Today, thirteen titles were added to this year’s Cannes selection, three of which will be in the Competition. Michel Hazanavicius, last seen on the Croisette with Coupez! in 2022, will compete with La plus precieuse des merchandise. It is an animated feature based on the eponymous novel by Jean-Claude Grumberg, featuring themes from the Holocaust. The second addition is The Seed of the Sacred Fig by Mohammad Rasoulof. The last one (hopefully) is Emanuel Parvu’s Trei kilometre pana la capital lumii. It tells the story of Adi, a 17-year-old teenager from a village in the Danube Delta, who, through his parents’ efforts, studies in Tulcea. The parents will be confronted with an uncomfortable truth, which causes tension between them.
This brings the total number of competition films to 22, which will probably lead to logistical problems similar to last year.
Four Special Screenings were added as well. Those are Spectateurs by Cannes veteran Arnaud Desplechin, Nasty by Tudor Giurgiu, An Unfinished Film by Lou Ye, and Lula by Oliver Stone. Desplechin were among my predictions and is obviously the most interesting of the four. The fact that it goes back to the Paul Dedalus character might be promising. Lou Ye’s work appears to be a documentary that is said to depict a film crew resuming the shooting of a film during the pandemic. Nasty is a documentary which explores the life and career of legendary tennis player Ilie Năstase. It features interviews with Björn Borg, Jimmy Connors, and Boris Becker, to name a few.
In the Out of Competition strand, Alexandre de La Patellière and Matthieu Delaporte were given a spot for their adaptation of The Count of Monte-Cristo. It was about time that someone decided to adapt Alexandre Dumas’ story.
Other additions to the Cannes Selection
Cannes Premiere was added in 2021, ostensibly because there were so many films after the pandemic, but it stayed for some reason, possibly so Frémaux could stop more films from going to other fests. Two films were added today. The first is Jessica Palud’s film about actress Maria Schneider, simply called Maria, with Anamaria Vartolomei in the titular role. The other is Vivre, mourir renaitre by Gaël Morel.
Finally, three films became late inclusions in Un Certain Regard. When the Light Breaks by Rúnar Rúnarsson, Flow by Gints Zilbalodis, and the first feature, Niki, by Céline Sallette. Flow is an animated film produced by Matīss Kaža, who made the wonderful The Taste of Water in 2022. Niki is set in France in 1952, where the titular character finds herself immersed by reminiscences of her childhood
Some of the thirteen films announced sound more interesting than others. I am still waiting for Agora by Ala Eddine Slim and several other films would have to be added to make this year’s edition of Cannes feel interesting. It remains to be seen if Quinzaine des Cinéastes can still offer some surprises.