The 79th edition of the Cannes Film Festival has announced its lineup. A total of 21 films have so far been confirmed to compete for the Palme d’Or. Thierry Frémaux noted that a larger portion of the lineup will be announced later than usual, making this effectively a “late” festival.
For now, this appears to be the first time in recent memory that Hollywood studios have not brought a single movie to screen on the Croisette, whether in competition or outside it. Although there is a persistent rumor that Warner Bros might be bringing something, and that it will be announced next week.
Now, what’s missing. Yesterday, I posted a list of 20 films that were being heavily rumored in competition. This morning, 17 of them made it. The three missing were James Gray’s “Paper Tiger,” Werner Herzog’s “Bucking Fastard,” and Lila Avilés’ “Cábula.” One or all three of these could be added to the lineup in the next few weeks, but for now, they are absent.
The actual competition will include familiar names like Pedro Almodóvar, Andrey Zvyagintsev, Pawel Pawlikowski, Cristian Mungiu, Na Hong-jin, Hirokazu Koreeda, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Asghar Farhadi, Lukas Dhont, and László Nemes.
The most striking absence has got to be James Gray’s “Paper Tiger,” which Variety has reported was submitted to the festival. The festival’s chief Thierry Fremaux confirmed to Variety that he’s seen the film, and hopes it will be added later on, comparing it to Gray’s first film, “Little Odessa.” My bet is he gets added soon.
As it stands, only one American filmmaker is in the competition lineup: Ira Sachs with “The Man I Love.” This marks the first time in 15 years that the Cannes competition has featured just one U.S. filmmaker vying for the Palme d’Or. Most years there are 3 or 4.
“When the studios are less present in Cannes, they are less present full stop," Fremaux said at the press conference.
More to come …
COMPETITION:
Minotaur (Andrey Zvyagintsev)
The Man I Love (Ira Sachs)
The Beloved (Rodrigo Sorogoyen)
Fatherland (Pawel Pawlikowski)
Moulin (László Nemes)
Night Stories (Léa Mysius)
Fjord (Cristian Mungiu)
Notre salut (Emmanuel Marre)
Gentle Monster (Marie Kreutzer)
Nagi Notes (Koji Fukada)
Hope (Na Hong-jin)
Sheep in the Box (Hirokazu Koreeda)
Garance (Jeanne Herry)
The Unknown (Arthur Harrari)
All of a Sudden (Ryûsuke Hamaguchi)
The Dreamed Adventure (Valeska Grisebach)
Coward (Lukas Dhont)
The Black Ball (Javier Ambrossi & Javier Calvo)
A Woman's Life (Charline Bourgeois-Taquet)
Parallel Tales (Asghar Farhadi)
Bitter Christmas (Pedro Almodóvar)OUT OF COMPETITION:
Her Private Hell (Nicolas Winding Refn)
Diamond (Andy Garcia)
Karma (Guillaume Canet)
De Gaulle: Tilting Iron (Antonin Baudry)
L'objet du délit (Agnès Jaoui)
Abandon (Vincent Garenq)UN CERTAIN REGARD:
All the Lovers in the Night (Yukiko Sode)
La más dulce (Laïla Marrakchi)
Club Kid (Jordan Firstman)
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (Jane Schoenbrun)
Yesterday the Eye Didn’t Sleep (Rakan Mayasi)
Everytime (Sandra Wollner)
Meltdown (Manuela Martelli)
I’ll Be Gone in Jun (Katharina Rivilis)
I Am Always Your Maternal Animal (Valentina Maurel)
Congo Boy (Rafiki Fariala)
Le Corset (Louis Clichy
Benimana, Marie-Clementine Dusabejambo)
Elephants in the Fog (Abinash Bikram Shah)MIDNIGHT SCREENINGS:
Roma Elastica (Bertrand Mandico)
Full Phil (Quentin Dupieux)
Colony (Yeon Sang-ho)
Jim Queen (Nicolas Athane & Marco Nguyen)
Sanguine (Marion Le Coroller)SPECIAL SCREENINGS:
John Lennon: The Last Interview (Steven Soderbergh)
Avedon (Ron Howard)
Les Survivants du Che (Christophe Réveille)
Les Matins Merveilleux (Avril Besson)CANNES PREMIÈRE:
The Samurai and the Prisoner (Kiyoshi Kurosawa)
The Visitation (Volker Schlöndorff)
Propeller One-Way Night Coach (John Travolta)