Five weeks before the first climb of the steps, the 76th Cannes Film Festival unveiled its official selection in Paris on Thursday April 13, by the president of the festival, Iris Knobloch, and the general delegate Thierry Frémaux.
A total of 19 films have been selected, including those by Wim Wenders, Ken Loach, Wes Anderson, Catherine Breillat and Kore-Eda will be in competition. The jury will be chaired by Ruben Östlund, Swedish director who won two Palmes d’Or, including Sans Filtre, last year.
Six directors will be in the running, a record in the history of the Festival. Among these women, two French women, directors Catherine Breillat and Justine Triet. Also note the presence of a young Senegalese filmmaker Ramata-Toulaye Sy, the Tunisian Kaouther Ben Hania, the Italian Alice Rohrwacher and the Austrian Jessica Hausner.
The film that will open the festival, Jeanne du Barry (out of competition), is also directed by a woman: the Frenchwoman Maïwenn. This film ensures the great return of Johnny Depp, after the judicial soap opera which opposed him to his ex-wife, the American actress Amber Heard, against a backdrop of accusations of domestic violence then mutual accusations of defamation, settled at million dollar shots.
“Strong presence” of the African continent
In addition, the fate reserved for artists targeted by accusations of sexual violence promises to be scrutinized, while new accusations of sexual violence concerning a monument of French cinema, Gérard Depardieu, were relayed on Tuesday by Mediapart. Last year, the rape charges against Sofiane Bennacer, the main actor of one of the films in competition, Les Amandiers, were not made public until several months after the festival.
Many filmmakers already palmed will return to competition, including the British Ken Loach, the Turkish Nuri Bilge Ceylan or the Italian Nanni Moretti. The competition “mixes young filmmakers who come rarely or for the first time [to Cannes] with veterans whose name, work and work we know. When it comes to art, there is no expiry date for filmmakers or works,” said Frémaux.
The official selection, which includes films in and out of competition, presented at Un Certain regard or special screenings, is strong in films from the United States and Italy, he underlined, with in the parallel sections a film from Mongolia — a first in the history of the festival — and a “strong presence” from the African continent.
The 19 films in competition could be joined by a twentieth, Killers of the Flower Moon by Martin Scorsese, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert de Niro. This film is, the moment planned out of competition could compete for the Palme d’Or. “The request has been made” to producers Paramount and Apple TV, underlined Thierry Frémaux. “The main thing is that we have an answer before the festival starts.”
Among the films out of competition will be screened the fifth installment of the saga to the professor of archeology and adventurer: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. The festival has confirmed the appearance of veteran Harrison Ford.
The faithful Pedro Almodovar has also received his ticket to Cannes, with, for once, a Hollywood tropism: he will present a short film in the form of a “queer western”, with Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal, star of the The Last of us series.