On the way to Cannes | Not to be missed in Cannes

The 77^e Cannes Film Festival begins Tuesday with the out-of-competition presentation of the new film by the prolific and fanciful French filmmaker Quentin Dupieux, The second act. The competition jury of the largest film festival, which includes 22 films, will be chaired by actress and filmmaker Greta Gerwig and will determine which work will succeed Anatomy of a fall, by Justine Triet. What to expect this year? Our columnist takes stock.

Close-up on Coppola

The first images from Francis Ford Coppola’s new film, Megalopolis, were revealed last week. We see the actor Adam Driver, perched at the top of the Chrysler Building in New York, balancing in the void, who manages to stop time and traffic at the bottom. This science fiction film, produced on behalf of Coppola for a sum of 100 to 120 million US, is inspired by the fall of the Roman Empire. Set in a futuristic megalopolis resembling New York, this dystopia stars Driver in the role of a progressive architect named Caesar, whose love interest is the daughter of the city’s conservative mayor, Frank Cicero. Coppola could become, on May 25, the first triple gold winner in history.

Quebecers on the Croisette

A universal languageby Montrealer Matthew Rankin, was selected as part of the 56^e Filmmakers’ Fortnight, parallel section of the Festival. Rankin plays himself in this surreal comedy set in Winnipeg where the language spoken is Persian. Roy Dupuis stars alongside Cate Blanchett and Alicia Vikander in Rumors, by Winnipeg filmmakers Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson and Guy Maddin, presented out of competition. Charlotte Le Bon is the headliner of Niki, by Frenchwoman Céline Salette, presented in the Un certain regard section; and Anne Dorval is in the cast of Dog Trial by French filmmaker and actress Lætitia Dosch, presented in the same section, whose jury is chaired by Xavier Dolan.

An intriguing competition

Besides Megalopolis, several titles in the competition are highly anticipated. We think of The Apprentice, by Ali Abassi, which focuses on the youth journey of Donald Trump and stars Jeremy Strong and Sebastian Stan, or Limonov, by Kirill Serebrennikov, adaptation of the great novel by Emmanuel Carrère, with Ben Wishaw in the main role. Marcello Mio, by Christophe Honoré, about the legendary Marcello Mastroianni, will inevitably be a family story, with Catherine Deneuve and their daughter Chiara, but also the latter’s ex, Benjamin Biolay. Yorgos Lanthimos, the filmmaker of Poor Thingsreconnects with Emma Stone and Willem Dafoe in Kinds of Kindness and Jacques Audiard presents a musical comedy set in the drug cartels, Emilia Perezwith Zoe Saldana, Selena Gomez and Edgar Ramirez.

#metoo comes to Cannes

The French cinema sector was reached with a delay of a few years by the #metoo movement. While Gérard Depardieu is awaiting trial in October, the Cannes Film Festival will present on May 15 Me too, short film by actress and director Judith Godrèche, who filed a complaint in February against filmmakers Benoît Jacquot and Jacques Doillon. According to Le Figaro, several organizations that finance French cinema have received a list of ten names of actors, directors and producers “in their thirties and forties” who would be targeted by accusations of sexual assault. The Cannes Film Festival was for years the sordid “playground” of producer Harvey Weinstein, who dangled roles to young actresses.

Highest honors

Meryl Streep, considered by many to be the greatest actress of her generation, will receive an honorary Palme d’Or at the opening ceremony. The one who was nominated 21 times for the Oscars only came to the Cannes Film Festival once, 35 years ago, to A Cry in the Dark, which won him the Interpretation Prize. The great innovator George Lucas will also be honored with a Palme d’Or for his entire career. The Star Wars filmmaker was originally set to direct Apocalypse Nowproduced by his friend Francis Ford Coppola, who won the Palme d’Or in 1979. The legendary Japanese animation studios Ghibli will also receive an honorary Palme d’Or, probably in the absence of the master Hayao Miyazaki, 83 years old, who rarely moves.