Once again, the world is coming to Cannes and with it some of the more anticipated films of the year. Festival du Cannes President Pierre Lescure and General Delgate (aka Festival Director) Thierry Fremaux revealed this year's main competition and Un Certain Regard slates during a long and rambling press conference early this morning and a number of American auteurs are once again in the mix.
Todd Haynes' “Carol” with Cate Blancehtt, Gus Van Sant's “Sea of Trees” with Matthew McConaughey, Woody Allen's “Irrational Man” with Joaquin Phoenix and Emma Stone, Pixar's “Inside Out,” Denis Villeneuve's “Sicario” with Emily Blunt and Josh Brolin, Justin Kurzel's “Macbeth” with Marion Cotillard and Michael Fassbender and Natalie Portman's “A Tale of Love and Darkness” are some of the initial highlights from today's announcement that will perk the ears of American audiences.
The festival previously announced that George Miller's “Mad Max: Fury Road” would screen out of competition and the opening night film, Emmanuelle Bercot's “La Tête Haute.”
Some of the more intriguing international selections include Matteo Garrone's “The Tale of Tales,” Hsiao-Hsien Hou's “The Assassin,” Barbet Schroeder's “Amnesia” and Jacques Audiard's “Dheepan.”
This year, Oscar winners Joel and Ethan Coen will head the competition jury. Isabella Rossellini will head the Un Certain Regard jury.
Fremaux noted that additional films will be added to the competition and out of competition slate next week. There are at least two more in-competition films that will be announced including the closing night selection.
The wide ranging press conference also touched on the rumored ban on selfies on the red carpet to which Fremaux remarked, “They are not going to prohibit selfies on the red carpet and the steps. It's a process that's often ridiculous and grotesque. [It's] really a matter of timing. Really slow things down if everyone stops two meters to take a photo of themselves.”
He also noted there were few long films this year (although “The Chosen Ones” is one of them). Moreover, it appears the harsh reactions to James Franco's “As I Lay Dying” and Ryan Gosling's “Lost River,” which were both screened in Un Certain Regard over the past two years, is why Portman's “Love and Darkness” is a special selection and not in Regard. Whether that means the global press will keep their knives at home for Portman's directorial debut remains to be seen.
One additional note for awards season watchers, The Weinstein Company has two films in competition with “Carol” and “Macbeth.” Lionsgate has a rare Cannes premiere with “Sicario.” A24 is distributing the Amy Winehouse documentary “Amy.” Sony Classics will release “Irrational Man” this summer.
The 68th Cannes Film Festival will run from May 13-23. Look for full coverage from la Croisette on HitFix and In Contention.
A full list of this year's films is as follows:
Competition
“Dheepan,” (Working Title) Jacques Audiard
“A Simple Man,” Stéphane Brize
“Marguerite and Julien,” by Valérie Donzelli
“The Tale of Tales,” Matteo Garrone
“Carol,” Todd Haynes
“The Assassin,” Hsiao-Hsien Hou
“Mountains May Depart,” Jia Zhang-Ke
“Our Little Sister,” Hirokazu Kore-Eda
“Macbeth,” Justin Kurzel
“The Lobster,” Yorgos Lanthimos
“My King,” MaiWenn
“Mia Madre,” Nanni Moretti
“Son of Soul,” László Nemes
“Youth,” Paul Sorrentino
“Louder than Bombs,” Joachim Trier
“The Sea of Trees,” Gus Van Sant
“Sicario,” Denis Villeneuve
Midnight Screenings
“O Piseu (Office),” Hong Won-Chan
“Amy,” Asif Kapadia
Special Selections
“Amnesia” Barbet Schroeder
“A Tale of Love and Darkness,” Natalie Portman
“Panama,” Pavle Vuckovic
“Oka,” Souleymane Cisse
“Hayored Lema'Ala,” Elad Keidan
Out of Competition
“Irrational Man,” Woody Allen
“Asphalte,” Samuel Benchetrit
“Mad Max: Fury Road,” George Miller
“Inside Out,” Pete Doctor and Ronaldo De Carmen
“The Little Prince,” Mark Osbourne
Un Certain Regard
“Fly Away Solo,” Neeraj Ghaywan
“Rams,” Grímur Hakonarson
“Journey to the Shore,” Kurosawa Kiyoshi
“I Am A Soldier,” Laurent Lariviere
“The High Sun,” Dalibor Matanic
“The Other Side,” Roberto Minervini
“One Floor Below,” Radu Muntean
“The Shamless,” Oh Seung-Uk
“The Chosen Ones,” David Pablos
“Nahid,” Ida Panahandeh
“The Treasure,” Corneliu Porumboiu
“The Fourth Direction,” Gurvinder Singh
“Madonna,” Shin Suwon