Cologne-based international sales agent The Match Factory is plotting a course for the 78th Cannes Film Festival (13-24 May) and its Marché du Film (13-21 May) with a selection of auteur-driven films in hand, showcasing major festival entries and new voices. From US heists to Nigerian political turmoil, the slate underlines The Match Factory’s commitment to character-driven storytelling.

Headlining the line-up is The Mastermind, marking Kelly Reichardt’s return to Cannes with a Competition title. Set in 1970s Massachusetts, the film is a character study that follows JB Mooney, an out-of-work carpenter with dreams of pulling off an art heist. When the plan collapses, so does his sense of control, leading to a slow unravelling of his world. Josh O’Connor leads the cast, alongside Alana Haim, John Magaro, Gaby Hoffmann and Bill Camp. Reichardt, who also penned and edited the film, reteams with long-time producers Neil Kopp, Vincent Savino and Anish Savjani for Film Science, with Mubi also on board.

French-Spanish filmmaker Óliver Laxe makes his Cannes Competition debut with Sirât [+lire aussi :
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fiche film], a metaphysical desert odyssey set in the Moroccan wilderness. A grieving father and his son plunge into the chaotic world of trance raves in search of a missing daughter, confronting a surreal landscape of music, memory and spiritual reckoning. As their journey stretches into the Sahara, what begins as a desperate mission evolves into something far more introspective. Starring Sergi López, Bruno Nuñez and Stefania Gadda, Sirât is a Movistar Plus+ Original, produced by Filmes da Ermida, El Deseo, Uri Films, Los Desertores Films AIE and 4A4 Productions, with the support of ARTE Germany.

Premiering in Un Certain Regard, My Father’s Shadow marks the feature debut by Akinola Davies Jr (see the news). This semi-autobiographical tale blends intimate family dynamics with national upheaval. The film is a UK-Irish-Nigerian co-production, staged by Rachel Dargavel and Funmbi Ogunbanwo for Element Pictures, in association with Crybaby and Fatherland.

Premiering in the Directors’ Fortnight, Mirrors No. 3 sees Christian Petzold return to familiar themes of identity and memory, through another quietly haunting drama starring Silver Bear-winning actress Paula Beer (see the news). Produced by Florian Koerner von Gustorf, Michael Weber and Anton Kaiser for Schramm Film Koerner Weber Kaiser, the film was co-produced by ZDF and Arte.

Rounding off the slate is Below the Clouds, the latest documentary by award-winning Italian filmmaker Gianfranco Rosi, who returns to his native Naples to explore how modern life coexists with the weight of a layered past in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius. Shot over two years and currently in post-production, the film offers a reflection on how history is etched into the tunnels, ruins and lives of the region’s inhabitants. It is being produced by Rosi’s 21Uno Film and Donatella Palermo’s Stemal Entertainment.

Also newly announced on The Match Factory’s slate is The Idiots, the upcoming feature by Polish filmmakers Małgorzata Szumowska and Michał Englert. Set to begin principal photography in June, the film is based on Andrew D Kaufman’s biography The Gambler Wife, chronicling the tumultuous marriage of Fyodor Dostoyevsky and his wife Anna during the period that led up to the creation of The Idiot. British actors Aimee Lou Wood and Johnny Flynn lead the cast. Co-written by Szumowska and Kasper Bajon, with Englert as cinematographer, the movie is being produced by French-US outfit Hype Studios and the UK's Gold Rush Pictures.