The 76th Cannes Film Festival opens this Tuesday (16/5), amid criticism and changes. After a symbolic version in 2020 and a leaner one in 2021, this year the festival regains its position as the largest and most glamorous industrial platform on the planet. Acclaimed for its importance in revealing great works, which will guide cinematic eyes for the rest of the year, the French event is also often criticized for having listed characters involved in scandals.
This year the event will open with a screening of the historical drama “Jeanne du Barry” (out of competition), starring Johnny Depp (“Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald”), who is recovering his image after being accused of assault and raping his ex-wife, Amber Heard. As for the criticisms, the director of the event, Thierry Fremaux, said he doesn’t care about the actor’s judgement. “I don’t know Johnny Depp’s image in the United States. I don’t know what it is, Johnny Depp interests me only as an actor. , it’s me,” said Frémaux.
This isn’t the first time the event has been criticized for ignoring women’s agendas. The festival, which rolled out the Woody Allen red carpet to showcase “Midnight in Paris” and “Café Society” (during the height of #MeToo), has also “forgiven” director Lars von Trier (“Melancholia”), who accused by singer Björk of sexual harassment.
This year, however, there is a small change: of the 19 films competing for the Palme d’Or (first prize), six are directed by women, a record for the festival. They are: Jessica Hausner’s “Club Zero”; Kaouther Ben Hania’s “Les Filles D’Olfa”; Justine Triet’s “Anatomie D’une Chute”; Alice Rohrwacher’s “The Chimera”; “L’Ete Dernier” by Catherine Breillat and “Banel Et Adama” by Ramata-Toulaye Sy.
The 2023 Festival also broke records for women selected outside the main competition, i.e. including alternative shows such as Un Certain Regard and special screenings. There are 14 female-directed titles among the 51 announced.
After last year’s absence, Brazilian cinema is also making a comeback in style in 2023. The country is represented by four feature films on the schedule: “A Flor do Buriti”, directed by João Salaviza (“Russian”) and Renée Nader Messora ( ” Rain and songs in the village of the dead”), in the show Um Certo Olhar; “Levante”, by Lillah Halla (“Menarca”), at the Critics’ Week; “Nelson Pereira dos Santos — Uma Vida de Cinema”, directed by Aída Marques (“Estação Aurora”) and Ivelise Ferreira (“Music according to Tom Jobim”), at Cannes Classics; and “Retratos Fantasmas”, by Kleber Mendonça Filho (“Bacurau”), in the Special Sessions. Finally, Ceará director Karim Aïnouz (“A Vida Invisível”) directs the British production “Firebrand”, which is in competition for the Palme d’Or.
Aïnouz commented on the importance of showing Brazilian feature films at the festival. “It’s great to have this Brazilian presence in Cannes this year. It’s important to get back into the international film arena,” she said. “I confess that I would be even happier if ‘Firebrand’ was entirely Brazilian. But that’s okay, its soul is Brazilian, it has a lot of warmth, regardless of talking about the English royal family of the 16th century,” she added.
The program also features an outstanding selection of international cinema, including notable directors such as Wim Wenders (“Pope Francis: A Man of His Word”), Wes Anderson (“The French Chronicle”), Ken Loach (“I, Daniel Blake ” ), Nuri Bilge Ceylan (“The Wild Fruit Tree”), Todd Haynes (“Carol”), Nanni Moretti (“Habemus Papam”), Pedro Almodóvar (“Parallel Mothers”), Steve McQueen (“Papillon”) and Marco Bellocchio (“O Traitor”), together with young filmmakers from different backgrounds.
Furthermore, two highly anticipated Hollywood blockbusters are scheduled in the town on the French Riviera: “Indiana Jones and the relic of destiny”, the fifth and final chapter of the famous franchise starring Harrison Ford (“Speaking for Real” ) and “Flower Moon Killers”, directed by Martin Scorsese (“The Last Movie Stars”) and starring Leonardo DiCaprio (“Don’t Look Up”).
New festival president Iris Knobloch commented on the event when announcing the programme. “We could talk about a return to origins, but I prefer to say that Cannes is a return to the future. Cannes offers a snapshot of the cinematic present, and the selection gives an idea of what is agitating cinema at the moment. It is a complete aesthetic and geographical program. Movies and audiences are back in theaters,” she said.
Check below for the updated list of titles competing in the main exhibitions of the event.
Competitors for the Palme d’Or
Club Zero – Jessica Hausner
The area of interest – Jonathan Glazer
Fallen leaves – Aki Kaurismaki
Les Filles D’Olfa – Kaouther Ben Hania
City of Asteroids – Wes Anderson
Anatomies of Une Chute – Justine Triet
Monster – Kore-Eda Hirokazu
The Sun of the Future – Nanni Moretti
L’Été Dernier – Catherine Breillat
Kuru Otlar Ustune – Nuri Bilge
The Chimera – Alice Rohrwacher
The Passion of Dodin Bouffant – Tran Anh Hun
Kidnapped – Marco Bellocchio
May December – Todd Haynes
Jeunesse-Wang Bing
The Old Oak – Ken Loach
Banel and Adama – Ramata-Toulaye Sy
Perfect Days – Wim Wenders
Burning Brand – Karim Ainouz
Film nominated for the Un Certain Regard Award
Le Regne Animal – Thomas Cailley
Los Delincuentes – Rodrigo Moreno
How To Have Sex – Molly Manning Walker
Goodbye Giulia – Mohamed Kordofani
Kadib Abyad – Asmae El Moudir
Simple Comme Sylvain – Monia Chokri
Buriti’s flower – João Salaviza and Renée Nader Messora
Los Colonos – Felipe Galvez
Augur – Baloji Tshiani
Breaking the Ice – Anthony Chen
Rosalie – Stefania Di Giusto
The new boy – Warwick Thornton
If only I could hibernate – Zoljargal Purevdash
Hopeless – Kim Chang-hoon
Earth Verses – Ali Asgari and Alireza Khatami
Rien à Perdre – Delphine Deloget
Les Meutes – Kamal Lazraq
Films that will be screened at the Cannes Film Festival 2023
Jeanne Du Barry – Maïwenn (opening of the festival)
Indiana Jones and the Call of Fate – James Mangold (out of competition)
Spider’s Web – Kim Jee-woon (out of competition)
The Idol – Sam Levinson (out of competition)
Killers of the Flower Moon – Martin Scorsese (out of competition)
Kennedy – Anurag Kashyap (midnight session)
Omar la Fraise – Elias Belkeddar (midnight session)
Acide – Solo Philippot (midnight session)
Kubi – Takeshi Kitano (Cannes Premiere)
Bonnard, Pierre et Marthe – Martin Provost (Premier in Cannes)
Los Ojos – Victor Erice (First in Cannes)
Le Temps d’Aimer – Katell Quillévéré (Cannes Premiere)
The Man in Black – Wang Bing (Special Sessions)
Occupied City – Steve McQueen (special sessions)
Anselm (Das Rauschen der Zeit) – Wim Wenders (special sessions)
Ghost Portraits – Kleber Mendonça Filho (special sessions)
Source: Terra
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
