Thanks in part to the ever-impressive professionalism of Delta Airlines, I didn’t arrive in Cannes until after Martin Scorsese’s big announcement that his World Cinema Foundation (newly executive directed by Kent Jones, who collaborated with Scorsese on Val Lewton — The Man in the Shadows) is teaming up with Criterion, B-Side and The Auteurs to align the cause of film restoration with emerging models of online film distribution and discussion. And not having much time to read press releases while overseas, I didn’t realize until I returned to New York a couple of days ago that fruits of the collaboration are already tangible: there are currently four WCF films streaming for free on The Auteurs. And not knowing anything about any of the four films, I decided to watch 1964 Berlin Film Festival Winner Dry Summer last night. In trying to sum up the experience of spontaneously watching that film on my laptop, completely blindly without any real knowledge as to what I was in for, two words immediately come to mind: Holy. Shit.

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The Criterion Collecton has opened up an online streaming shop, where twenty films can currently be watched online for $5. Your five dollars gives you the right to watch the film as many tines as you like for a week, and for a full year after that they’ll apply a $5 credit to the purchase of that DVD from their online store. Titles available now include Juliet of the Spirits, Cleo From 5 to 7, and Chris Marker’s Sans Soleil.

Also — and this may be old news, but it’s new to me — Criterion is curating a “festival” of free films every month in partnership with The Auteurs. This month’s festival focuses on “Cruel Stories of Youth,” and includes such films as Sweetie, Ratcatcher, and Fat Girl. More here.

Via Fimoculous

• “Over the last 10 weeks, the independent film “industry” has been restructured before our eyes,” writes Bob Alexander at the Indiepix blog. “Is the world of indie film burning up? Or is a new era about to emerge?”
• Defamer points to seven clips from the Sex and the City movie, posted over at BlackFilm.com. I couldn’t get any of them to play all the way through, but the above screencap of Chris Noth (who’s starting to age into some kind of Tim Burton-era Batman villain…Melt Face?) looking like he’s going to eat Sarah Jessica Parker is proof that I tried.
• The Playlist points to an Onion, um, exclusive: “Michel Gondry Entertained For Days By Cardboard Box.” Who’s the Gondry impersonator?
• The Auteurs, a newish film site previously mentioned here, is hosting a short film competition at Cannes. TechCrunch’s Michael Arrington has a prediction: “These movies are going to be awful.”

• The Circuit has pictures from The Weinstein Company’s party, which was held in “a strange concrete bunker” outfitted with a bumper car dance floor. Also, Patti Smith is apparently going around telling people she is “beyond gender,” which cleverly preempts any joke we could have made.
• Also at Mike Jones’ festival blog, a diary entry from Vicci Ho, member of the Berlinale Teddy jury. Apparently, assigned seats don’t mean much at this festival.
• Shane Meadows is showing a new feature in Berlin, featuring his This is England star Thomas Turgoose. Variety explains why you haven’t heard about it.
• “Not a gore fest by any means - it would likely get a PG-13 rating in the US - the film is a tightly plotted, exceptionally well shot thrill ride that sets the rules of its world very early on, lets the audience know what to expect and then executes flawlessly.” Todd Brown reviews Dark Floors, “the Finnish horror film conceived and created as a starring vehicle for Finnish metal act Lordi,” at Twitch.
• The FILMMAKER Blog points to the launch of The Auteurs, a new site that will offer full-length classic and art house features for download. The site will also have an editorial and social networking component. I’ve requested a beta invite, and I’ll post more on the site once I’ve had a chance to explore.