13/04/2023 - The competition features an all-star line-up with five former winners, eight other filmmakers who have already appeared in competition, and six first timers

To satisfy all cinematic desires, shine a light on the best international auteur films, infuse the red carpet with a dose of glamour supercharged by the star system, make the event resonate with the general public in order to stimulate ticket sales, bring the platforms back to the big screen and start the Oscar race (by attracting US films in particular): this equation isn’t always easy to resolve, but the appeal of the Croisette for all part of the worldwide film industry remains unmatched, as was beautifully demonstrated once more this morning in Paris when General Delegate Thierry Frémaux (accompanied by new president Iris Knobloch) unveiled the Official Selection of the 76th Cannes Film Festival (16 to 27 May) with what could only be described as an all-star lineup.

The very enticing 2023 selection so far includes 19 feature films in competition. Shining bright among them are five former winners, which are British director Ken Loach (Palme d’Or winner in 2006 and 2019 — this will be his 15th participation in Competition), Italy’s Nanni Moretti (2001 Palme d’Or winner, Best Director in 1994 — his 9th participation), Turkey’s Nuri Bilge Ceylan (2014 Palme d’Or winner, recognised twice by the Grand Prize and once by the Best Director award — his 7th participation), Germany director Wim Wenders (1984 Palme d’Or winner — his 10th participation), and Japan’s Hirokazu Kore-eda (winner of the Palme d’Or in 2018 and of the Jury Prize in 2013 — his 7th participation).

Also included in the selection are five contenders very familiar from the higher circles of Cannes’ competition, which are Italy’s Alice Rohrwacher (Grand Prize in 2014 Best Screenplay in 2018 — her 3rd participation) and Marco Bellocchio (his 8th participation), Finland’s Aki Kaurismäki (Grand Prize in 2006 — his 5th participation) and US' Todd Haynes (Best Artistic Contribution award in 1998 — his 4th participation) and Wes Anderson (his 3rd participation).

Three women directors will make their second appearance in this section: Austria’s Jessica Hausner and French filmmakers Catherine Breillat (returning after her first appearance in 2007) and Justine Triet.

Six first-time Competition contenders (two of whom will present documentaries, a kind of cinema very rarely seen in competition in Cannes) complete this selection of Palme hunters, with Tunisia’s Kaouther Ben Hania (with a documentary), Senegalese-French filmmaker Ramata-Toulaye Sy (with her feature debut), French filmmaker with Vietnamese origins Tran Anh Húng (Caméra d’or in 1993 and Golden Lion in 1995), Brazil’s Karim Aïnouz (with a British production starring, among others, Alicia Vikander and Jude Law), Chinese director Wang Bing (with a documentary) and English filmmaker Jonathan Glazer.

From a geo-cinematic point of view, Europe largely dominates the 2023 Competition lineup with 12 filmmakers in the race for the Palme d’Or: four from France (Breillat, Triet, Sy and Anh Húng), three from Italy (Rohrwacher, Moretti and Bellocchio), two from England (Loach and Glazer), one from Austria (Hausner), one from Finland (Kaurismäki) and one from Germany (Wenders). North America will have two representatives (Haynes and Anderson), as will Asia (Kore-eda and Wang Bing), while Africa and South American will have one each (Ben Hania and Aïnouz, respectively, but Sy could also be classified with Africa), and Bilge Ceylan is labelled Asian-European. Finally, the competition features six women directors so far, but a few additions are still to come next week as is the composition of the jury.

For its third year of existence, the Cannes Première programme (which has been reduced in size) will offer works from the mythical Spanish director Victor Erice, Japan’s Takeshi Kitano, and France’s Martin Provost and Katell Quillevéré.

Big films shine out of competition, with Jeanne du Barry [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] from French director Maïwenn which will open the Festival, Cobweb by South Korea’s Kim Jee-woon, the short film Strange Way of Life by Spain's Pedro Almodóvar and three US titles: Killers of the Flower Moon by Martin Scorsese (which Thierry Frémaux is still hoping to get in competition), Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny by James Mangold and The Idol by Sam Levinson.

Also taking part are the 17 films from the Un Certain Regard section (read the news); Special Screenings, which will feature documentaries from British director Steve McQueen, Germany’s Wim Wenders, Brazil’s Kleber Mendonça Filho and China’s Wang Bing (his second film in the 2023 official selection); and Midnight Screenings, which will include feature films from Indian director Anurag Kashyap, Algeria’s Elias Belkeddar and France’s Just Philippot.

The selected films:

Competition

Firebrand [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Karim Aïnouz (UK/USA)
Asteroid City - Wes Anderson (USA)
Four Daughters [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kaouther Ben Hania
film profile] - Kaouther Ben Hania (France/Tunisia/Germany)
About Dry Grasses [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
film profile] - Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Turkey/France/Germany)
Last Summer [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Catherine Breillat
film profile] - Catherine Breillat (France)
Kidnapped [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Marco Bellocchio (Italy/France/Germany)
The Zone of Interest [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Jonathan Glazer (UK/Poland/USA)
Club Zero [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jessica Hausner
film profile] - Jessica Hausner (Austria/UK/Germany/France/Denmark)
May December - Todd Haynes (USA)
Fallen Leaves [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Aki Kaurismäki (Finland/Germany)
Monster - Hirokazu Kore-eda (Japan)
The Old Oak [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Ken Loach (UK/France/Belgium)
Il sol dell’avvenire [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Nanni Moretti (Italy/France)
La Chimera [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Alice Rohrwacher (Italy/Switzerland/France)
Banel & Adama [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ramata-Toulaye Sy
film profile] - Ramata-Toulaye Sy (France/Senegal)
The Passion of Dodin Bouffant [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Tran Anh Hung (France/Belgium)
Anatomy of a Fall [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Justine Triet
film profile] - Justine Triet (France)
Youth (Spring) [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Wang Bing (Hong Kong/Luxembourg/Netherlands/China/France)
Perfect Days [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Wim Wenders (Germany/Japan)

Out of Competition

Jeanne du Barry [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Maïwenn (France/Belgium/UK) (opening film)
Strange Way of Life - Pedro Almodóvar (Spain) (short film)
Cobweb - Kim Jee-woon (South Korea)
The Idol - Sam Levinson (USA) (series)
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny - James Mangold (USA)
Killers of the Flower Moon - Martin Scorsese (USA)
Elemental - Peter Sohn (USA) (final screening/closing film)

Cannes Première

Close Your Eyes [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Víctor Erice (Spain)
Kubi - Takeshi Kitano (Japan)
Bonnard, Pierre et Marthe [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Martin Provost
film profile] - Martin Provost (France)
Along Came Love [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Katell Quillévéré
film profile] - Katell Quillévéré (France)

Special Screenings

Occupied City [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Steve McQueen (Netherlands/USA/UK)
Pictures of Ghosts - Kleber Mendonça Filho (Brazil)
Man in Black [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Wang Bing (France/USA/UK)
Anselm (Das Rauschen der Zeit) [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Wim Wenders (Germany)

Midnight Screenings

The King of Algiers [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Elias Belkeddar
film profile] - Elias Belkeddar (France)
Kennedy - Anurag Kashyap (India)
Acid [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Just Philippot (France/Belgium)

(Translated from French)