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[berzeli]

In Competition

120 Battements par Minute (120 Heartbeats per Minute) | Robin Campillo
L'amant double | François Ozon
The Beguiled | Sofia Coppola
Geu-hu (The Day After) | Hong Sangsoo
Krotkaya (A Gentle Creature) | Sergei Loznitsa
Good Time | Benny and Josh Safdie
Happy End | Michael Haneke
Aus dem Nichts (In the Fade) | Faith Akin
Jupiter's Moon | Kornél Mundruczó
The Killing of the Sacred Deer | Yorgos Lanthimos
Nelyubov (Loveless) | Andrey Zvyagintsev
The Meyerowitz Stories | Noah Baumbach
Okja | Bong Joon-ho
Hikari (Radiance) | Naomi Kawase
Redoubtable | Michel Hazanavicius
Rodin | Jacques Doillon
Wonderstruck | Todd Haynes
You Were Never Really Here | Lynne Ramsay
The Square | Ruben Östlund​

Un Certain Regard:

Barbara | Mathieu Amalric | opening film
Dopo la Guerra (After the War) | Annarita Zambrano
Las hijas de Abril (April's Daughter) | Michel Franco
L'atelier | Laurent Cantet
Aala Kaf Ifrit (Beauty and the Dogs) | Kaouther Ben Hania
Sanpo Suru Shinryakusha (Before We Vanish) | Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Tesnota (Closeness) | Kantemir Balagov
Posoki (Directions) | Stephan Komandarev
Lerd‎ (A Man of Integrity) | Mohammad Rasoulof
Jeune Femme (Montparnasse Bienvenüe) | Léonor Serraille
Fortunata (Lucky) | Sergio Castellitto
En Attendant les Hirondelles (Until the Birds Return) | Karim Moussaui
La Novia del Desierto (The Desert Bride) | Cecilia Atán & Valeria Pivato
Out | Gyorgy Kristof
Western | Valeska Grisebach
Wind River | Taylor Sheridan
La Cordillera | Santiago Mitre
Lu Guo Wei Lai (Walking Past the Future) | Li Ruijun​

Out of Competition:

Ismael's Ghosts | Arnaud Desplechin | opening film
Blade of the Immortal | Miike Takashi
How to Talk to Girls at Parties | John Cameron Mitchell
Visages, Villages (Faces, Places) | JR and Agnès Varda
D'Après une Historie Vraie (Based on a True Story) | Roman Polanski
Midnight Screenings:
AK-Nyeo (The Villainess) | Jung Byung-gil
Bulhandang (The Merciless) | Byun Sung-hyun
A Prayer Before Dawn | Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire
Virtual Reality:
Carne y Arena (Virtually present, Physically invisible) | Alejandro González Iñárritu
​

Special Screenings:

12 Jours | Raymond Depardon
Keul-le-eo-ui ka-me-la (Claire's Camera) | Hong Sangsoo
Demons in Paradise | Jude Ratman
Napalm | Claude Lanzmann
Promised Land | Eugene Jarecki
Sea Sorrow | Vanessa Redgrave
They | Anahita Ghazvinizadeh
Carré 35 (Plot 35) | Éric Caravaca
An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power | Bonni Cohen & Jon Shenk
Le Vénérable W. (The Venerable W.) | Barbet Schroeder
Nos Années Folles (Golden Years) | André Téchiné
Zombillénium (Zombillenium) | Arthur de Pins & Alexis Ducord
70th Anniversary Events:
Top of the Lake: China Girl | Jane Campion & Ariel Kleiman
Twin Peaks | David Lynch
24 Frames | Abbas Kiarostami
Come Swim | Kristen Stewart​

Other notable events and awards:
The Cannes Short Film Selection | The Directors' Fortnight Selection | The International Critics' Week Selection | The Cinéfondation Selection | The Cannes Classics Selection

FAQ
What is the Cannes Film Festival?
It is one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world.
That is a lot of different awards and things and stuff, what does it all mean?
There is a bunch of different events and awards all happening during the same time and at the same location, but they're not all the same thing.
There is the main festival which hosts two prestigious competitions, the main one and another named Un Certain Regard the latter one highlights "original and different" works, they have separate selection, awards and juries. And there is an official short film competition. In addition to those three competitions the main festival also shows a plethora of other new & old films under different banners (eg. Cannes classics, Midnight Screenings)
Ok.
There is also the directors fortnight, which is a separate section with its own competition hosted by the French Directors Guild that runs in parallel with the main festival.
Um, I think I got it...
Wait, there is also The The International Critics' Week, another separate section, which showcases (and gives awards to) first and second feature films by directors from all over the world, the Cinéfondation which shows student films from around the world And the Marché du Film which is a business event that runs in parallel with all of festivities.
Oh.
Yeah it is a bit much at times.
Where can I find trailers for the films?
The Cannes Film Festival website host trailers for most of the films, if you click on the links for the various sections you can find media for the films.
Why Should I care about these awards?
Because the Academy Awards (aka Oscars) sucks and Cannes does a better job at awarding films.
That is a kind of elitist attitude you got going on there
Sorry, the Academy Awards do however suffer from a decent amount of americentrism/anglocentrism which means that there is a very narrow field of films which gets attention. Cannes is better at giving attention to films from across the world.

 

[Rembrandt]

The Beguiled is gonna be so good.

 

[Sgt. Kabukiman]

Were the Dardenne brothers not available?
Some expected names but a really solid line-up. Glad to see Hazanavicius and Bong Joon-ho are in there. And Miike too, out of competition.
Fuck Doillon and Baumbach though.
Hopefully I'll be able to score some tickets this year, I didn't get to see anything last year.

 

[Rembrandt]

Were the Dardenne brothers not available?
Some expected names but a really solid line-up. Glad to see Hazanavicius and Bong Joon-ho are in there. And Miike too, out of competition.
Fuck Doillon and Baumbach though.
Hopefully I'll be able to score some tickets this year, I didn't get to see anything last year.

Mistress America and Frances Ha were pretty good, though.

 

[gforguava]

How to Talk to Girls at Parties directed by John Cameron Mitchell. So much yes.

edit: And Top of the Lake: China Girl by Jane Campion & Ariel Kleiman, how did I not know this was a thing that was happening?

 

[Sgt. Kabukiman]

Mistress America and Frances Ha were pretty good, though.

Mistress America was just okay. Haven't seen Frances Ha.
But I can't forgive a crime like Greenberg.

 

[Rembrandt]

Mistress America was just okay. Haven't seen Frances Ha.
But I can't forgive a crime like Greenberg.

Didn't see it unfortunately. I may just be a bigger fan of Gerwig. Frances Ha is better than Mistress America imo.

 

[Saya]

Happy End | Michael Haneke
Okja | Bong Joon-ho

Can't wait to watch these.

 

[Ridley327]

A Haneke film called Happy End? Has he finally become self-aware?

 

[RustyNails]

How come Ismael's Ghosts is in competition and out of competition?

 

[berzeli]

How come Ismael's Ghosts is in competition and out of competition?

No it isn't...

(I copy/pasted parts of the list and someone, probably Deadline, had it wrong and I missed to correct it)

 

[ElectronicOldMen]

Oooh, very interesting lineup! Super curious about The Beguiled, Happy End, Loveless, Killing of a Sacred Deer, Wonderstruck, You Were Never Really Here and especially Twin Peaks.

Also the new Safdie brothers, Baumbach, Okja, the two Hong San-soo films, that posthumous Kiarostami project, and (at least to see how the Cannes people react to it) the Hazanavicius Godard biopic stand out.

 

[Infernostew]

Happy End | Michael Haneke
The Killing of the Sacred Deer | Yorgos Lanthimos
Okja | Bong Joon-ho
Wonderstruck | Todd Haynes

Looking forward to these the most!

 

[Androidsleeps]

This is a great line-up.

 

[near]

This years Cannes looks really really promising.

 

[J2d]

Oooh new haneke!

 

[SomedayTheFire]

new baumbach and coppola is cool. looking forward to them. there's a bunch on that list that looks cool.

netflix just picked up the baumbach film actually

 

[Discotheque]

Lynne Ramsay and Joaquin Phoenix working together has me really excited

Colin Farrell starring in both the lanthimos and Coppola movie is cool

Other than those also looking forward to the new haneke, okja and how to talk to girls at parties

Top of the Lake new season too, whew.

 

[berzeli]

The Directors' Fortnight:

A Ciambra | Jonas Carpignano
Alive In France | Abel Ferrara
L'Amant d'un Jour | Philippe Garrel
Bushwick | Cary Murnion & Jonathan Milott
Cuori Puri | Roberto De Paolis
The Florida Project | Sean Baker
Frost | Sharunas Bartas
I am not a Witch | Rungano Nyoni
Jeannette, L’Enfance de Jeanne d’Arc | Bruno Dumont
L’Intrusa | Leonardo Di Costanzo
La Defensa del Dragón | Natalia Santa
Marlina Si Pembunuh Dalam Empat Babak | Mouly Surya
Mobile Homes | Vladimir de Fontenay
Nothingwood | Sonia Kronlund
Ôtez-Moi d’un Doute | Carine Tardieu
Patti Cake$ | Geremy Jasper
The Rider | Chloé Zhao
Un Beau Soleil Intérieur | Claire Denis
West of the Jordan River (Field Diary Revisited) | Amos Gitai


Claire Denis! (Cannes is really spoiling me with my favourite female directors for once)

 

[berzeli]

And we finish with the critics' week selection, continuing their streak of having a terribad poster:

In Competition:
Ava | Léa Mysius
La Familia | Gustavo Rondón Córdova
Gabriel e a Monthana (Gabriel and the Mountain) Fellipe Gamarano Barbosa
Makala | Emmanuel Gras
Oh Lucy! Atsuko Hirayanagi
Los Perros | Marcela Said
Tehran Taboo | Ali Soozandeh

Special Screenings:
Sicilian Ghost Story | Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza | Opening Film
Brigsby Bear | Dave McCary | Closing Film
Petit Paysan (Bloody Milk) | Hubert Charuel
Une Vie Violente (A Violent Life) | Thierry de Perretti

 

[OSHAN]

I've been under a rock. I had no idea about Takashi Miike's Blade of the Immortal.

 

[sugarhigh4242]

OMG new Lanthimos!

 

[berzeli]

Rounding out the selection with the worst kept secret (that Östlund would premiere his new film there)

In Competition
The Square | Ruben Östlund

Un Certain Regard
La Cordillera | Santiago Mitre
Walking Past the Future | Li Ruijun

Out of Competition
D'Après une Historie Vraie (Based on a True Story) | Roman Polanski

Special Screenings
Le Vénérable W. | Barbet Schroeder
Carré 35 | Éric Caravaca

 

[berzeli]

Finally got my shit together and updated the OP. (now we just wait for the title change)

If you want to follow the festivities the official youtube is currently live streaming (available in English). And trailers for a number of the films are available on the official website.

Thrilled that this is starting!

 

[Cripplegate]

And what a start. Almodóvar going all in on that Netflix shade. I had no idea Cannes made that new rule, too, which seems doubly to screw Bong and Baumbach here (the rule doesn't take effect until next year, but it sends a clear signal).

As for the movies themselves, I'm probably most excited about The Square at this point. Loved Force Majeure, can't wait to see what else he's got.

 

[berzeli]

Not quite halfway through (and remember that the jury grid basically never gets the winner right):

I kind of feel bad for Michel Hazanavicius, he's never going to live down The Artist. 120 BPM has had some buzz about being an early front-runner for the Palme d'Or, but I hold out hope for Lynne Ramsay she deserves a win.

 

[Puck Beaverton]

The Godard biopic sounds hilarious.
The Lynne Ramsay film got me hyped as fuck. GREENWOOD BABEY!
Wonderstruck unsurprisingly sounds great
TWO Hong Sang Soo films is a joyous thing.

 

[Sgt. Kabukiman]

I kind of feel bad for Michel Hazanavicius, he's never going to live down The Artist. 120 BPM has had some buzz about being an early front-runner for the Palme d'Or, but I hold out hope for Lynne Ramsay she deserves a win.

Hazanavicius is not the kind of filmmaker who was ever going to thrive at Cannes imo. He's got a long career ahead of him, he'll be fine.
I'll be heading down to the Festival tomorrow, maybe I'll spot a live Jean-Claude Van Damme in the streets as I did many times before, lol.

 

[Ridley327]

I kind of feel bad for Michel Hazanavicius, he's never going to live down The Artist. 120 BPM has had some buzz about being an early front-runner for the Palme d'Or, but I hold out hope for Lynne Ramsay she deserves a win.

His last film that also premiered at Cannes has yet to see a release in the US. Backlash was swift and merciless, to say the least.

 

[berzeli]

And here I was fearing that we wouldn't get that typical Cannes punching bag, but Rodin comes to the rescue.

And they really are quite unfair to me, screening Ramsay last so that I have to fret about it til the very end.

Hazanavicius is not the kind of filmmaker who was ever going to thrive at Cannes imo. He's got a long career ahead of him, he'll be fine.
I'll be heading down to the Festival tomorrow, maybe I'll spot a live Jean-Claude Van Damme in the streets as I did many times before, lol.

Any impressions from the festival? Or a JCVD spotting?

 

[Sgt. Kabukiman]

Any impressions from the festival? Or a JCVD spotting?

I didn't get tickets to anything this year and I haven't seen JCVD yet nor have I randomly bumped into any celebrities. =(
I've been pretty lucky in the past, from Clint Eastwood to Tim Burton and Kate Beckinsale, but not this time.

For once, the weather is relatively nice but the Festival feels strangely low-key compared to other years. I mean, the streets are full of people but it isn't THAT crowded. And there aren't that many giant posters on the side of buildings for movies that will never come out. That's always my favorite attraction.

Okja probably has the biggest presence from what I've seen, both in terms of marketing and discussion. And I'm talking about actual inhabitants of Cannes, it's kinda weird since they usually don't care one bit about the films, lol.

 

[berzeli]

Six years. I've waited six years for this.

Variety: 'You Were Never Really Here' Review: Lynne Ramsay's Stunning Return
The Guardian: Lynne Ramsay’s portrait of a damaged private contractor is both daring and sickening
Screendaily: You Were Never Really Here has been worth the wait.
The Playlist: "Can Lynne Ramsay please direct all the movies from now on, forever? [A]"

I know it is trite as fuck but; Yas Queen!

 

[Puck Beaverton]

Ramsay
Phoneix
Greenwood
Good reviews

Oh God reading these reviews has me positively erect right now.

 

[berzeli]

Near final jury grid (What happened to Michel Ciment?):

Zvyagintsev leading the pack with Ramsay just behind. Exciting times!

 

[Sean C]

The fact that only one woman has ever won the Palme d'Or was brought up again this year, so I wouldn't be surprised if it's Ramsay's turn now (or, at a minimum, her winning the Director prize).

 

[JoJoShabadoo]

Happy to see that Polanski is releasing a new movie this year, and it's a thriller.

Though my country probably won't even play it in theaters.

 

[Messofanego]

Glad to see Lynne Ramsay back with a vengeance. Ratcatcher and Morvern Callar are great, along with WNTTAK.

Every Frame a Painting - Lynne Ramsay

 

[berzeli]

Un Certain Regard winners:
Un Certain Regard
Lerd (A Man of Integrity) | Mohammad Rasoulof
Best Acting
Jasmine Trinca for Fortunata (Lucky)
Best Director
Taylor Sheridan for Wind River
Jury Prize
April's Daughter | Michel Franco
Best Poetic Narrative
Babara | Mathieu Amalric


FIPRESCI (International Federation of Film Critics), The Critics Awards
In Competition
120 Battements par Minute (BPM (Beats per Minute)) | Robin Campillo
Un Certain Regard
Tesnota (Closeness) | Kantemir Balagov
Prize to a first or second film in the parallel sections, Directors' Fortnight or La Semaine de la Critique
The Nothing Factory (A fábrica de nada) | Pedro Pinho


Palm Dog
Special Jury prize

Main prize

Musings:
The Florida Project seems to be the standout from the side bars. Or at least the one with the most fervent supporters. That and The Rider, but that one has less fervent ones. Quinzaine did good this year.
Did they change the English name of 120 Battements par Minute to BPM (Beats per Minute)? Seriously? I don't like it.
Lynne Ramsay: "I'd Love to do a superhero movie, I loved comic books when I was a kid but they don't ask me to do it" <- pls let this happen.

 

[Discotheque]

Oh man. So hyped for that Ramsay movie. Glad to hear the impressions are strong

Wasn't aware of Greenwood composing it too. Between all the taxi driver comparisons and the crew behind this it's looking real good.

 

[berzeli]

Winners:

Caméra d'Or (best first feature
Jeune Femme (Montparnasse-Bienvenüe) | Léonor Serraille
Best short film
A Gentle Night | Qiu Yang
Best screenplay
The Killing of a Sacred Deer | Yorgos Lanthimos; You Were Never Really Here | Lynne Ramsay
Jury prize
Loveless | Andrei Zvyagintsev
Best actress
Diane Kruger for In the Fade
Best actor
Joaquin Phoenix for You Were Never Really Here
Best director
Sofia Coppola, The Beguiled
Grand Prix
120 Battements par Minute (BPM (Beats per Minute)) | Robin Campillo
70th Anniversary prize
Nicole Kidman
Palme d'Or
The Square | Ruben Östlund


I would be upset over Ramsay, but You Were Never Really Here got two awards and Östlund is terrific (and a nice person).

 

[Sgt. Kabukiman]

Kruger and Phoenix, sure. Nice come-back for Coppola.
I'm disappointed for Ramsay but I'm not familiar with Ostlund's work.

 

[Puck Beaverton]

Coppola and Phoenix winning are cool.

 

[Ridley327]

I know that Cannes isn't always the best predictor of these sorts of things, but I can't imagine that either The Beguiled or You Were Never Really Here won't be major awards contenders this year in the US. It sure as hell would be nice to see more recognition for female directors for a change, that's for damn certain.

 

[hiredhand]

I'm really happy for Östlund. Turist was one of the best films of 2014.

I know that Cannes isn't always the best predictor of these sorts of things, but I can't imagine that either The Beguiled or You Were Never Really Here won't be major awards contenders this year in the US. It sure as hell would be nice to see more recognition for female directors for a change, that's for damn certain.

I think the general consensus was that there were no surefire Oscar contenders in the competition this year.

The Beguiled is being hurt by its early release date (also it was not that well-received). The most highly acclaimed English-language films (The Square, You Were Never Really Here, The Florida Project, The Killing of a Sacred Deer) are all probably too artsy for Oscars. I can still see some actors getting a significant Oscar boost from Cannes (Phoenix, Pattison, Kidman, Sandler?).