We are less than two weeks away from the Cannes Film Festival lineup announcement, and here’s now my fourth spitball of predictions, intel and rumors. There’s quite a bit to get through, so without further ado …
I have not given up on Terrence Malick’s “The Way of the Wind” showing up. It doesn’t matter that Malick is, apparently, “still editing” the damn thing. Malick’s unpredictable and could very easily submit the film at the last minute. What I do know, and based on everything I’ve heard, this will be a film that clocks in at over 3 hours (maybe much longer than that).
Markus Schleinzer‘s “Rose,” starring Sandra Hüller, is being heavily tipped for competition. Schleinzer’s debut, “Michael,” competed for the Palme d’Or in 2011. “Rose” is only the third feature of his career.
Kelly Reichardt's “The Mastermind” just completed post-production. I gather it’ll be submitted for Cannes, or does she want to go to Venice instead? Reichardt’s last film (“Showing Up”) was part of the 2022 competition, and she has Cahiers de Cinema on her side as a major champion of her work.
Meanwhile, a title change. German filmmaker Mascha Schilinski will be one of the big surprises of this year’s selection; her film was previously called “The Doctor Says I’ll Be Alright, But I’m Feeling Blue,” but I’m told it’s now going by the title of “Looking Into the Sun.” Smart decision.
This year might see the inclusion of two Iranian films in competition. Jafar Panahi shot his latest in secret, and it’s now a cinch to compete for the Palme d’Or. Panahi’s fellow compatriot, Saed Roustaee, could be a possibility to enter competition, for the second time, with “Mother and Son.”
There might also be two Belgian films in competition — Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne’s “The Young Mother’s Home,” and Laura Wandel’s “L’interet D’Adam.” I’ve been hearing great things about both of these films.
Speaking of doubles, I’m told Germany could be represented in competition by both Schilinski and Christian Petzold’s “Miroirs No.3.” This would be the first time Petzold makes it into Cannes competition — most of his acclaimed works have been premiering at the Berlin Film Festival. He had submitted his acclaimed “Phoenix” (2014) to Cannes, but the film was rejected.
Spike Lee, who was last in competition with “BlackKlanslman,” is said to be vehemently pushing for “Highest 2 Lowest” to compete for the Palme d’Or — he doesn't want an out-of-competition slot which is where the film might end up.
It’ll be tricky for “Highest 2 Lowest” to enter competition since there are too many Americans vying for a slot this year. You have new films by Wes Anderson, Jim Jarmusch, Kelly Reichardt, Ari Aster, Richard Linklater, and maybe even, Terrence Malick. I gather a few of these might either get rejected or be forced to accept an out-of-competition spot.
Save for Malick, the biggest question marks remain Park Chan-wook, Luca Guadagnino, and Lynne Ramsay, all of which are still in post-production and might not be ready in time for Cannes.
I’ve also gotten some emails about why I keep neglecting Bi Gan’s “Resurrection” in my predictions. Quite simply, the film is still in production, but here’s where it gets interesting … Bi Gan is shooting and editing at the same time, and wants to submit the film right at the submission deadline.
I’m not ready to publish my final predictions, and there will be one final spitball before April 10, but these are the 30 titles with the best shot at cracking competition.
Die, My Love (Lynne Ramsay)
Alpha (Julia Ducournau)
Father Mother Sister Brother (Jim Jarmusch)
Eddington (Ari Aster)
The Phoenician Scheme (Wes Anderson)
Untitled (Jafar Panahi)
The Way of the Wind (Terrence Malick)
Sentimental Value (Joachim Trier)
The Secret Agent (Kleber Mendoca Filho)
The Young Mother’s Home (Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne)
Yes! (Nadav Lapid)
Disappearance (Kirill Serebrenikkov)
Miroirs No. 3 (Christian Petzold)
L’interet D’Adam (Laura Wandel)
Looking into the Sun (Mascha Schilinski)
Sirat (Oliver Laxe)
Private Life (Rebecca Zlotowski)
Une Affaire (Arnaud Desplechin)
The Mastermind (Kelly Reichardt)
Highest 2 Lowest (Spike Lee)
Nouvelle Vague (Richard Linklater)
Orphan (Laszlo Nemes)
Two Prosecutors (Sergei Loznitsa)
Fuori (Mario Martone)
Tu ne fera point d’image (Kaouther Ben Hania)
The Love That Remains (Hlynur Pálmason)
Silent Friend (Ildiko Enyedi)
Resurrection (Bi Gan)
Woman And Child (Saeed Roustaee)
Rose (Markus Schleinzer)
No Other Choice (Park Chan-wook)
OTHER POSSIBILITIES
After the Hunt (Luca Guadagnino)
Calle Malaga (Maryam Touzani)
History of Sound (Oliver Hermanus)
Yellow Letters (Ilker Catak)
Duse (Pietro Marcello)
Rosebushpruning (Karim Aïnouz)
Marcel Pagnol (Sylvain Chomet)
Dossier 173 (Dominik Moll)
Enzo (Robin Campillo)
Couture (Alice Wincour)
Eagles of the Republic (Tarik Saleh)
Romería (Carla Simon)
Wake of Umbra (Carlos Reygadas)
Dao (Alain Gomis)
Love on Trial (Kôji Fukada)
No Other Choice (Park Chan-wook)
The Stories (Abu Bakr Shawky)
Renoir (Chie Hayakawa)
I Want Your Sex (Greg Araki)
Dracula Park (Radu Jude)
Is “The Exorcist” truly the greatest horror film ever made, or has time crowned a new champion of fear? Maybe it’s “The Shining,” ‘Texas Chainsaw,’ “Psycho,” or something entirely unexpected that still keeps you up at night.