The Cannes Film Festival has unveiled the line-up for Un Certain Regard (see the news), with I’ll Be Gone in June, the debut feature by German filmmaker Katharina Rivilis, among the selected titles. The film will thus celebrate its world premiere on the Croisette in May.

The movie is set in 2001, as 16-year-old Franny, from Germany, dreams of experiencing the USA as an exchange student. She had imagined the glamour of New York but instead finds herself in Las Cruces, a sleepy desert town in New Mexico, during the haunting period in the wake of 9/11. Far from home, Franny drifts through awkward high-school days, stifling heat and restless nights until she meets Elliott, a boy whose quiet sadness mirrors her own. In a landscape seemingly stripped of humanity, an unexpected tenderness begins to bloom. Together, they chase the fragile promise of forever before June arrives and time carries her away once more.

The film stars German newcomer Naomi Cosma as Franny, alongside David Flores as Elliott, Bianca Dumais as Sam and Rebecca Schulz as Ida. Written and directed by Rivilis, I’ll Be Gone in June blends elements of coming-of-age drama and road movie, and the project draws on her own experiences as an exchange student in New Mexico. The movie marks her transition to feature filmmaking following a string of acclaimed short works, including Rondo, which premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2022. The project has built a strong industry trajectory, having been presented at Sofia Meetings, the Berlinale Co-Production Market, European Work in Progress and the MIA Market’s C EU Soon, among others.

Behind the camera, Rivilis collaborates with cinematographer Giulia Schelhas, while production design is handled by Tatiana Bastos. Editing is courtesy of Aurora Franco Vögeli, with music composed by Steve Binetti and Eliane Bründler, and sound design by Manu Gerber and Katharina Pfennich. Principal photography took place in Las Cruces, New Mexico, in March 2024.

I’ll Be Gone in June is being produced by Wim Wenders and Léa Germain for Berlin-based Road Movies, in co-production with Rivilis and Andrea Kühnel for Wolfskind Films, Clemens Köstlin and Vincent Savino, along with Simon Jaquemet and Olga Lamontanara for Zurich-based 8Horses. The film was supported by Creative Europe – MEDIA, Eurimages, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, HessenFilm, Filmförderungsanstalt and the Swiss Federal Office of Culture, among others. The German and Swiss distribution is handled by DCM. Paris-based sales company Luxbox will handle its world sales.