VSs every year, according to a well-established ritual, it was in the prestigious hall of the UGC Normandie in Paris that the official (and provisional) selection of the Cannes Film Festival was announced by its general delegate and its president. Or rather its president, Iris Knobloch, who now succeeds Pierre Lescure alongside Thierry Frémaux.
The ex-director of Warner Bros France thus co-hosted her first press conference in Cannes and did not fail to greet her predecessor in her introductory speech, before commenting on her own arrival within the organization. “After living the festival for 25 years on the other side of the mirror, I am now discovering it from the inside. I am very happy to be able to bring him my energy and my fresh outlook for the years to come. »
Six women directors in competition, a record
Iris Knobloch also welcomed a return from the sector to the room, in these post-pandemic times. “I am delighted with this moment of re-love for cinema. The films are back in theaters, and especially the public. Nothing can replace the cultural event represented by the theatrical release. The studios have all abandoned the “day and date” (practice developed in Hollywood during the pandemic, consisting for certain studios of broadcasting their films on their platform, the same day of their theatrical release, Ed). And several platforms have announced significant investments in the production of films intended first for theatrical release. The multiplication of individual screens has finally reinforced the desire for a common experience in a room and the Cannes Film Festival can be proud to have always carried the flag of this cinema. some would say back to basicsI would rather say back to the future : like every year, we are going to take the pulse of creation and cinema as it is being made”.
Iris Knobloch added, for Thierry Frémaux: “It’s the first time he’s going to work in tandem with a woman. As Saint-Exupéry said: “the secret of a successful couple is to look in the same direction”. And I am convinced that our tandem will work very well because we share the same vision of the Cannes Film Festival. Then taking the floor to announce the celebrations, Thierry Frémaux recalled that he watched, with his team, “more than 2,000 films” for a “geographically expanded” selection, with a strong presence from the African continent and “a lot of directors”. The competition itself features six films directed by women, a record that may be topped by the announcement of a 7e competitor next week.
READ ALSOAlice Guy, the forgotten pioneer of the 7th ArtAmong the most anticipated films in competition: Asteroid City, by local regular Wes Anderson, who once again brought together an interstellar cast (“there are going to be 100 on the red carpet!” predicts Frémaux), as well as new titles from other loyal or former loyal fans from the Croisette: The Old Oak by Ken Loach Perfect Days by Wim Wenders, Il sol dell’avvenire by Nanni Moretti Monster by Hirokazu Kore-eda or even Fallen Leaves by Aki Kaurismaki. After several years of absence for health reasons, filmmaker Catherine Breillat will also be back with Last summerproduced by Saïd Bensaïd.
Genre cinema enthusiasts will turn more to the midnight screening to find out Acidthe new feature film by Just Philippot (The Cloud), about a fractured family brought together against the backdrop of a major ecological disaster befalling France: the appearance of devastating acid rain clouds. Also in a slightly more “entertaining” register than the all-comers of the selection: Kubi by Takeshi Kitano, described by Thierry Frémaux as “a comedy/samurai film”. We will also observe with attention, at the opening of the Un certain regard section, the latest film by Thomas Cailley (director of fighters): The Animal Kingdom. On the side of StudioCanal, it is described as “an old-fashioned creature film with few digital effects”.
Scorsese, “a worthy heir to Cecil B. De Mille and David Lean”
Finally, out of competition, all eyes will obviously be on the 5e opus of the adventures of a famous adventurous archaeologist: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, by James Mangold, on the occasion of which a tribute will be paid to the career of Harrison Ford – the editing in pictures is in progress. Also out of competition: Jeanne du Barry by Maïwenn at the opening of the festival and the highly anticipated Killers of the Flower Moon by Martin Scorsese, with Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert DeNiro.
Scorsese’s two favorite actors will be reunited for the first time on screen for this adaptation of a book by David Grann based on a true story and published in 2017. Set in northern Oklahoma in the 1920s, the plot follows an FBI investigation into the murder of Indian members of the Osage tribe. Produced by Apple, its Apple TV+ platform, with a budget of 200 million dollars, this 3:45 film will indeed be released in theaters in France on October 18, through the Paramount studio. For the moment selected out of competition, the film could finally compete in competition, negotiations are underway between the festival and the distributor.
READ ALSODiscover Martin Scorsese’s favorite filmsAt the end of the press conference, Thierry Frémaux also returned to the presence of Killers of the Flower Moon in Cannes, his discovery of the film in New York, in the company of Martin Scorsese and his legendary editor Thelma Schoonmaker, after a lunch with those interested. According to him, Killer… is not a western, but a film set in the 1920s, about relations between whites and Indians and “about what America did to the Indians”.
Hailing Martin Scorsese as “a worthy heir to Cecil B. De Mille and David Lean”, the general delegate was delighted that the director still embodies this cinema of the spectacle intended for a more adult target in the United States, in the face of “the audience marvelization” by the studios for several years – alluding to the explosion of superhero movies primarily driven by Marvel over the past decade. The official selection of 76e Cannes Film Festival will be complemented by further announcements in the coming days, while the Critics’ Week and Directors’ Fortnight selections will be announced on Monday April 17 and Tuesday April 18 respectively.
READ ALSO“The cultural power of the cinema remains unrivalled”
The official selection:
Opening film out of competition:
Jeanne du Barry, by Maïwenn
Films in competition:
Club Zero, of Jessica Hausner
The Area of Interest, by Jonathan Glazer
Dead leaves, by Aki Kaurismaki
Daughters of Olfa, of Kaouther Ben Hania
Asteroid City, of Wes Anderson
Anatomy of a fall, by Justine Triet
Monster, by Hirokazu Kore-Eda
The Sun of the future, by Nanni Moretti
The Chimera, by Alice Rohrwacher
dry herbs, by Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Last summer, by Catherine Breillat
The Passion of Dodin Bouffant, by Tran Anh Hung
Quick, by Marco Bellocchio
May December, of Todd Haynes
Firebrand, by Karim Ainouz
The Old Oak, of Ken Loach
Banel and Adama from Ramata-Toulaye Sy
Perfect Days, by Wim Wenders
Youth, of Wang Bing
Special sessions:
ghost portraits, by Kleber Mendonca Filho
the sound of time, by Wim Wenders
Occupied Cityby Steve McQueen
Man in Black, by Wang Bing
In some perspective :
animal kingdom, by Thomas Cailley (opening film)
The offenders, of Rodrigo Moreno
Crowra, of João Salaviza and Renée Nader Messora
Simple as Sylvain, by Monia Chokri
The mother of all lies, by Asmae El Moudir
The Breaking Ice, by Anthony Chen
Rosalie, by Stephanie Di Giusto
The New Boy, of Warwick Thornton
Terrestrial Verses, of Ali Asgari and Alireza Khatami
how to have sex, by Molly Manning Walker
Goodbye Julia, by Mohamed Kordofani
Los Colonos, by Felipe Galvez
Augur, of Baloji Tshiani
If Only I Could Hibernate, of Zoljargal Purevdash
Hopeless, by Kim Chang-hoon
Nothing to lose, by Delphine Deloget
The Packs, of Kamal Lazraq
Cannes Premieres:
Kubi, by Takeshi Kitano
time to love, of Katell Quillévéré
Cerrar los ojos, by Victor Erice
Bonnard, Pierre and Marthe, of Martin Provost
Out of competition :
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, by James Mangold
Killers of the Fower Moon, by Martin Scorsese
TheIdol, of Sam Levinson
cobweb, by Kim Jee-woon
Jeanne du Barry, by Maïwenn
Midnight session:
Omar the strawberry, by Elias Belkeddar
Kennedy, by Anurag Kashyap
Acid, by Just Philippot