The official selection is unveiled on Thursday, in the presence of the new president of this international event, Iris Knobloch, and the general delegate, Thierry Frémaux.
It is still time for predictions. The press conference to announce the official selection of the 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival takes place on Thursday April 13, from 11 a.m. Thierry Frémaux, general delegate since 2007, accompanied by the new president Iris Knobloch, will announce the films which will be screened on the Croisette from May 16 to 27. If we still ignore almost all of the selection, announcements have already been made and the presence of big names in international cinema is already assured on the red carpet. If you missed the start, franceinfo rewinds.
>> Cannes Film Festival: follow live from 11 a.m. the announcement of the films selected in official competition
Director Ruben Östlund president of the jury
Swedish filmmaker Ruben Östlund has been chosen to chair the jury for this 76th edition. At 48, he succeeds French actor Vincent Lindon, who awarded him the Palme d’Or in 2022 for his satirical film Without filter. He had already received the supreme award in 2017 with The Square. In 2014, he revealed himself at the festival with Snow Therapya black comedy that earned him the jury prize in the Un certain regard category. “I am happy, proud and humbled to be entrusted with the honor of presiding over the Cannes Film Festival jury this year. No other place in the world arouses such a desire for cinema when the curtain rises on a film in competition”, he reacted after the announcement of his appointment. We still do not know the composition of the jury that will decide between the films in competition.
Maïwenn opening with a historical film
Director Maïwenn returns to Cannes with Jeanne du Barry, her sixth feature film, on the life of the favorite of King Louis XV, whom she embodies. Facing her and in the tunic of the sovereign, Johnny Depp. The American actor and actress/filmmaker are the headliners of a cast that also includes Benjamin Lavernhe, Melvil Poupaud, Pierre Richard, Pascal Greggory, Noémie Lvovsky and India Hair. The film will open the festival on Tuesday, May 16, in a world premiere, and will be released the same day in French cinemas. It is not yet known whether he will compete.
Jeanne du Barry is Maïwenn’s fourth film to be screened on the Croisette after polishes (Jury Prize in 2011), My king (prize for female interpretation for Emmanuelle Bercot in 2015) and DNA (2020). The feature film will also mark the great return of Johnny Depp to the screens, after the highly publicized judicial soap opera which pitted him against his former wife Amber Heard.
Martin Scorsese eagerly awaited on the Croisette
Martin Scorsese is making his big comeback in the official selection at Cannes, thirty-seven years after his director’s prize for After Hours (1986). The Italian-American director will present his latest film there, Killers of the Flower Moon, inspired by David Grann’s bestseller. The novel takes place in Oklahoma, in the 1920s, and retraces the serial murders suffered by members of the Osage community, which had grown rich thanks to the oil present under its land. The film will be screened on May 20 in world premiere, in the presence of Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Jesse Plemons or Lily Gladstone.
Martin Scorsese is a regular at the Cannes Film Festival, which awarded him the Palme d’Or in 1976 for Taxi Driver. He was also president of the jury in 1998. There remains a major unknown: will the film be in competition? We will have to wait for the press conference, but the organizers will be no exception to the rule: “A film in competition must be distributed in French cinemas. If it is not, the festival can welcome it out of competition”recalled Thierry Frémaux in variety (in English). The film is set to hit theaters in France on October 18, through a partnership between Apple and Paramount.
“Indiana Jones” presented out of competition
Disney did not hesitate to send the fifth part of the adventures of the professor who wields the whip to the Croisette, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. The film, directed by James Mangold, will have its world premiere on May 18. Harrison Ford, 80, returns to service for the occasion. He is accompanied by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas, Boyd Holbrook, Ethann Isidore and Mads Mikkelsen. On this occasion, the festival will pay tribute to the American actor for his entire career. The film is expected in cinemas in France on June 28, two days before its release in the United States.
Pedro Almodovar returns
Accustomed to climbing stairs, several times rewarded (Prize for directing for all about my motherScreenplay Award for Volover) but never winner of the Palme d’or and president of the jury in 2017, Pedro Almodovar returns to the Croisette. The Spanish director will come to present in official selection and world premiere his short film Strange Way of Life. Little is known about this work which recounts the reunion between rancher Silva and Sheriff Jake, played respectively by Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawk. “I won’t say more so as not to reveal all the surprises of the scenario”, assures the filmmaker in the Cannes Film Festival press release. One thing is certain, the trio will be present in Cannes.
Wes Anderson, Toledano-Nakache, Valérie Donzelli, The Weeknd expected
Rumors are rife and will last until the long-awaited press conference. Among the great French filmmakers, a dozen are in the starting blocks: “Catherine Breillat, Justine Triet, Bruno Dumont, Catherine Corsini, Bertrand Bonello, Ladj Ly, Valérie Donzelli, Robin Campillo or even Katell Quillévéré”, according to Thomas Gastaldi, specialist of the Cannes Film Festival, creator of the wask.fr site which gathers the noises of corridor. The adaptation of Consent by Vanessa Springora by Vanessa Filho is also considered. The Toledano-Nakache duo should return to the official selection with the film A difficult year supported by a five-star cast (Jonathan Cohen, Pio Marmaï, Noémie Merlant, Mathieu Amalric).
Several American filmmakers could also be present, such as Alexander Payne, Todd Haynes or Wes Anderson, whose new film, Asteroid Citywill be released on June 21 in France. “We have doubts about the next Pixar, Elementarywhich is also slated for release in June.”, explains the specialist. La Croisette could also host the team of the HBO series TheIdol, by Sam Levinson (Euphoria, Malcolm & Marie) and her glamorous duo Lily-Rose Depp and pop star The Weeknd.
Finally, Cannes would not be Cannes without the “regulars”, who will be present, according to Thomas Gastaldi. “We are waiting for films by Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Hirokazu Kore-Eda, Nanni Moretti, Aki Kaurismäki or even Alexander Payne and Ken Loach”, he says. The presence of Woody Allen, on the other hand, is not assured. “The filmmaker may want to avoid a controversy and may not come”, speculates the specialist. Only the 100% French cast (Niels Schneider, Valérie Lemercier, Lou de Laâge, Melvil Poupaud) of his latest film, Stroke of luckfilmed in Paris, would come to represent him.