Su Chao-pin
• Ici Najac, à vous la terre by Jean-Henri Meunier
• Les signes by Eugène Green
• Nouvelle chance by Anne Fontaine
• Over the Hedge by Tim Johnson, Karey Kirkpatrick
• Requiem for Billy the Kid by Anne Feinsilber
• Shortbus by John Cameron Mitchell
• SIDA by Gaspar Noé
• Sketches of Frank Gehry by Sydney Pollack
• Stanley's Girlfriend by Monte Hellman
• The House Is Burning by Holger Ernst
• The Water Diary by Jane Campion
• Transylvania by Tony Gatlif
• Un lever de rideau by François Ozon
• United 93 by Paul Greengrass
• Volevo solo vivere by Mimmo Calopresti
• X-Men: The Last Stand by Brett Ratner
• Zidane, un portrait du 21e siècle by Philippe Parreno and Douglas Gordon

Winners[link]

• Palme d'Or (Won by Ken Loach for The Wind That Shakes the Barley)
• Grand Prix (Won by Bruno Dumont for Flandres)
• Prix de la mise en scène (Won by Alejandro González Iñárritu director of Babel)
• Prix du Jury (Won by Andrea Arnold for Red Road)
• Prix du scénario (Won by Pedro Almodóvar for Volver)
• Prix d'interprétation féminine du Festival de Cannes (Won by the cast of Volver including Penélope Cruz)
• Prix d'interprétation masculine du Festival de Cannes (Won by the cast of Indigènes)
• Prix un certain regard (Won by Wang Chao for Luxury Car)

External links[link]

• 2006 Cannes Film Festival
• Cannes Film Festival:2006 at Internet Movie Database
• IFC's red carpet webcam feed (Windows Media Player)

Cannes International Film Festival
200px
Location	Cannes, France
Language	International
http://www.festival-cannes.com

The Cannes International Film Festival (French: Le Festival International du Film de Cannes or just Festival de Cannes), is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is the world's most prestigious and publicized film festival.^[1][2][3] The invitation-only festival is held annually (usually in May) at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès.

The 2012 Cannes Film Festival took place from May 16 to May 27, 2012^[4]. The President of the Jury was the Italian film director Nanni Moretti.

History[link]

The Cannes Film Festival has its origins in the late 1930s when Jean Zay, the French Minister of National Education, on the proposal of Philippe Erlanger and with the support of the British and Americans,^{[clarification needed]} set up an international cinematographic festival. In 1947, the festival was held as the "Festival du film de Cannes", where films from sixteen countries were presented. Moreover, the principle of equality was introduced, so that the jury was to be made up only of one representative per country.^[5] Also, this year the festival was held at the made-for-the-occasion Palais des Festivals, although the roof was unfinished and blew off during a storm. The festival was not held in 1948 and 1950 on account of budgetary problems. In 1951, owing to better relations between France and Italy, the Cannes Festival was moved to Spring, while the Mostra remained in Autumn.

In 1955 the Golden Palm was created, replacing the Grand Prix du Festival which had been given until that year. In 1957 Dolores del Rio was the first female member of the jury as a Sélection officielle – Member. In 1959 the Marché du Film (Film Market) was founded, giving the festival a commercial character and facilitating exchanges between sellers and buyers in the film industry. Today it has become the first international platform for film commerce.^[6]

In 1962 the International Critics' Week was born, created by the French Union of Film Critics as the first parallel section of the Cannes Film Festival. Its goal was to showcase first and second works by directors from all over the world, not succumbing to commercial tendencies.^[7] In 1965 an hommage was paid to Jean Cocteau after his death, and he was named Honorary President for life. The next year, Olivia de Havilland was named the first female president of the festival.

The 1968 festival was halted on 19 May 1968. Some directors, such as Carlos Saura and Milos Forman, had withdrawn their films from the competition. On 18 May, filmmaker Louis Malle along with a group of directors took over the large room of the Palais and interrupted the projections in solidarity with students and labour on strike throughout France,^[8] and in protest to the eviction of the then President of the Cinémathèque Française. The filmmakers achieved the reinstatement of the President, and they founded the Film Directors' Society (SRF) that same year.^[9] In 1969 the SRF, led by Pierre-Henri Deleau created the Directors' Fortnight, a new non-competitive section that programs a selection of films from around the world, distinguished by the independent judgment displayed in the choice of films.^[10]

The "Palais des Festivals" (2000)

During the 1970s, important changes occurred in the Festival. In 1972 Robert Favre Le Bret was named the new President, and Maurice Bessy the Managing Director. He immediately introduced an important change in the selection of the participating films. Until that date, the different countries chose which films would represent them in the festival. Bessy created one committee to select French films, and another for foreign films.^[11] In 1978 Gilles Jacob assumed the President position, introducing the Caméra d'Or award and the Un Certain Regard section. Other changes were the decrease of length of the festival down to thirteen days, reducing the number of selected films thus; also, until that point the Jury was composed by Film Academics, and Jacob started to introduce celebrities and professionals from the film industry.^[12]

In 1983 a new, much bigger Palais des Festivals et des Congrès was built to host the Festival. It was nicknamed "The Bunker" and provoked many reactions against it.^[13] In 1984 Pierre Viot replaced Robert Favre Le Bret as President of the Festival.

Stars posing for photographers are a part of Cannes folklore.

It wasn't until 1995 that Gilles Jacob created the last section of the Official Selection: la Cinéfondation. Its aim was to support the creation of works of cinema in the world and to contribute to the entry of the new scenario writers in the circle of the celebrities.^[14] The Cinéfondation was completed in 2000 with La Résidence and in 2005 L'Atelier. The Festival's current President, Gilles Jacob, was appointed in 2000, and in 2002 the Festival officially adopted the name Festival de Cannes.

Impact[link]

The festival has become an important showcase for European films. Jill Forbes and Sarah Street argue in European Cinema: An Introduction, that Cannes "became...extremely important for critical and commercial interests and for European attempts to sell films on the basis of their artistic quality" (page 20).^[15] Forbes and Street also point out that, along with other festivals such as Venice and Berlin, Cannes offers an opportunity to determine a particular country's image of its cinema and generally foster the notion that European cinema is "art" cinema.^[15]

Additionally, given massive media exposure, the non-public festival is attended by many movie stars and is a popular venue for film producers to launch their new films and attempt to sell their works to the distributors who come from all over the globe.

Programmes[link]

The Cannes Film Festival is organised in various sections:^[16]

• The Official Selection – The main event of the festival.
  • In Competition – The twenty films competing for the Palme d'Or. They are projected in the Théâtre Lumière.
  • Un Certain Regard – Twenty films selected from cultures near and far; original and different works. They are projected at the Salle Debussy.
  • Out of Competition – These films are also projected in the Théâtre Lumière but do not compete for the main prize.
  • Special Screenings – The selection committee chooses for these films an environment specially adapted to their particular identity.
  • Cinéfondation – About fifteen shorts and medium-length motion pictures from film schools over the world are presented at the Salle Buñuel.
  • Short Films – The shorts competing for the Short Film Palme d'Or are presented at the Buñuel and Debussy theatres. There are approximately 10 films in this competition.
• Parallel Sections – These are non-competitive programmes dedicated to discovering other aspects of cinema.
  • Cannes Classics – It celebrates the heritage of film, aiming to highlight works of the past, presented with brand new or restored prints.
  • Tous les Cinémas du Monde – It showcases the vitality and diversity of cinema across the world. Each day, one country is invited to present a range of features and shorts in celebration of its unique culture, identity and recent film works.
  • Caméra d'Or – It rewards the best first film of the Festival, choosing among the debutants' works among the Official Selection, the Directors' Fortnight and the International Critics' Week selections.
  • Cinéma de la Plage – Screening of Cannes Classics and Out of Competition films for the mass public on Macé beach, preceded by a programme dedicated to film music.
• Other Sections – Produced by outside organizations during the Cannes Festival.
  • Directors' Fortnight
  • International Critics' Week
• Events
  • Marché du Film – The busiest movie market of the world.
  • Masterclasses – Given in public by world renowned filmmakers.
  • Tributes – Honors internationally renowned artists with the presentation of the Festival Trophee following the screening of one of their films.
  • Producers Network – An opportunity to make international co-productions.
  • Exhibitions – Each year, an artist, a body of work or a cinematographic theme becomes the focus of an exhibition that diversifies or illustrates the event's programme.
  • 60th Anniversary – Events organised in 2007 dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the Festival.

Juries[link]

Prior to the beginning of each event, the Festival's board of directors appoints the juries who hold sole responsibility for choosing which films will receive a Cannes award. Jurors are chosen from a wide range of international artists, based on their body of work and respect from their peers.^[17]

• Feature Films – An international jury composed of a President and various film or art personalities, who determine the prizes for the feature films in Competition.
• Cinéfondation and Short Films – Composed of a President and four film personalities. It awards the Short Film Palme d'Or as well as the three best films of the Cinéfondation.
• Un Certain Regard – Composed of a President, journalists, students in cinema, and industry professionals. It awards the Un Certain Regard Prize for best film and can, moreover, honour two other films.
• Caméra d'Or – Composed of a President, as well as film directors, technicians, and French and international critics. They award the best film in any category.

Awards[link]

Palme d'Or attributed to Apocalypse Now at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival

The most prestigious award given out at Cannes is the Palme d'Or ("Golden Palm") for the best film.

• Competition
  • Palme d'Or – Golden Palm
  • Grand Prix – Grand Prize of the Festival
  • Prix du Jury – Jury Prize
  • Palme d'Or du court métrage – Best Short Film
  • Prix d'interprétation féminine – Best Actress
  • Prix d'interprétation masculine – Best Actor
  • Prix de la mise en scène – Best Director
  • Prix du scénario – Best Screenplay
• Other Sections
  • Prix Un Certain Regard – Young talent, innovative and audacious works
  • Cinéfondation prizes – Student films
  • Caméra d'Or – Best first feature film
• Given by Independent Entities
  • Prix de la FIPRESCI – International Federation of Film Critics Prize
  • Prix Vulcain – Awarded to a technical artist by the CST
  • International Critics' Week Prizes
  • Prize of the Ecumenical Jury
  • Palm Dog, for best canine performance.^[18]
  • Queer Palm, for LGBT-related films.^[19]

See also[link]

	France portal
	Film portal

• Directors' Fortnight
• List of Palme d'Or winners
• Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Cannes: Fifty Years of Sun, Sex & Celluloid : Behind the Scenes at the World's Most Famous Film Festival by Peter Bart (Miramax, 1997)
• Cannes – A Festival Virgin's Guide by Benjamin Craig (Cinemagine Media Publishing, 2004)
• Hollywood on the Riviera: The Inside Story of the Cannes Film Festival by Cari Beauchamp and Henri Behar (William Morrow & Co, 1992)

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Cannes Film Festival

• Cannes Film Festival official website
• Cannes Film Festival Blog
• Cannes Film Festival: A Potted History
• Radio France Internationale coverage of the Cannes Film Festival 2010 (English)
• Radio France Internationale coverage of the Cannes Film Festival 2011(English)
• Footage from the 1958 Cannes Film Festival
• Cannes – A Festival Virgin's Guide – Detailed festival history and information for attendees

Coordinates: 43°33′03.10″N 7°01′02.10″E / 43.550861°N 7.01725°E / 43.550861; 7.01725

Film festivals
List of film festivals Europe North/Central America Oceania Documentary film festivals New Media art festivals

A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. Increasingly film festivals show part of their films to the public by adding outdoor movie screenings.^[1] The films may be of recent date and, depending upon the focus of the individual festival, can include international releases as well as films produced by the organisers' domestic film industry. Sometimes there is a focus on a specific film-maker or genre (e.g., film noir) or subject matter (e.g., horror film festivals). A number of film festivals specialise in short films, each with its defined maximum length. Film festivals are typically annual events.

History[link]

The first major film festival was held in Venice in 1932; the other major and oldest film festivals of the world are: Cannes Film Festival (1939), Festival del film Locarno (1946), Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (1946), Edinburgh International Film Festival (1947), Melbourne International Film Festival (1951), Berlin International Film Festival (1951) and Toronto International Film Festival (1976).^[2]

The Edinburgh International Film Festival in the UK was established in 1947 and is the longest continually running film festival in the world. Raindance Film Festival is the UK's largest celebration of independent film-making and is taking place in London in October.^[3]

The first North American high film festival was the Columbus International Film & Video Festival, also known as The Chris Awards, held in 1953. According to the Film Arts Foundation in San Francisco, "The Chris Awards (is) one of the most prestigious documentary, educational, business and informational competitions in the U.S; (it is) the oldest of its kind in North America and celebrating its 54th year."

It was followed four years later by the San Francisco International Film Festival held in March 1957 whose emphasis was on feature-length dramatic films. The festival played a major role in introducing foreign films to American audiences. Among the films shown in its founding year were Akira Kurosawa's Throne of Blood and Satyajit Ray's Pather Panchali.

Today there are thousands of film festivals around the world, ranging from high profile festivals such as Sundance Film Festival (Park City, UT) to horror festivals such as Terror Film Festival (Philadelphia, PA), and the first U.S. film festival dedicated to honoring the impact of music in film: the Park City Film Music Festival: http://www.PCFMF.com.

Digital feature film distribution began in 2005, along with the arrival of the world's first online film festival, the GreenCine Online Film Festival, sponsored by DivX.^[4]

Entry fee[link]

The Berlin Film Festival in 2007

Most film festivals require filmmakers to pay an entry fee to have their works considered for screening. This is especially commonplace among larger film festivals, such as the Cannes Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, South by Southwest and even smaller "boutique" festivals such as the Miami International Film Festival and the British Urban Film Festival in London.

However, not all film festivals require an entry fee. Rotterdam Film Festival, for example, does not charge an entry fee to submit work. There are also many smaller film festivals in the United States, such as the Stony Brook Film Festival in Long Island, New York, the Northwest Filmmakers' Festival, or the Sicilian Film Festival in Miami, Florida, which do not charge entry fees; however, acceptance of films is usually more limited, and such film festivals do not necessarily attract big names in their audiences like Sundance and Telluride do. In some cases, such as the Portland International Film Festival, there is an entry fee, but it is waived for filmmakers within a certain region, such as the Northwestern United States.

Significant or notable festivals[link]

Red carpet of the Cannes Film Festival at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, Cannes.

Traverse City Film Festival and their giant inflatable movie screen

The three most prestigious film festivals are commonly regarded to be that of Cannes, Berlin and Venice;^[5] these festivals are sometimes called the "Big Three."^[6] Polish director Krzysztof Kieślowski's The Three Colors Trilogy were each made for these festivals, with Blue for Venice, White for Berlin, and Red for Cannes.^[5]

The Toronto International Film Festival is North America's most popular festival. Time wrote it had "grown from its place as the most influential fall film festival to the most influential film festival, period."^[7] Seattle International Film Festival is credited as being the largest film festival in the USA, regularly showing over 400 films in a month across the city.^[8] The Sundance Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, New York Film Festival, Montreal World Film Festival and Gimli Film Festival are also major festivals in North America, as is the Vancouver International Film Festival, the fifth largest film festival in North America.

• "A" Festivals: The festivals in Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Shanghai, Moscow, San Sebastián, Montréal, Locarno (since 2002), Karlovy Vary, Mar del Plata, Cairo, Tokyo, and Warsaw are listed as "A festivals", or "category one" by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF).^[9]

• Experimental films: Ann Arbor Film Festival was started in 1963. It is the oldest continually operated experimental film festival in North America and has become one of the premiere film festivals for independent and, primarily, experimental filmmakers to showcase their work.^{[citation needed]}

• Independent films: In the US, Telluride Film Festival,^{[citation needed]} Sundance Film Festival,^[10][11] Austin's South by Southwest, and New York City's Tribeca Film Festival, are all considered significant festivals for independent film. The Zero Film Festival is significant as the first and only festival exclusive to self-financed filmmakers.^[12] The biggest independent film festival in the UK is Raindance Film Festival.^[3]

• North American: The San Francisco International Film Festival, started in 1957, is the oldest continuously running film festival in the Americas. It highlights current trends in international filmmaking and video production with an emphasis on work that has not yet secured U.S. distribution. The Toronto International Film Festival, begun in 1976, is regarded North America's most major and most prestigious film festival, and the most widely attended worldwide. Toronto's Hot Docs is the leading North American documentary film festival. Toronto also has the largest amount of film festivals in the world, ranging from cultural, independent, and historic films. The largest festival, in terms of the number of features shown, is the Seattle International Film Festival, screening 270 features, and approximately 150 short films.^{[citation needed]} The Whistler Film Festival, with is amazing location and breathtaking scenery, is getting bigger every year with more than 80 screenings and a well-rounded Industry Summit. Meanwhile, the New York Film Festival only shows a few films in each year, but it still has big impact in the United States.^{[citation needed]} The Sundance film festival is a major festival for independent film.

• Latin American significance: The Cartagena Film Festival, founded by Victor Nieto in 1960, is the oldest film festival in Latin America.^[13] The Festival de Gramado (or Gramado Film Festival) Gramado, Brazil along with the Guadalajara International Film Festival in Guadalajara, Mexico are considered to be the most important film festivals of Latin America. It was first held in 1973, awarding Latin American films. The Huelva Ibero-American Film Festival has been held since 1975 in that Spanish city. While the Expresión en Corto International Film Festival is the largest competitive film festival in Mexico, specializing in emerging talents, and is held each year during the last week of July in the two colonial cities of San Miguel de Allende and Guanajuato. Among Spanish speaking countries the Dominican International Film Festival is held annually in Puerto Plata, DR, the Valdivia International Film Festival is held annually in the city of Valdivia. It is arguable the most important film festival in Chile.^{[citation needed]}

• Animation: Founded in 1960, the Annecy International Animated Film Festival is the oldest international film festival dedicated exclusively to animation. The others are: Zagreb (f. 1972) Ottawa (f. 1976), Hiroshima (f. 1985), KROK (f. 1989), and Anima Mundi (f. 1992). There are also a variety of regional festivals in various countries.

• Asian Film Festival: Most notable amongst the Asian Film Festivals are the Osian's-Cinefan Film Festival, which was recently expanded to include Arab Cinema as well, and the Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) and Busan International Film Festival (BIFF).

• African festivals Significant African festivals based on the continent include the biannual Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou FESPACO in Burkina Faso, the annual Durban International Film Festival which has grown in importance for industry with the addition of a co-production forum and Talent Campus.

• European festivals The biggest European festival is the Cannes film festival in France along with Berlin and Venice.

• Art and Technology: The Palo Alto International Film Festival, a program of the Palo Alto Institute, is the only film festival in the United States to celebrate the convergence of art and technology, by focusing on the influence of emerging technologies on cinema.

• Emerging Filmmakers: The KahBang Film Festival, part of the KahBang Music-Art-Film Festival in Bangor, Maine, is one of the newest film festivals in the United States to discover and showcase the work from Emerging Filmmakers throughout the world. Their programming continues to be unique by also showcasing the best new Comedy features, Music Documentaries, and Maine made films. Each year they honor one notable actor, actress, or filmmaker with the "Kevin Norwood Bacon Award for Achievement in Cinema", acknowledging the success the recipient has achieved in being so closely connected to Kevin Bacon. One of their films is screened in the KahBang Off Screen Category, "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" which connects the honored back to the man himself.

See also[link]

• List of film festivals
• List of short film festival
• Outdoor cinema

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Turan, Kenneth, Sundance to Sarajevo: Film Festivals and the World They Made, Los Angeles, University of California Press, 2002, hardback, ISBN 0-520-21867-1.
• Watson, Nigel, "The Sense and Sensationalism of Film Festivals", Talking Pictures website

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Film festivals

Jena Malone
at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival
Born	Jena Malone (1984-11-21) November 21, 1984 (age 27) Sparks, Nevada, U.S.[1]
Years active	1991–present

Jena Malone (/mʌˈloʊn/; born November 21, 1984) is an American actress and musician who has appeared on television, in films, and on Broadway. She made her movie debut with the film Bastard Out of Carolina (1996), and has appeared in films including Contact (1997), Stepmom (1998), Donnie Darko (2001), Saved! (2004), Into the Wild (2007), The Ruins (2008) and Sucker Punch (2011).

Malone is also an experimental musician who has released music both under her own name and as "The Shoe".

Early life[link]

Malone had lived in 27 locations by the age of nine, including Lake Tahoe, California.^[2] She was raised by her mother, Deborah, and her mother's girlfriend, whom she calls "Godmom,"^[3] and began taking an interest in acting after watching her mother, who was involved in community theatre.^[4] She briefly moved to Las Vegas, hated it, and persuaded her mother to move on to Los Angeles.^[5] Malone was home-schooled from sixth to eighth grade. She attended the Professional Children's School, for the ninth grade, in New York,^[5] and quit it after a year, when she became legally emancipated, in January 2000.^[6][7] At some point she later obtained her General Educational Development (GED).^[8]

Career[link]

Malone progressed to professional acting with the 1996 film Bastard Out of Carolina.^[9] She was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Debut Performance^[10] and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance in a TV Movie or Miniseries for her role in the film, Ruth Anne 'Bone' Boatwright. From there, her roles have grown to include several Hollywood features. In 1997, she was nominated for a Golden Globe, Best Actress in a Mini-Series or TV Movie, for her role in Hope.

After working on various TV projects, and as a supporting actress in films such as Contact and Stepmom, Malone had her first cinematic leading role in the 2001 cult hit Donnie Darko as Gretchen Ross, the new girl in town who becomes the girlfriend of Jake Gyllenhaal's title character.

Malone co-produced the 2002 film American Girl, a drama in which she also acted. In the 2004 film Saved!, she got top billing in her first role as the primary star. In 2005, she played the spoiled fifth Bennet daughter Lydia in the film Pride and Prejudice. In 2006, she made her professional stage debut in the Broadway production of the Tony Award-winning play Doubt.

In 2007, it was announced that Malone was releasing her first single on The Social Registry, a New York City experimental music label. A number of tracks were posted to her MySpace page.^[11] Pitchfork Media has described Malone's music as "pretty out-there – bedroom electronics, spaced-out keyboards, and Malone's spare vocals."^[12] Malone's more recent musical work is performed as/with The Shoe.^[13]

Malone appeared in the horror film The Ruins, which was released on April 4, 2008 and co-starred Shawn Ashmore, Laura Ramsey, and Jonathan Tucker. She played Lavinia in an off-Broadway revival of Eugene O'Neill's play Mourning Becomes Electra in 2009.

Malone is to portray Carson McCullers in the film Lonely Hunter, directed by Deborah Kampmeir.^[14]

Filmography[link]

Jena Malone, performing with "The Shoe", downstairs at Union Hall, January 13, 2008

Awards[link]