Cannes71 Lineup

Shocks and surprises abound in today’s Cannes lineup announcement, an annual event traditionally characterized by a comforting, almost numbing sense of familiarity. Oh the Dardennes again, of course. Almodóvar? Sure. Haneke – évidemment! Such an easy confirmation of the expected did not happen for the 71st edition of the festival.

Well obviously there are still names we knew were going to pop up: Oscar winners Asghar Farhadi (previously announced) and Pawel Pawlikowski, Cannes alumni Kore-Eda Hirokazu, Lee Chang-Dong, Jia Zhang-Ke (part of the predicted Asian cinema resurgence) and – yes, the Godard. We also called the politically charged decision to have both Jafar Panahi and Kirill Serebrennikov in the lineup, two blacklisted filmmakers currently under house arrest in their home countries and unlikely to attend the festival.

But beyond that, I don’t recall the last time we’ve seen so many (relative) newcomers crack Cannes competition in the same year: Ryusuke Hamaguchi (Japan), Eva Husson (France), Nadine Labaki (Lebanon), A.B Shawky (Egypt). And when you look at the names they presumably left off the list, it’s pretty staggering: Mike Leigh, Lars von Trier, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Carlos Reygadas, Terrence Malick, Paolo Sorrentino, Brian De Palma, László Nemes, Terry Gilliam etc. Generally speaking this makes for a more diverse, probably younger (give or take a Godard) and potentially even artsier list of filmmakers than what Cannes is used to – and we’re not complaining.

At 18 titles, there’s still room for add-on’s in the main competition (which should never be overlooked considering THE SALESMAN and eventual Palme d’Or winner THE SQUARE have both been subsequently added to the lineup). Could any of the major snubs mentioned above make it? Will Spike Lee’s timely new film be an early Oscar breakout hit? What are your most anticipated films to screen this year?

The 71st Cannes Film Festival runs May 8-19 and we will be reporting from the Croisette with latest thoughts & scoop.

Competition
EVERYBODY KNOWS by Asghar Farhadi
AT WAR by Stéphane Brizé
DOGMAN by Matteo Garrone
LE LIVRE D’IMAGE by Jean-Luc Godard
NETEMO SAMETEMO (ASAKO I & II) by Ryusuke Hamaguchi
SORRY ANGEL by Christophe Honoré
GIRLS OF THE SUN by Eva Husson
ASH IS PUREST WHITE by Jia Zhang-Ke
SHOPLIFTERS by Kore-Eda Hirokazu
CAPERNAUM by Nadine Labaki
BURNING by Lee Chang-Dong
BLACKKKLANSMAN by Spike Lee
UNDER THE SILVER LAKE by David Robert Mitchell
THREE FACES by Jafar Panahi
COLD WAR by Pawel Pawlikowski
LAZZARO FELICE by Alice Rohrwacher
YOMEDDINE by A.B Shawky
SUMMER by Kirill Serebrennikov

Un Certain Regard
BORDER by Ali Abbasi
SOFIA by Meyem Benm’Barek
LITTLE TICKLES by Andréa Bescond & Eric Métayer
LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT by Bi Gan
MANTO by Nandita Das
SEXTAPE by Antoine Desrosières
GIRL by Lukas Dhont
ANGEL FACE by Vanessa Filho
EUPHORIA by Valeria Golino
FRIEND by Wanuri Kahiu
MY FAVORITE FABRIC by Gaya Jiji
THE HARVESTERS by Etienne Kallos
IN MY ROOM by Ulrich Köhler
EL ANGEL by Luis Ortega
THE GENTLE INDIFFERENCE OF THE WORLD by Adilkhan Yerzhanov

Out of Competition
SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY by Ron Howard
LE GRAND BAIN by Gilles Lellouche

Special Screening
10 YEARS IN THAILAND by Aditya Assarat, Wisit Sasanatieng, Chulayarnon Sriphol & Apichatpong Weerasethakul
O GRANDE CIRCO MÍSTICO by Carlo Diegues
THE STATE AGAINST MANDELA AND THE OTHERS by Nicolas Champeaux & Gilles Porte
DEAD SOULS by Wang Bing
TO THE FOUR WINDS by Michel Toesca
LA TRAVERSÉE by Romain Goupil
POPE FRANCIS – A MAN OF HIS WORD by Wim Wenders

Midnight Screening
ARCTIC by Joe Penna
GONGJAK(The Spy Gone North) by Yoon Jong-Bing