Cannes plays a game of bluff seven days before unveiling its selection
- Bellwethers, probable titles, possible inclusions, clues and hypotheses swirl in the home stretch ahead of the press conference to unveil the official selection on 10 April
The best-kept secrets are those that leak as late as possible. Because of a wish to keep the media in the dark or because of the absolute trust it has in its ability to adapt at the last minute, given the reassuring glut of talents on offer, the official selection of the 78th Cannes Film Festival (13-24 May) has this year held on to the reins of its invitations like seldom before, a move which is having a domino effect on general expectations and the parallel sections’ decisions. One strikingly enigmatic example among others is the opening slot of the festival, which apparently now sees The Phoenician Scheme [+see also:
film review
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film profile] by Wes Anderson and Alpha [+see also:
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film profile] by Julia Ducournau vying for pole position.
Nevertheless, things are hotting up exactly one week ahead of the official selection press conference in Paris, during which Thierry Frémaux (accompanied by president Iris Knobloch) will unveil some of the cards up his sleeve, with a healthy armful of additions being expected at a later date. Having said that, the viewings by the Cannes selection committees still continue apace (the surprise move to bring the press conference forwards by a week having disrupted certain presentation plans by the producers of films still in post-production), and the Venice Film Festival is also keeping a close eye on the revelations in order to make potential counteroffers. Therefore, overall, things are basically as clear as mud for the cinephile forecasters, who are making amendments to their lists left, right and centre while also hoping to make out some glimmers of certainty here and there. Still, let’s gaze into the crystal ball for the 2025 edition of Cannes, which on paper appears to be of a very lofty level, given the plethora of high-calibre contenders waiting in line.
In competition, standing out among the probable titles (besides the two aforementioned films) are Father, Mother, Sister, Brother by US helmer Jim Jarmusch, The Secret Agent [+see also:
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film profile] by Brazil’s Kleber Mendonça Filho, Sentimental Value by Norway’s Joachim Trier, The Young Mothers’ Home [+see also:
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film profile] by Belgium’s Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Die, My Love by Scottish filmmaker Lynne Ramsay, Eagles of the Republic [+see also:
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film profile] by Swedish director of Egyptian heritage Tarik Saleh, Orphan by Hungary’s Laszlo Nemes, Sound of Falling [+see also:
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film profile] by Germany’s Mascha Schilinski, Yes by Israel’s Nadav Lapid, Two Prosecutors [+see also:
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interview: Sergei Loznitsa
film profile] by Ukraine’s Sergei Loznitsa, Eddington by the USA’s Ari Aster and The Way of the Wind by his fellow countryman Terrence Malick, not to mention a movie that Iran’s Jafar Panahi has allegedly been shooting in secret.
As for the works possibly in the running for the Palme d’Or, they include The Disappearance of Josef Mengele by Russia’s Kirill Serebrennikov, The Love that Remains [+see also:
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film profile] by Iceland’s Hlynur Pálmason, Woman and Child by Iran’s Saeed Roustaee, Mirrors No. 3 by Germany’s Christian Petzold, Silent Friend by Hungary’s Ildiko Enyedi and Fuori [+see also:
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film profile] by Italy’s Mario Martone. The outsiders include Romeria [+see also:
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film profile] by Spaniard Carla Simón, Sirat [+see also:
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interview: Óliver Laxe
film profile] by her fellow countryman Oliver Laxe, Salvation by Turkey’s Emin Alper and L'intérêt d'Adam [+see also:
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interview: Laura Wandel
film profile] by Belgium’s Laura Wandel, and even the black-and-white documentary Sotto le nuvole by Italy’s Gianfranco Rosi, the highly mysterious hybrid flick You Shall Not Make an Image by Tunisia’s Kaouther Ben Hania and the no-less-enigmatic Wake of Umbra by Mexico’s Carlos Reygadas.
However, in considering the potential final makeup of the competition, we mustn’t neglect two features that are shaping up to be probable titles, as long as they can wrap their post-production in time: No Other Choice by South Korea’s Park Chan-wook and Resurrection [+see also:
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film profile] by China’s Bi Gan, whose eventual availability (or lack thereof) could open up an opportunity for Japan’s Love on Trial by Kôji Fukada.
In the starting blocks when it comes to the French contenders (whose fates are traditionally sealed the evening before the unveiling of the official selection), the favourites (besides Julia Ducournau) as we enter the home stretch are Couture by Alice Winocour, An Affair by Arnaud Desplechin, A Private Life [+see also:
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film profile] by Rebecca Zlotowski and The Great Arch [+see also:
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film profile] by Stéphane Demoustier. Lying in ambush could be Case 137 [+see also:
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interview: Dominik Moll
film profile] by Dominik Moll and Enzo by Robin Campillo.
All bets are off, however, given the extra possibilities offered by Cannes Première, by the out-of-competition section, and even by the special screenings and midnight screenings (which the festival apparently intends to breathe new life into), not to mention the diversions towards the Directors’ Fortnight and the possible siren’s call of Venice. Myriad rumours are also swirling on the French side (the animated film A Magnificent Life [+see also:
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film profile] by Sylvain Chomet, Les braises by Thomas Kruithof, The Little Sister [+see also:
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interview: Hafsia Herzi
film profile] by Hafsia Herzi, and in a more mainstream register, Moi qui t’aimais by Diane Kurys and Colours of Time [+see also:
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film profile] by Cédric Klapisch) as well as on the international side (Highest 2 Lowest by the USA’s Spike Lee, Hurry Up Tomorrow by his fellow countryman Trey Edward Shultz, Dao by French-Senegalese director Alain Gomis, Milk Powder by Brazil’s Carlos Segundo, and the German trio consisting of Yellow Letters by Ilker Çatak, Amrum [+see also:
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film profile] by Fatih Akin and Gavagai by Ulrich Köhler), to cite but a few of those brought up most frequently in conversations.
The hunt for young talents is also in full swing among the official selection, the Directors’ Fortnight and the Critics’ Week. Among the third features to keep an eye on, we could mention The Dream Adventure by Germany’s Valeska Grisebach, In a Whisper by Tunisia’s Leyla Bouzid, No Good Men by Afghanistan’s Shahrbanoo Sadat and La hiedra by Ecuador’s Ana Cristina Barragán, while standing out among the sophomore features rumoured to be in the running are Love Me Tender [+see also:
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film profile] by France’s Anna Cazenave Cambet (toplined by Vicky Krieps), Renoir [+see also:
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interview: Chie Hayakawa
film profile] by Japan’s Chie Hayakawa, Promised Sky [+see also:
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interview: Erige Sehiri
film profile] by French-Tunisian filmmaker Erige Sehiri, Derrière les palmiers by Morocco’s Meryem Benm'Barek, God Will Not Help by Croatia’s Hana Jušić, No One Will Know [+see also:
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film profile] by France’s Vincent Maël Cardona and Un anno di scuola by Italy’s Laura Samani.
Moving on to the feature debuts, if we are to believe what we hear, titles with a very good chance of finding a berth somewhere on the Croisette are allegedly Urchin [+see also:
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film profile] by the UK’s Harris Dickinson, A Useful Ghost [+see also:
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film profile] by Thailand’s Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke, The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo [+see also:
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interview: Diego Céspedes
film profile] by Chile’s Diego Céspedes, Sleepless City [+see also:
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film profile] by Spaniard Guillermo Garcia Lopez, Bye Bye [+see also:
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film profile] by France’s Amélie Bonnin and L’Engloutie [+see also:
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interview: Louise Hémon
film profile] by her fellow countrywoman Louise Hémon. Supposedly still in the running are Nino [+see also:
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interview: Pauline Loquès
film profile] by France’s Pauline Loquès, Don’t Let Me Die by Romania’s Andrei Epure, Forastera by Spaniard Lucía Aleñar Iglesias, Caravan by the Czech Republic’s Zuzana Kirchnerova-Spidlova, My Father’s Shadow [+see also:
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film profile] by UK-Nigerian helmer Akinola Davies, Arriva la guerra by Italy’s Tommaso Usberti, Kika [+see also:
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interview: Alexe Poukine
film profile] by Belgium’s Alexe Poukine (her feature-length fiction debut), La hija cóndor by Bolivia’s Álvaro Olmos Torrico, Gorgonà by Greece’s Evi Kalogiropoulou (touted as pretty extreme), Lady Nazca by Switzerland’s Damien Dorsaz and Aisha Can’t Fly Away by Egypt’s Morad Mostafa. And let’s not overlook titles such as Arco by France’s Ugo Bienvenu among the animations and, of course, The Chronology of Water, the directorial feature debut by US star Kristen Stewart.
“The die is cast.” The coming week will shed a considerable amount of light on the makeup of the 78th Cannes Film Festival, and for the last two days, the invitations have begun to pour in, but for now, the only thing we know for sure about this edition is that Juliette Binoche will chair the official competition jury (see the news). Thierry Frémaux has myriad trump cards on the table to choose from, but given that he has never been averse to wrong-footing the forecasters (who either amuse or infuriate him), the unveiling of the majority of the most highly coveted secrets will have to wait until 10 April.
(Translated from French)
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