Today, the president, Iris Knobloch, and the general delegate, Thierry Frémaux, held a press conference to announce the 2024 Cannes Film Festival Selections. As I stated before, three films were already announced before today. George Miller’s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Quentin Dupieux’s The Second Act and Kevin Costner’s Horizon, An American Saga. The entire selection is as follows. The films that I was interested in and cared to predict are marked by links to the prediction article.
Main Competition Selections
MOTEL DESTINO – Karim AÏNOUZ
EMILIA PEREZ – Jacques AUDIARD
ANORA – Sean BAKER
MEGALOPOLIS – Francis Ford COPPOLA
THE SHROUDS – David CRONENBERG
THE SUBSTANCE – Coralie FARGEAT
GRAND TOUR – Miguel GOMES
MARCELLO MIO – Christophe HONORÉ
CAUGHT BY THE TIDES) – JIA Zhang-Ke
ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT – Payal KAPADIA
KINDS OF KINDNESS – Yorgos LANTHIMOS
L’AMOUR OUF – Gilles LELLOUCHE
DIAMANT BRUT (WILD DIAMOND) – Agathe RIEDINGER (First film)
OH CANADA – Paul SCHRADER
LIMONOV – THE BALLAD OF EDDIE – Kirill SEREBRENNIKOV
PARTHENOPE – Paolo SORRENTINO
PIGEN MED NÅLEN (THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE) –Magnus VON HORN
Nine of my predictions came true here, and others were less welcome but expected (Sorrentino, Baker, Aïnouz). Von Horn making it to the competition is a surprise after his first film, Efterskalv, was presented in Quinzaine des Réalisateurs. Some names would have been cause for celebration a decade ago, like Miguel Gomes and Jia Zhang-Ke, but their current form is unclear. I haven’t seen Paul Schrader’s latest film yet, but The Card Counter was solid. Like last year, there is a first feature. One can only hope that Agathe Riedinger’s first outing is stronger than last year’s attempt. The most exciting work is obviously Serebrennikov’s Limonov film.
Two films with a Swedish connection (Abbasi and von Horn) in the competition were maybe more than expected. Ruben Östlund’s entertainment system is expected to be working until 2025, at least.
Un Certain Regard Selections
NORAH – Tawfik ALZAIDI
THE SHAMELESS – Konstantin BOJANOV
LE ROYAUME – Julien COLONNA (First film)
VINGT DIEUX ! – Louise COURVOISIER (First film)
LE PROCÈS DU CHIEN (WHO LET THE DOG BITE?) – Lætitia DOSCH (First film)
GOU ZHEN (BLACK DOG) – GUAN Hu
THE VILLAGE NEXT TO PARADISE – Mo HARAWE (First film)
SEPTEMBER SAYS – Ariane LABED (First film)
L’HISTOIRE DE SOULEYMANE – Boris LOJKINE
LES DAMNÉS (THE DAMNED) – Roberto MINERVINI
ON BECOMING A GUINEA FOWL – Rungano NYONI
BOKU NO OHISAMA (MY SUNSHINE) – Hiroshi OKUYAMA
SANTOSH – Sandhya SURI
VIET AND NAM – TRUONG Minh Quý
ARMAND – Halfdan ULLMANN TØNDEL (First film)
Several first features make Un Certain Regard a section where one can hope for positive surprises. My knowledge of the other directors is limited so far, but I intend to remedy that fact. Armand is directed by the grandson of Liv Ullman and Ingmar Bergman.
Out Of Competition
FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA – George MILLER
HORIZON, AN AMERICAN SAGA – Kevin COSTNER
SHE’S GOT NO NAME – CHAN Peter Ho-Sun
RUMOURS – Evan JOHNSON, Galen JOHNSON, Guy MADDIN
A new Guy Maddin film is always welcome and will be the work that I will surely catch in this section.
Cannes Première
MISÉRICORDE – Alain GUIRAUDIE
EVERYBODY LOVES TOUDA – Nabil AYOUCH
THE MATCHING BANG – Emmanuel COURCOL
RENDEZ-VOUS AVEC POL POT – Rithy PANH
LE ROMAN DE JIM – Arnaud LARRIEU, Jean-Marie LARRIEU
I was sure Carax’s new film C’est Pas Moi would turn up somewhere, and the choice fell upon the fourth edition of the Cannes Première strand. That is the movie not to be missed in the section where the other directors can be hit and miss.
Special Screenings
LA BELLE DE GAZA – Yolande ZAUBERMAN
APPRENDRE –Claire SIMON
THE INVASION – Sergei LOZNITSA
ERNEST COLE, LOST AND FOUND – Raoul PECK
LE FIL – Daniel AUTEUIL
Midnight Screenings
TWILIGHT OF THE WARRIOR WALLED IN – Soi CHEANG
I, THE EXECUTIONER – Seung Wan RYOO
THE SURFER – Lorcan FINNEGAN
LES FEMMES AU BALCON – Noémie MERLANT
Last year, there were significant logistical problems with the screening times. A veteran (he has attended the festival for thirty years) told me that it was because Frémaux added more films than the festival could handle. There are no fewer films this year, so it remains to be seen how things will work out. According to this source, the perfect number is 90 films. As usual, there will be several later additions to the official selection that might be announced next week. It is also important to remember that the selections for Semaine de la Critique and Quinzaine des Cinéastes will be presented on Monday and Tuesday, respectively. That is typically where the most fascinating works can be found.