That’s it, we know what the official competition of the next Cannes Film Festival will be like. The president and general delegate of the event, Iris Knobloch and Thierry Frémaux, made the announcement with great fanfare on Thursday morning. The vintage, which promises to be heterogeneous to say the least, brings together veteran filmmakers and new blood – an expression in this case very apt given the bloody content of certain titles selected. Thus tenors like David Cronenberg, Jacques Audiard, Francis Ford Coppola, Andrea Arnold, and Paul Schrader will rub shoulders with still emerging talents like Coralie Fargeat, Agathe Rédingé, Ali Abbasi, and Magnus Van Horn. On the menu: body horror, science fiction fresco, female coming-of-age stories, and the early years of Donald Trump, among others.
The full list of competing titles goes as follows:
- The Apprenticeby Ali Abbasi, on the first successes of Donald Trump;
- Motel Destinoby Karim Aïnouz, love story between two nonconformists;
- Birdby Andrea Arnold, or the fate of a suburban teenager who tries to escape social fate;
- Emilia Perezby Jacques Audiard, a “musical among the Mexican cartels”;
- Anoraby Sean Beker, comedy about a New York sex worker;
- Megalopolisby Francis Ford Coppola, SF saga about a young woman torn between her powerful corrupt father and her idealistic lover;
- The Shroudsby David Cronenberg, on a technological revolution in mourning;
- The Substanceby Coralie Fargeat, “from body horror and gore assumed with Demi Moore, where the blood crosses the screen”, dixit Thierry Frémaux;
- Grand Tourby Miguel Gomes, about an English civil servant stationed in Burma in 1917;
- Marcello Mioby Christophe Honoré, metafiction where Chiara Mastroianni goes to meet her late father Marcello;
- Caught By the Tidesby Jia Zhang-Ke, an experimental portrait of China;
- All We Imagine As Lightby Payal Kapadia, or the dreamlike odyssey of an Indian nurse;
- Kinds of Kindnessby Yorgos Lanthimos, film shot in secret with Emma Stone just after Poor Things ;
- phew loveby Gilles Lellouche, or an impossible love against a backdrop of class struggle;
- Rough diamondAgathe Riedinger’s first film, another female initiatory story where a 19-year-old young woman reinvents herself on social networks;
- O Canadacomedy about aging written by Russell Banks where Paul Schrader finds his American Gigolo Richard Gere;
- Limonov — The Balladby Kirill Serebrennikov, adaptation of the novel by Emmanuel Carrère about the Franco-Russian writer Édouard Limonov;
- Parthenopeby Paolo Sorrentino, about a young girl wishing to be considered for something other than her beauty;
- The Girl with the Needleby Magnus Van Horn, emancipatory drama in black and white about female workers in the 19e century.
A first observation: one year after the Palme d’Or awarded to Justine Triet for Anatomy of a falland three years after that awarded to Julia Ducournau for Titanium, we are surprised to see only four female directors in official competition. Although last minute additions are possible, said Thierry Frémaux.
Difficult selection
In his introductory remarks, the general delegate also placed great emphasis on the fact that Cannes has always been open to “genre cinema”, from horror to thriller to science fiction, specifying however: “When you make genre cinema, you have to be a great filmmaker for it to work.”
What, according to him, are Francis Ford Coppola, David Cronenberg, Coralie Fargeat, and George Miller, whose Mad Max: Furiosa will be presented out of competition.
After paying tribute to Michel Ciment, an immense critic and film historian who died last fall, Thierry Frémaux spoke of a “difficult” selection, citing in particular the repercussions of the strike in Hollywood. More than 2000 films, from all countries, were seen during the selection process.
She is the American director, screenwriter, actress and producer Greta Gerwig (barbie) who will chair the jury of the official competition. Quebec director, screenwriter, actor and producer Xavier Dolan will chair the jury for the Un certain regard section.
This year, the festival will award its Palme d’Honneur to George Lucas. Finally, we will recall that this 77e festival will open with the new comedy of the indescribable and very prolific Quentin Dupieux, The second actrevealed out of competition.
This film “which is about cinema” will immediately put the public “in a good mood”, and will launch a “peaceful, pacified, joyful and generous” festival, promises Thierry Frémaux.
The duty will be in Cannes from May 14 to 25.