The 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival is officially underway and in the next 11 days I’ll try to cover all the buzzy films in and out of competition, and the sidebars. I’m only set to arrive tomorrow morning, that’s the same day the first competition titles will screen (Magnus Von Horn’s “The Girl With the Needle” and Agathe Riedinger’s “Wild Diamond”).
The 2024 edition is set to kick off tonight with the world premiere of Quentin Dupiex’s “The Second Act” starring Lea Seydoux, Vincent Lindon, Louis Garrel and Raphaël Quenard.
Why do I keep coming back to Cannes? This year will be my 10th edition. Quite simply, because the best films of the year are supposed to screen here. I’m not just talking about Hollywood, but films from all around the world, and it’s a great way to assess just how well cinema is doing.
Last year was a wonderful edition, maybe the best of the last decade, and my hunch is that this year’s crop of films won’t surpass that one. That’s alright. I’m expecting some good movies to screen, along with packed press conferences, tons of espressos and incessant writing on my part.
“I love cinema. This is holy to me. Art is sacred, and films are sacred,” this year’s Jury President Greta Gerwig said onstage Tuesday night, you could hear the “Barbie” director’s voice choking with emotion. “I cannot believe I am getting the opportunity to spend the next ten days in this house of worship. I love nothing more than sitting in the dark, and feeling a movie begin that’s going to take me somewhere that I did not know, and couldn’t have predicted, that was the place I wanted to go.”
In a way, she’s right. Cannes is a “house of worship,” so many great filmmakers have come to this fest in its 77 years of existence, and many of them ended up winning the coveted Palme d’Or, still the most prestigious prize in all of cinema.
The Cannes Film Festival will take place May 14-25, during that stretch of time we will be seeing new works from Francis Ford Coppola, Yorgos Lanthimos, Sean Baker, Andrea Arnold, David Cronenberg, Paolo Sorrentino, Jacques Audiard, Paul Schrader, George Miller, Guy Maddin, Leos Carax, Jia Zhang-Ke, Miguel Gomes, and plenty more.
I don’t know about you, but I’m kind of looking forward to the “Michael” sequel. Whether Vantoine directs it or John Logan, it doesn’t matter—it’s an inevitable sh*tshow that will result from its making and release.