PARIS ā New films by Wes Anderson, Alice Rohrwacher, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Todd Haynes and Wim Wenders will compete for the Cannes Film Festivalās coveted top honor, the Palme dāOr, as will a record number of films directed by women.
Cannes artistic director Thierry FrƩmaux and president Iris Knobloch, who took over the post last year from Pierre Lescure, announced a lineup heavy on big-name international auteurs, along with some new faces, in
Among the 19 films selected for Cannesā prestigious competition slate are Andersonās sci-fi homage Wendersā āPerfect Daysā; Kor-edaās āMonsterā; Alice Rohrwacherās āLa Chimera"; and Haynesā āMay December,ā a romance with Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore. Ken Loach, long a Cannes regular, will return with āThe Old Oak.ā Jonathan Glazer will premiere his first feature since 2013's with his Martin Amis adaptation āZone of Interest.āĀ
After a scaled-down 2021 event and a comeback festival in 2022, this year's Cannes finds the festival back on level ground and its organizers triumphant that their mission ā celebrating the best in world cinema as an inherently theatrical experience ā has persevered.Ā
āThe films are back in theaters and the public is back in theaters,ā said Knobloch. āThe moviemakers, the artists, the professionals are all in agreement. Nothing can replace the cultural event represented by a release in a theater for a movie.āĀ
Joining Rohrwacher, the Italian director of āHappy as Lazzaro,ā in competition are five more female directors: Franceās Catherine Breillat with āLast Summerā; Austriaās Jessica Hausner with āClub Zeroā; Franceās Justine Trietās āAnatomy of a Fallā; Senegalese-French director Ramata-Toulaye Sy with āBanel & Adamaā; and Tunisiaās Kaouther Ben Hania with the documentary āOlfaās Daughters.ā
Cannes has often come under criticism for selecting few films by women for its prestigious competition lineup. Only two female filmmakers have ever won the Palme dāOr: Jane Campion in 1993 for āThe Pianoā and Julia Ducournau in 2021 for āTitane.ā While six out of 19 films is a new high, it still falls below the parity
Several of Cannesā splashiest premieres had already been announced. , along with a special tribute to Harrison Ford, as will Martin Scorseseās āKillers of the Flower Moon,ā his big-budget adaptation for Apple of David Grannās non-fiction bestseller. Fremaux said he urged Scorsese to screen āKillers of the Flower Moonā in competition at the festival, but it isn't currently scheduled to compete for the Palme.Ā
On Tuesday, Cannes said that the Pedro AlmodĆ³var short āStrange Way of Life,ā with Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke, will also premiere at the festival.
Not in competition for the Palme is Quebec filmmaker Monia Chokri's "Simple Comme Sylvain," which will play as part of the festival's Un Certain Regard program. That lineup is focused on auteur and discovery cinema.
Cannes gets underway May 16 with starring Johnny Depp as King Louis XV. The film, directed by and co-starring the French actress and filmmaker MaĆÆwenn, has been billed as Deppās comeback film following his explosive trial last year with Amber Heard, his ex-wife. The festival runs through May 27.
The much-anticipated HBO series āThe Idolā, from āEuphoriaā creator Sam Levinson and starring Toronto-raised the Weeknd and Lily-Rose Depp, will also debut in Cannes. Steve McQueen, the director of ā12 Years a Slaveā and the film anthology āSmall Axe,ā will present his āOccupied City," a documentary about Amsterdam under Nazi occupation during World War II.Ā
The jury that will decide the Palme dāOr will this year be led by the Swedish filmmaker Ruben Ćstlund, a two-time Palme winner. After winning Cannes top honor for 2017ās āThe Square,ā Ćstlund won last year for the social satire āTriangle of Sadness.ā
Cannes is coming off a movie year that has reinforced the French festivalās position as arguably the premiere international launching pad for film. Three of this yearās best-picture nominees at the Oscars premiered in Cannes: āTop Gun: Maverick,ā āElvisā and āTriangle of Sadness.ā
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
