The Croisette in the crosshairs

by Fabien Lemercier

22/02/2018 - Favourites, outsiders, likely bets and possible candidates: here are a few leads to help navigate the swarm of potential hopefuls for the 71st Cannes Film Festival (8-19 May)

l-r: Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Paolo Sorrentino, Mike Leigh, Asghar Farhadi, László Nemes, Jacques Audiard, Olivier Assayas, Alice Rohrwacher and Mia Hansen-Løve

As the 68th Berlin Film Festival enters the home stretch, the global film industry’s professionals are now starting to turn their attention towards an event that can be considered the heavyweight champion of the international seventh art: the 71st Cannes Film Festival (8-19 May). As always, theories have started swirling concerning the selection that will be unveiled in April by General Delegate Thierry Frémaux, but we can already say that on paper, the 2018 edition looks to be utterly breathtaking, making the hunt for this year’s Palme d'Or (which will be handed out by a jury chaired by Australian actress Cate Blanchett – see the news) all the more exciting.

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Standing out among the most eagerly awaited titles are The Wild Pear Tree [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Turkey’s Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Loro [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Italy’s Paolo Sorrentino, Peterloo [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mike Leigh
film profile] by British director Mike Leigh, Everybody Knows [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Iran’s Asghar Farhadi, The Death and Life of John F. Donovan [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Canada’s Xavier Dolan, Ash Is Purest White [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by China’s Jia Zhangke, Sunset [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: László Nemes
film profile] by Hungary’s László Nemes, The Favourite [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Greece’s Yorgos Lanthimos, Donbass [+see also:
film review
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interview: Sergei Loznitsa
film profile] by Ukraine’s Sergei Loznitsa (principal photography for which has now wrapped), Our Time [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Carlos Reygadas
film profile] by Mexico’s Carlos Reygadas, The Sisters Brothers [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jacques Audiard
film profile] by France’s Jacques Audiard, Non Fiction [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Olivier Assayas
film profile] by his fellow countryman Olivier Assayas, Burning by South Korea’s Lee Chang Dong, Vision [+see also:
film review
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film profile] by Japan’s Naomi Kawase and Shoplifters by her compatriot Hirokazu Kore-eda.

The top-drawer Italian contenders are particularly notable this year on account of the sheer number of them, as they also include Lazzaro Felice [+see also:
film review
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interview: Alice Rohrwacher
film profile] by Alice Rohrwacher (which is still shooting over the rest of the winter), Dogman [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Matteo Garrone
film profile] by Matteo Garrone and Suspiria [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Luca Guadagnino.

We also hope to see Roma by Mexico’s Alfonso Cuarón, Widows [+see also:
film review
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interview: Steve McQueen
film profile] by British director Steve McQueen (even though the previously announced November release date leaves little room for hope), Cold War [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Pawel Pawlikowski
film profile] by Poland’s Pawel Pawlikowski, The Image Book [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Switzerland’s Jean-Luc Godard and A Hidden Life [+see also:
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film profile] (working title: Radegund) by US filmmaker Terrence Malick at Cannes.

The outsiders include La Quietud [+see also:
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film profile] by Argentina’s Pablo Trapero, Synonyms by Israel’s Nadav Lapid, The Little Stranger [+see also:
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film profile] by Ireland’s Lenny Abrahamson, Roads [+see also:
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film profile] by Germany’s Sebastian Schipper, Birds of Passage [+see also:
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film profile] by Colombian duo Ciro Guerra and Cristina Gallego, Evil Games by Austria’s Ulrich Seidl, and potentially A Tale of Three Sisters [+see also:
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interview: Emin Alper
interview: Emin Alper
film profile] by Turkey’s Emin Alper (the shoot for which wrapped on 1 February).

As for the Asian hopefuls, we could also mention such films as Long Day’s Journey into Night [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by China’s Bi Gan, Di Jiu Tian Chang by his fellow countryman Wang Xiaoshuai and The Man from the Sea [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Japan’s Koji Fukada, not to mention another as-yet untitled Chinese feature by Lou Ye.

For various reasons unrelated to the festival itself, we might be forgiven for wondering whether the Cannes team will feel like delving into the realms of possible controversy with The House That Jack Built [+see also:
film review
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interview: Lars von Trier
film profile] by Denmark’s Lars von Trier and the next part of Mektoub, My Love: Canto Uno [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Abdellatif Kechiche, two filmmakers whose artistry is nonetheless easily up to the huge demands of the competition.

European cinema may also be pinning its hopes on Quién te cantará [+see also:
film review
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interview: Carlos Vermut
film profile] by Spaniard Carlos Vermut and Petra [+see also:
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interview: Jaime Rosales
film profile] by his fellow countryman Jaime Rosales, I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Romania’s Radu Jude and Alice T. [+see also:
film review
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interview: Radu Muntean
film profile] by his compatriot Radu Muntean, Keep Going [+see also:
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interview: Joachim Lafosse
film profile] by Belgium’s Joachim Lafosse and Mothers’ Instinct [+see also:
film review
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interview: Olivier Masset-Depasse
film profile] by his fellow countryman Olivier Masset-Depasse, The Souvenir: Part 1 [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by British director Joanna Hogg, Angelo [+see also:
film review
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interview: Markus Schleinzer
film profile] by Austria’s Markus Schleinzer, Goliath [+see also:
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film profile] by Sweden’s Peter Grönlund, Winter Flies [+see also:
film review
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interview: Olmo Omerzu
film profile] by Slovenia’s Olmo Omerzu, Woman at War [+see also:
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interview: Benedikt Erlingsson
interview: Benedikt Erlingsson
film profile] by Iceland’s Benedikt Erlingsson, Sister [+see also:
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interview: Svetla Tsotsorkova
film profile] by Bulgaria’s Svetla Tsotsorkova, History of Love [+see also:
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interview: Sonja Prosenc
film profile] by Slovenia’s Sonja Prosenc, and the Russian films Jumpman [+see also:
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interview: Ivan I Tverdovsky
film profile] by Ivan Tverdovsky, Summer [+see also:
film review
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interview: Ilya Stewart
film profile] by Kirill Serebrennikov and The Factory [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Yury Bykov. And as for the rest of the world (the list is obviously lengthy), we could put forward such titles as Domingo [+see also:
film review
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interview: Clara Linhart, Fellipe Barb…
film profile] by Brazilian duo Fellipe Barbosa and Clara Linhart, Who Killed Lady Winsley? [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Iraqi-Kurdish director Hiner Saleem, Monos [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Colombian-Ecuadorean filmmaker Alejandro Landes and Tremors [+see also:
film review
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interview: Jayro Bustamante
film profile] by Guatemala’s Jayro Bustamante.

As for feature debuts, we should highlight My Favourite Fabric [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Syria’s Gaya Jiji, Passed by Censor [+see also:
film review
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interview: Serhat Karaaslan
film profile] by Turkey’s Serhat Karaaslan, Girl [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lukas Dhont
film profile] by Belgium’s Lukas Dhont, A Certain Kind of Silence [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Michal Hogenauer
film profile] by the Czech Republic’s Michal Hogenauer, Thou Shalt Not Kill [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Romanian duo Gabi Virgina Sarga and Catalin Rotaru, By a Sharp Knife [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Slovakia’s Teodor Kuhn, and the French titles Jessica Forever [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Jonathan Vinet and Caroline Poggi, A Golden Youth [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Eva Ionesco, Head Above Water [+see also:
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film profile] by Margaux Bonhomme, Breath of Life [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] by David Roux and Treat Me Like Fire [+see also:
film review
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interview: Marie Monge
film profile] by Marie Monge.

The animated genre could also be taking aim at the Croisette, with Dilili in Paris [+see also:
film review
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film profile] by France’s Michel Ocelot, Funan [+see also:
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interview: Denis Do
film profile] by his fellow countryman Denis Do, Another Day of Life [+see also:
film review
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interview: Raul de la Fuente
film profile] by Mexican-Polish duo Raúl de La Fuente and Damian Nenow, and The Tower [+see also:
film review
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interview: Mats Grorud
film profile] by Norway’s Mats Grorud.

Lastly, among the star attractions out of competition, Solo: A Star Wars Story by Ron Howard, Ocean’s 8 by Gary Ross, Sicario 2: Soldado [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Stefano Sollima and The Man Who Killed Don Quixote [+see also:
film review
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interview: Terry Gilliam
film profile] by Terry Gilliam would seem to be the ideal candidates.