Screen staff preview all of the titles in the Cannes Film Festival’s competition and out of competition strands, which this year includes films from Yorgos Lanthimos, Andrea Arnold and Francis Ford Coppola. The festival runs May 14-25.
Competition
All We Imagine As Light (Fr-India-Neth-Lux)
Dir. Payal Kapadia
The debut fiction feature of Mumbai-based Kapadia is the first Indian film in Competition since Shaji N Karun’s Swaham in 1994. The self-penned story centres on two nurses with troubled relationships in Mumbai who go on a road trip to a beach town — a welcome refuge that gives them the space to grow. Kapadia won the Golden Eye for best documentary at Cannes in 2021 for her Directors’ Fortnight premiere A Night Of Knowing Nothing. Her short films And What Is The Summer Saying and Afternoon Clouds premiered at the Berlinale and Cinéfondation respectively.
Contact: Luxbox Films
Anora (US)
Dir. Sean Baker
Indie darling Baker knows his way around the Croisette, having premiered Red Rocket in Competition in 2021 and The Florida Project in Directors’ Fortnight in 2017. His latest feature is a comedy about a sex worker that filmed in Brooklyn in 2023 and stars Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn and Yura Borisov. FilmNation financed and handles international sales, while Neon has North American rights and will release later this year. The film has sold out, taken by Le Pacte in France, Lev in Israel and Kismet in Australia and New Zealand, while Universal Pictures International has the rest of the world.
Contact: FilmNation Entertainment
The Apprentice (Can-Ire-Den)
Dir. Ali Abbasi
Iranian-Danish director Abbasi’s first English-language feature examines Donald Trump as a young real-estate executive in 1970s New York in “a Faustian deal” with lawyer and fixer Roy Cohn — from a screenplay by The Loudest Voice In The Room author Gabriel Sherman. Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong star as Trump and Cohn, with Martin Donovan as Fred Trump Sr and Maria Bakalova as Ivana Trump. Abbasi’s Border took the Un Certain Regard prize in 2018 and Holy Spider won best actress in 2022 for Zar Amir Ebrahimi.
Contact: Rocket Science (international); CAA Media Finance; WME (North America)
Beating Hearts (Fr)
Dir. Gilles Lellouche
Lellouche’s epic love story — known in French markets as L’Amour Ouf — stars Francois Civil and Adele Exarchopoulos in an ambitious tale of star-crossed lovers caught between gang violence and crime, which spans 15 years. It took Lellouche over a decade to write with Audrey Diwan and Ahmed Hamidi. Lellouche’s previous films including Sink Or Swim and The Players proved box-office hits in France, and his latest effort from powerhouse producers Alain Attal of Trésor Films and Hugo Selignac of Chi-Fou-Mi is Studiocanal’s biggest-budget French title to date.
Contact: Chloé Marquet, Studiocanal
Bird (UK)
Dir. Andrea Arnold
This year’s recipient of the Carrosse d’Or — recognising the career of “innovative” filmmakers — at Directors’ Fortnight, Arnold has stacked up Cannes jury prizes over the years for Red Road, Fish Tank and American Honey, while her documentary Cow played in the Premiere sidebar in 2021. Here she brings the star power of Barry Keoghan and Franz Rogowski to a story of a 12-year-old living in a squat in the south of England, with her single father and brother. House Productions’ Tessa Ross and Juliette Howell produce alongside Lee Groombridge, with financiers including BBC Film, BFI, Pinky Promise, FirstGen and Access Entertainment.
Contact: Cornerstone Films
Caught By The Tides (China)
Dir. Jia Zhangke
Renowned Chinese director Jia plays in Competition for the sixth time with a feature that has shot for more than two decades since 2001. Again starring his muse Zhao Tao, the love epic chronicles the romantic destiny of a woman as she goes looking for her lover when he leaves without notice for another province. Jia’s Xstream Pictures is the main production company, with Momo Pictures and Wishart as co-producers. Jia won Venice’s Golden Lion for 2006’s Still Life and best screenplay at Cannes for A Touch Of Sin in 2013.
Contact: Alya Belgaroui, mk2 Films
Emilia Perez (Fr)
Dir. Jacques Audiard
The 2015 Palme d’Or winner with Dheepan, Audiard is in Competition again — following Paris, 13th District (in 2021), Rust And Bone (2012), A Prophet (2009) and A Self-Made Hero (1996). His long-awaited Mexico-set musical melodrama is about a cartel boss who undergoes a sex change to retire from the business and disappear forever, becoming the woman he has always dreamt of being. Karla Sofia Gascon, Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldana and Edgar Ramirez lead the cast, and it is produced by Paris-based Why Not Productions alongside Page 114, Pathé Films, France 2 Cinéma and Saint Laurent Productions.
Contact: Livia Van Der Staay, The Veterans (international); CAA Media Finance (North America)
The Girl With The Needle (Den-Pol-Swe)
Dir. Magnus von Horn
The Sweden-born director moves up to Competition after The Here After played Directors’ Fortnight in 2015 and Sweat saw a 2020 Covid-era Cannes Label. This black-and-white drama stars Trine Dyrholm (Queen Of Hearts) and Vic Carmen Sonne (Godland) in a story loosely inspired by a real-life serial killer in Copenhagen who murdered numerous babies from 1913-20. Cinematographer Michal Dymek reteams with the director after Sweat. Nordisk Film Creative Alliance’s Malene Blenkov, whose credits include Lone Scherfig’s The Kindness Of Strangers, produces.
Contact: The Match Factory
Grand Tour (Port-It-Fr)
Dir. Miguel Gomes
The Portuguese filmmaker bows in Competition for the first time after Directors’ Fortnight stints with Arabian Nights (2015) and The Tsugua Diaries (2021). Set in 1917, Grand Tour stars Goncalo Waddington as a British Empire official in Burma who runs away on his wedding day, only for the jilted bride to follow him across Asia. The black-and-white and colour feature is produced by Portugal’s Uma Pedra No Sapato in co-production with Italy’s Vivo Film and French outfits Shellac Sud and Cinema Defacto, and in association with The Match Factory, China’s Rediance and Japan’s Creatps.
Contact: The Match Factory
Kinds Of Kindness (UK-US)
Dir. Yorgos Lanthimos
Lanthimos returns to the Croisette with regular collaborators Emma Stone, Element Pictures and Searchlight Pictures for a trio of fables, with a cast including Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe and Margaret Qualley. Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe, Lanthimos and Kasia Malipan produce. The Greek filmmaker played Cannes with The Killing Of A Sacred Deer in 2017, The Lobster in 2015 and Dogtooth in 2009, for which he landed the Un Certain Regard prize. Last year he scooped the Golden Lion at Venice for Poor Things, ahead of its four Oscar wins.
Contact: Searchlight Pictures
Limonov: The Ballad (Fr-It-Sp)
Dir. Kirill Serebrennikov
Serebrennikov’s last three films — Tchaikovsky’s Wife, Petrov’s Flu and Leto — played in Competition at Cannes. He returns with this “rock adventure” starring Ben Whishaw, about poet, novelist and revolutionary Eduard Limonov. It follows his life through the second half of the 20th century, taking in Moscow, New York, Paris and the prisons of Siberia. Based on the novel by Emmanuel Carrere, and co-written by Serebrennikov with Pawel Pawlikowski and Ben Hopkins, Limonov: The Ballad is produced by France’s Chapter 2, Italy’s Wildside and Spain’s FremantleMedia España, alongside Hype Studios and France 3 Cinéma.
Contact: Pathé International; Laura Mirabella, Vision Distribution
Marcello Mio (Fr)
Dir. Christophe Honoré
French filmmaker Honoré is back with his 15th feature — one that showcases an A-list ensemble cast including mother-daughter duo Catherine Deneuve and Chiara Mastroianni, Fabrice Luchini, Melvil Poupaud, Benjamin Biolay, Nicole Garcia and the UK’s Hugh Skinner. Playing a version of herself, Mastroianni takes on the identity of her father Marcello Mastroianni, dressing, speaking and breathing like him. Produced by Anatomy Of A Fall’s Les Films Pelléas, Marcello Mio explores themes of family lineage, memory and self-image. Honoré has premiered six films in Cannes.
Contact: Alya Belgaroui, mk2 Films
Megalopolis (US)
Dir. Francis Ford Coppola
The two-time Palme d’Or-winning director of The Conversation (1974) and Apocalypse Now (1979, tied) returns to Competition with a self-funded $120m epic starring Adam Driver as a visionary architect who harbours grand plans to rebuild New York City and falls for the daughter of his rival, the mayor. The film screened for buyers in early April and while it did not exactly garner the most fulsome praise of Coppola’s glittering career, critics and the French crowd may disagree. His film Tetro opened Directors’ Fortnight in 2009. Attorney Barry Hirsch is representing US rights.
Contact: Flavien Eripret, Goodfellas
The Most Precious Of Cargoes (Fr)
Dir. Michel Hazanavicius
This animated feature sees Oscar winner Hazanavicius play Competition for the fourth time, following The Artist, The Search and Redoubtable — and also having opened Cannes in 2022 with Final Cut (Out of Competition). Adapted from Jean-Claude Grumberg’s novel of the same name, the Second World War tale — intertwining the fate of a Jewish family arrested in Paris and deported to Auschwitz, and a childless couple living in the Polish forest — is the first animation to compete for the Palme d’Or since Waltz With Bashir in 2008. The late Jean-Louis Trintignant leads the voice cast, while co-producer Studiocanal releases in France in November.
Contact: Chloé Marquet, Studiocanal
Motel Destino (Bra-Fr-Ger)
Dir. Karim Aïnouz
Brazil’s Aïnouz plays in Competition for consecutive years, following his first English-language film Firebrand in 2023. Now he returns to his native Portuguese with an erotic thriller billed as an intimate look at the rebellion and sensuality of Brazilian youth set in a love hotel in Ceara, the filmmaker’s home state in the northeast of the country. Aïnouz’s other previous Cannes entries include 2019 Un Certain Regard winner Invisible Life, along with Madame Sata (2002), The Silver Cliff (2011) and Mariner Of The Mountains (2021).
Contact: The Match Factory
Oh, Canada (US)
Dir. Paul Schrader
Schrader reunites with Richard Gere 44 years after directing American Gigolo, this time with the story of an ailing documentarian in Montreal who shocks his loved ones when he confesses in an interview that he fled the US decades earlier to avoid the Vietnam War draft. Based on Russell Banks’ 2021 novel Foregone and funded through private investors, Oh, Canada wrapped production last October in upstate New York. The cast includes Uma Thurman, Michael Imperioli and Jacob Elordi. This marks the third Competition slot for Schrader as director after Patty Hearst in 1988 and Mishima in 1985. Producer David Gonzales is representing US rights with WME Independent.
Contact: Arclight Films (international); WME Independent (US)
Parthenope (It-Fr)
Dir. Paolo Sorrentino
The Italian maestro updates the foundation myth of his native city, Naples, by recasting the legendary siren Parthenope as a woman born in the 1950s. Once a Cannes regular, Sorrentino has not graced the Croisette since Youth in 2015: his 2018 Silvio Berlusconi two-parter Loro skipped festivals while 2021’s The Hand Of God played Venice. Described by the director as a “feminine epic”, Parthenope — whose ensemble cast includes Gary Oldman — is one of the last projects Lorenzo Mieli worked on before his exit from Fremantle-owned company The Apartment; A24 distributes in the US. New to Sorrentino production is fashion house Saint Laurent, a major presence in Cannes this year with three titles in Competition.
Contact: Pathé International
The Seed Of The Sacred Fig (Iran-Fr)
Dir. Mohammad Rasoulof
Iran’s Rasoulof makes his first appearance in Competition, having won prizes in Un Certain Regard with a trio of earlier features, but his attendance remains in doubt — an Iranian travel ban prevented him sitting on the Un Certain Regard jury last year. The director’s latest, set for release in France by Pyramide Distribution, concerns an investigating judge in Tehran’s Revolutionary Court grappling with mistrust and paranoia that leads to suspicion of his own wife and daughters. It is produced by Germany’s Run Way Pictures and France’s Parallel45 in co-production with Arte France Cinéma.
Contact: Films Boutique
The Shrouds (Can-Fr)
Dir. David Cronenberg
The Shrouds will be the Canadian genre godfather’s seventh time in Competition in a 28-year run spanning Crash in 1996, for which he won the jury prize, to Crimes Of The Future in 2022, by way of films including Cosmopolis (2012) and A History Of Violence (2005). His latest bid for an elusive Palme d’Or stars Vincent Cassel as a grieving businessman who invents a shroud that connects with the dead. SBS Productions, Prospero Pictures and Saint Laurent Productions produced, with support from Telefilm Canada, CNC, Ontario Creates and Eurimages. Sphere Films releases in Canada, and Pyramide in France.
Contact: SBS International
The Substance (UK-US)
Dir. Coralie Fargeat
Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley and Dennis Quaid star in a gore-filled feminist take on body horror. France’s Fargeat produces alongside Working Title partners Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan, with Universal Pictures distributing. The Paris-shot feature is the first studio film for Fargeat, whose feature debut, action thriller Revenge, launched at Toronto in 2017 before playing at Sundance, Fantastic Fest and Sitges. Qualley also stars this year in fellow Competition title Kinds Of Kindness. Mubi has acquired key territories including North America, UK, Germany and Latin America.
Contact: The Match Factory
Three Kilometres To The End Of The World (Rom)
Dir. Emanuel Parvu
Romanian actor-turned-filmmaker Parvu presented Three Miles To The End Of The World (as it was then called) at the CineLink Co-Production Market at Sarajevo Film Festival in 2021, the Sarajevo festival having awarded his debut Meda Or The Not So Bright Side Of Things prizes for best director and actor in 2017. Parvu premiered follow-up Mikado at San Sebastian in 2021, and now steps up to Cannes’ Competition with this third feature — about a gay teen’s journey of self-discovery clashing with the conservative families of his Danube Delta community.
Contact: Flavien Eripret, Goodfellas
Wild Diamond (Fr)
Dir. Agathe Riedinger
All eyes will be on French newcomer Riedinger, heading straight to Competition with her debut feature. The writer/director attracted attention with shorts Waiting For Jupiter (2018) — which provided the seed for this feature — and Eve (2019). Newcomer Malou Khebizi plays a 19-year-old woman who sets her heart on success as a reality show star. The cast also includes Idir Azougli (Shéhérezade, Marguerite’s Theorem) and Les Misérables actor/co-writer Alexis Manenti. Priscilla Bertin and Judith Nora produce for Silex Films, with Pyramide handling sales and French distribution.
Contact: Agathe Mauruc, Pyramide International
Out of Competition
The Count Of Monte Cristo (Fr)
Dirs. Alexandre de La Patelliere, Matthieu Delaporte
As writers, Delaporte and de La Patelliere adapted Alexandre Dumas’ The Three Musketeers for Pathé’s recent two-film treatment directed by Martin Bourboulon. The pair’s latest Dumas adaptation also sees them direct — as they did with 2019 comedy drama The Best Is Yet To Come. Pierre Niney, who won the best actor César in 2015 with the title role in Yves Saint Laurent, stars as the falsely accused man who escapes from prison after 14 years and exacts revenge on those who betrayed him. Pathé and Dimitri Rassam’s Chapter 2 produce, and Pathé releases in France on June 28.
Contact: Pathé International
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (US)
Dir. George Miller
Miller’s latest entry in his apocalyptic action series plays Out of Competition, as did Mad Max: Fury Road in 2015 and the director’s unrelated fantasy drama Three Thousand Years Of Longing in 2022. Anya Taylor-Joy stars in the Furiosa origin story and Fury Road prequel, joined in the dusty mayhem by Chris Hemsworth. Anticipation is mounting after Warner Bros screened footage at CinemaCon in Las Vegas last month and it became one of the most talked-about segments of the convention. Furiosa rolls out globally starting on May 22.
Contact: Warner Bros
Horizon: An American Saga (US)
Dir. Kevin Costner
Costner, the veteran Hollywood star who in recent years has enjoyed a huge hit with TV series Yellowstone, has not directed a film since Open Range in 2003. His long-gestating western epic Horizon: An American Saga is the first of two chapters in what Costner conceives as a four-part tale about the conquest of the American West set during, but not specifically about, the American Civil War. Warner Bros will release the first two parts on June 28 and August 16 in a risky strategy that requires the first instalment to be very good if audiences are to return for more. All will be revealed on the Croisette.
Contact: Warner Bros
Rumours (Can-Ger)
Dirs. Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson, Guy Maddin
Canada’s Maddin has collaborated with brothers Evan and Galen Johnson on multiple shorts, and with Evan on yet more shorts plus 2014 feature The Forbidden Room. The Winnipeg trio’s latest sees Maddin make his Cannes feature debut nearly 40 years into his filmmaking career — although his short The Heart Of The World did play Directors’ Fortnight in 2001. Rumours stars Alicia Vikander and Cate Blanchett in a dark comedy about world leaders meeting at a G7 summit and then getting lost in the woods. Ari Aster adds further star power as executive producer.
Contact: Protagonist Pictures
The Second Act (Fr)
Dir. Quentin Dupieux
Dupieux made his Cannes debut with Rubber (Critics’ Week, 2010) and first appeared in official selection in 2022 when Smoking Causes Coughing played Out of Competition. Now, hot on the heels of last year’s Daaaaaali! and Yannick, Dupieux opens the 2024 festival with a comedy starring Léa Seydoux, Vincent Lindon, Louis Garrel and Yannick’s Raphaël Quenard. The story follow four characters who find themselves in the remote eaterie of the title. Hugo Sélignac produces for Chi-Fou-Mi Productions, with Diaphana releasing in France on May 14.
Contact: Kinology
She’s Got No Name (China)
Dir. Peter Chan
Acclaimed Hong Kong director Chan, who last played Out of Competition with 2011’s Wu Xia, returns with a drama based on a famous murder case from the 1940s during the Japanese occupation of Shanghai. She’s Got No Name — which is produced by Chan’s We Pictures — centres on a woman (Zhang Ziyi) who is charged with having dismembered her husband. Her case attracts huge public attention as it seems impossible for the woman to have committed the killing by herself. Chan has achieved commercial and critical success for features such as Comrades, Almost A Love Story and Dearest.
Contact: Fred Tsui, We Distribution
Profiles by: Ellie Calnan, Claudia Cox, Tim Dams, Charles Gant, Elaine Guerini, Jeremy Kay, Rebecca Leffler, Lee Marshall, Wendy Mitchell, Jonathan Romney, Michael Rosser, Mona Tabbara, Silvia Wong
No comments yet