Screen staff preview all of the titles in the Cannes Film Festival’s Special, Midnight Screenings and Premiere titles, which this year includes films from Oliver Stone, Sergei Loznitsa and Ron Howard. The festival runs May 14-25.
Special Screenings
Apprendre (Fr)
Dir. Claire Simon
Simon has won plaudits for 2016 documentary The Competition, about Paris film school La Fémis, and the 2021 literary-themed drama I Want To Talk About Duras. Following 2023’s Berlin-premiere documentary Our Body, about women’s healthcare, Simon focuses on children and education — previously the theme of her 1998 doc Récréations — with a film whose French title Apprendre can mean either ‘teaching’ or ‘learning’. Les Films Hatari produces.
Contact Films Boutique
The Belle From Gaza (Fr)
Dir. Yolande Zauberman
The César award-winning director behind 2018 documentary M completes her trilogy (which began with 2011’s Would You Have Sex With An Arab?) with an exploration of Palestinian trans people battling against conflict and oppression while trying to flee to Tel Aviv. The Belle From Gaza is produced by France’s Unité and Phobics with Arte France Cinéma co-producing. Zauberman has played in Cannes previously, her 1993 drama Ivan & Abraham winning the Cannes youth award.
Contact Agathe Mauruc, Pyramide International
Ernest Cole: Lost And Found (Fr-US)
Dir. Raoul Peck
The documentarian and former Haitian culture minster, whose body of work includes the Oscar-nominated I Am Not Your Negro, makes his Cannes debut with an account of the life of Ernest Cole, one of the first Black photographers from South Africa to chronicle apartheid, before he fled to the US in 1966. Peck had access to the Cole estate archives and unseen images. LaKeith Stanfield voices the late Cole, and Velvet Film’s Peck and Tamara Rosenberg produce. Magnolia Pictures distributes theatrically in North America.
Contact Alya Belgaroui, mk2 Films
Filmlovers! (Fr)
Dir. Arnaud Desplechin
Desplechin’s long-anticipated docufiction poses the questions, “What does it mean to go to the movies?” and “Why have people been going for more than 100 years?” Filmlovers! (Spectateurs! in French markets) stars Mathieu Amalric, Francoise Lebrun and Anatomy Of A Fall breakout Milo Machado-Graner and is described as a filmgoer’s coming-of-age story that blends memories, fiction, discoveries and photos. Charles Gillibert’s CG Cinéma produces with Scala Films and Arte France Cinéma. Desplechin returns to Cannes after premiering more than a dozen films at the festival including Brother And Sister, Ismael’s Ghosts and A Christmas Tale.
Contact Alice Lesort, Les Films du Losange
The Invasion (Neth-Fr)
Dir. Sergei Loznitsa
Ukrainian filmmaker Loznitsa is a Cannes regular with three features selected in Competition — My Joy(2010), In The Fog (2012) and A Gentle Creature (2017). His satire Donbass played Un Certain Regard in 2018, winning the directing prize. Loznitsa is also a documentarist with an unflinching observational style, as seen in Cannes premieres Maidan (2014), Babi Yar. Context (2021) and The Natural History Of Destruction(2022). Filmed over two years, The Invasion sees Loznitsa resume his Ukrainian chronicles by documenting the country’s struggle against the Russian invasion.
Contact Atoms & Void
Lula (US)
Dir. Oliver Stone
Triple Oscar winner Stone has made documentaries for film and television about controversial political figures including Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez, while in 2022 he presented Nuclear Now at Venice. Last in Cannes with 2021’s JFK Revisited: Through The Looking Glass, Stone returns with this doc about Brazil’s Luiz Inacio ‘Lula’ da Silva, talking to him and his closest advisors about his rise, fall and re-election to the presidency after imprisonment. Nuclear Now producer trio Fernando Sulichin, Max Arvelaiz and Robert S Wilson reteam on the film.
Contact Bart Walker, Gersh
Nasty (Rom)
Dirs. Tudor Giurgiu, Tudor D Popescu, Cristian Pascariu
Prolific Romanian producer Giurgiu has directed several features including Berlinale 2015 selection Why Me?and Sarajevo 2023 premiere Freedom. This documentary feature — which Giurgiu directs with Pascariu (who co-writes) and Popescu (who edits) — explores the life and career of Romanian tennis champion Ilie Nastase, who disrupted the old-fashioned etiquette of the sport in the 1970s and topped the men’s singles ranking in 1973 and 1974. Bucharest’s Libra Film produces.
Contact Flavien Eripret, Goodfellas
An Ordinary Case (Fr)
Dir. Daniel Auteuil
Auteuil has been in Cannes Competition films including Jaco Van Dormael’s The Eighth Day, for which he was awarded best actor with co-star Pascal Duquenne in 1996. Moving behind the camera with 2011’s The Well-Digger’s Daughter, he now directs himself as a lawyer defending a man accused of murder. Grégory Gadebois co-stars with Sidse Babett Knudsen. An Ordinary Case is a Zazi Films production, with Zinc Films releasing in France.
Contact Sebastien Cauchon, Studiocanal
An Unfinished Film (Sing-Ger)
Dir. Lou Ye
Filmmaker Lou has a complex relationship with Cannes, sparking controversy in his native China after 2006 drama Summer Palace screened in Competition despite not being cleared by Chinese censors. His latest is set in January 2020 and follows a film crew attempting to shoot a feature in Wuhan, the Chinese city that was the first to go into lockdown during the Covid-19 outbreak. Producers are Yingli Ma for Singapore’s Yingfilms and Philippe Bober for Germany’s Essential Filmproduktion (part of Coproduction Office). Lou was also in Competition with Purple Butterfly (2003) and Spring Fever (2009), while Mystery (2012) played Un Certain Regard.
Contact Coproduction Office
Midnight Screenings
The Balconettes (Fr)
Dir. Noémie Merlant
Written with Céline Sciamma, Merlant’s follow-up to her Cannes 2021 directing debut Mi Lubita Mon Amour is a gory, playful foray into genre. Three roommates meddle in the lives of their neighbours from their balcony in Marseille, until a late-night drink turns into a bloody affair. Co-starring Merlant with Dune: Part Two’s Souheila Yacoub and Sandra Codreanu, The Balconettes is produced by Pierre Guyard of Nord-Ouest Films (Thomas Cailley’s 2023 Cannes premiere The Animal Kingdom).
Contact Alya Belgaroui, mk2 Films
I, The Executioner (S Kor)
Dir. Seung Wan Ryoo
This crime-action film is the sequel to Ryoo’s 2015 blockbuster hit Veteran, which screened at Toronto, won best film at Sitges and is set for a US remake directed by Michael Mann. Hwang Jung-min, who starred in recent Korean box-office hit 12.12: The Day, reprises his role as detective Do-cheol in the feature centred on a violent crime investigation squad. He is joined by Jung Hae-in as a new member of the team. Director Ryoo was previously at Cannes in Directors’ Fortnight with Crying Fist, winning the Fipresci prize in 2005, and more recently directed box-office hit Smugglers.
Contact CJ ENM
The Surfer (Australia-Ire)
Dir. Lorcan Finnegan
Ireland’s Finnegan returns to the Croisette after Vivarium premiered in Critics’ Week in 2019. Nicolas Cage plays a man on a surfing trip with his son, who is drawn into a conflict when he is humiliated by locals. The thriller originated at the UK’s Tea Shop Productions, which partnered with Gramercy Park Media in the US, Arenamedia Productions in Australia and Finnegan and Brunella Cocchiglia’s Lovely Productions in Ireland. The Western Australia shoot took place with the support of Screenwest, and post was in Ireland. Peach Tree Media Partners provided additional financing.
Contact Michael Rothstein, north.five.six (international); WME Independent (North America)
Twilight Of The Warriors: Walled In (HK-China)
Dir. Soi Cheang
Making his Cannes debut, Mad Fate director Cheang’s 1980-set action thriller features Louis Koo, Sammo Hung, Richie Jen and Raymond Lam. The story follows a Chinese-Vietnamese refugee who accidentally enters the infamous Kowloon Walled City where he battles friends and foes. It is backed by Media Asia Film Production, Entertaining Power and Sil-Metropole Organisation, with John Chong and Wilson Yip as producers. It opened in Hong Kong and mainland China on May 1. Director Cheang’s previous films have played in Berlin, Locarno and Venice.
Contact Vanessa Lo, Media Asia
Cannes Premiere
Everybody Loves Touda (Fr-Mor-Belg-Den-Neth-Nor)
Dir. Nabil Ayouch
Ayouch follows his 2021 feature Casablanca Beats with a female-driven story about a poet and singer raising her deaf-mute son in a small village, who dreams of being a sheikha (a traditional Moroccan performer) in the bright lights of Casablanca. Ayouch co-wrote the script with his wife and actress-filmmaker Maryam Touzani, whose The Blue Caftan, produced by Ayouch, made the international feature Oscars shortlist for Morocco in 2023.
Contact Alya Belgaroui, mk2 Films
It’s Not Me (Fr)
Dir. Leos Carax
Carax enjoyed a major career relaunch at Cannes in 2012 with Competition title Holy Motors, then opened the 2021 festival with his musical Annette, which took the best director prize. His new film is a free-form self-portrait, musing on his life and career, and features the director alongside his daughter Nastya Golubeva Carax and regular star Denis Lavant, once again playing Holy Motors’ anarchic goblin Monsieur Merde. Charles Gillibert produces for CG Cinéma, with Les Films du Losange handling sales and French distribution.
Contact Alice Lesort, Les Films du Losange
Jim’s Story (Fr)
Dirs. Jean-Marie Larrieu, Arnaud Larrieu
The fraternal French filmmaking duo, known for their eccentric comedies, are back in Cannes for the third time after 2005’s To Paint Or Make Love and 2021’s Tralala — which premiered in Competition and Out of Competition respectively. Jim’s Story is an adaptation of Pierric Bailly’s melodramatic novel about a family living in the Jura mountains who are torn apart following the return of the son’s biological father. Produced by SBS Productions, the film stars familiar festival faces Karim Leklou and Laetitia Dosch.
Contact Agathe Mauruc, Pyramide International
The Marching Band (Fr)
Dir. Emmanuel Courcol
The actor-turned-director returns to Cannes after The Big Hit was selected for the 2020 Cannes Label. Likewise a comedy drama, The Marching Band (En Fanfare in French markets) follows long-lost brothers who bond over brass music. Pierre Lottin and Jeanne Du Barry’s Benjamin Lavernhe star. Marc Bordure produces on behalf of Agat Films — Ex Nihilo, alongside France 2 Cinéma and Pictanovo. Cinéaxe, Entourage, Indéfilms, La Banque Postale Image, SG Image and Sofitvcine backed the project.
Contact Playtime
Maria (Fr)
Dir. Jessica Palud
France’s Palud served as an assistant director on films including Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette, and directed her Venice-premiering debut feature Revenir in 2019. She now hits the Croisette with a drama reframing the career of Last Tango In Paris actress Maria Schneider in light of #MeToo. Happening breakout Anamaria Vartolomei stars as Schneider, with Matt Dillon as Marlon Brando, and the script is by political journalist and writer Vanessa Schneider, who is a cousin of Maria. Fin Août produces in co-production with Orange Studio; Haut et Court distributes in France.
Contact Sebastien Cauchon, Studiocanal
Meeting With Pol Pot (Fr-Camb)
Dir. Rithy Panh
Inspired by journalist Elizabeth Becker’s book When The War Was Over, Cambodian-French director Panh’s latest narrative film recounts the ordeal of three French journalists invited to interview Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot in 1978. The cast includes Grégoire Colin, Irene Jacob and Cyril Gueï, while production companies are CDP and Anupheap Production. The release in France is scheduled for June through Dulac Distribution. Cannes regular Panh received the Un Certain Regard prize for documentary The Missing Picture in 2013, which became the first Cambodian film to receive an Oscar nomination.
Contact Playtime
Misericordia (Fr-Sp-Port)
Dir. Alain Guiraudie
This film from prolific festival-feeding producer Charles Gillibert of CG Cinéma is a drama set in an oppressive French village where a man’s return for the funeral of his former boss sees events take an unexpected turn. Guiraudie is back in Cannes after premiering 2016’s Staying Vertical in Competition and winning the Un Certain Regard directing prize with Stranger By The Lake in 2013. The cast includes Félix Kysyl, Catherine Frot and Jean-Baptiste Durand, director of last year’s sleeper hit Junkyard Dog.
Contact: Alice Lesort, Les Films du Losange
To Live, To Die, To Live Again (Fr)
Dir. Gaël Morel
French actor-turned-filmmaker Morel played Directors’ Fortnight in 2007 with Catherine Deneuve-starrer Après Lui, and is now chosen for official selection with his eighth theatrical feature, which is also known as Vivre, Mourir, Renaitre. Victor Belmondo (Lie With Me), Lou Lampros (2020 Cannes Label selection The Night Doctor) and Théo Christine (Gran Turismo) star as a trio whose potential love triangle is shattered by the emergence of the Aids crisis. Morel co-writes with Laurette Polmanss (Catherine Corsini’s An Impossible Love), while Michele Pétin and Laurent Pétin produce for ARP Sélection, in co-production with Arte France Cinema.
Contact: Flavien Eripret, Goodfellas
Cannes Classics Documentaries
Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes (US)
Dir. Nanette Burstein
Burstein was last in Cannes back in 2002, playing Out of Competition with Robert Evans portrait The Kid Stays In The Picture, jointly directed with Brett Morgen. Subsequent works include Sundance-launched doc American Teen and Hillary Clinton Hulu miniseries Hillary. From HBO Documentary Films, Burstein’s latest is made with access to 70 hours of newly discovered recordings — revealing, it is promised, a woman far removed from her public image. Burstein and Bad Robot’s JJ Abrams produce alongside Zipper Bros Films, Gerber Pictures and Sutter Road Picture Company.
Contact: HBO
Faye (US)
Dir. Laurent Bouzereau
French-American documentarian Bouzereau has made multiple films plus ‘making of’ shorts for home-entertainment releases, with credits including Netflix series Five Came Back, based on the Mark Harris book, and HBO Original Mama’s Boy, based on filmmaker Dustin Lance Black’s memoir. HBO Original doc Fayesees Faye Dunaway speak about her landmark roles, with contributions from Sharon Stone, Mickey Rourke and James Gray. Amblin Documentaries produces in association with Bouzereau’s Nedland Media; it will debut on HBO and stream on Max later this year.
Contact: HBO
François Truffaut: My Life, A Screenplay (Fr)
Dir. David Teboul
Teboul’s previous works include 2008 Locarno Film Festival premiere Council House and 2020 CPH:DOX premiere Mon Amour — which saw him go on a ritual journey to Siberia after the death of his boyfriend. His latest, co-written with Serge Toubiana (Hitchcock/Truffaut), explores the last period of Truffaut’s life when, gravely ill, he took refuge with ex-wife Madeleine Morgenstern, and confided in friend Claude de Givray with the intention of writing an autobiography — a project that was abandoned. Backers include France Télévisions and CNC.
Contact: Alya Belgaroui, mk2 Films
Jacques Demy — The Pink And The Black (Fr)
Dir. Florence Platarets
Cannes is this year celebrating the 60th anniversary of Jacques Demy’s The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg — showing in Cannes Classics. Also at the festvial is this documentary feature written by Cinematheque Francaise head Frédéric Bonnaud, and directed by Platarets, whose Godard By Godard played in Cannes Classics last year. Démy’s children Mathieu Demy and Rosalie Varda have granted access for the first time to the family archive, and the pair produce alongside Agat Films — Ex Nihilo, Ciné-Tamaris, Arte France and INA.
Contact: Alya Belgaroui, mk2 Films
Jacques Rozier: From One Wave To Another (Fr)
Dir. Emmanuel Barnault
French New Wave filmmaker Jacques Rozier played Cannes in 1962 with debut feature Adieu Philippine — a film embraced by Cahiers Du Cinema, and which influenced the auteurs that emerged from the magazine’s staff. Later works include 1971 Cannes selection Near Orouet. Barnault, whose TV documentaries cover topics including Paolo Sorrentino and Cannes Film Festival itself (Pieces Of Cannes), now presents this 60-minute film about Rozier, who died in 2023 at the age of 96 — produced by INA and mk2 Films, with the participation of Ciné+ and the CNC.
Contact: Alya Belgaroui, mk2 Films
Jim Henson Idea Man (US)
Dir. Ron Howard
Over the past decade, documentaries by Howard have spanned subjects including The Beatles, Luciano Pavarotti and the impact of forest fires on a California community (Rebuilding Paradise). Produced by Imagine Documentaries for Disney Branded Television, Howard’s latest chronicles the life and work of Jim Henson, from his early years as a puppeteer on local television to the worldwide success of Sesame Street and The Muppet Show. Made with access to Henson’s personal archives, the film will air globally on Disney+ on May 31 following the Cannes premiere.
Contact Disney+
Once Upon A Time Michel Legrand (Fr)
Dir. David Hertzog Dessites
Jazz musician and composer Michel Legrand is most celebrated for his Oscar-nominated scores for Jacques Demy’s The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg and The Young Girls Of Rochefort. France’s Dessites honed his craft with ‘making of’ films for titles including David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive. Once Upon A Time Michel Legrand is produced by MACT Productions and Le Sous-Marin Productions with the participation of OCS, and in association with Dulac Distribution, Mediawan Rights and Indéfilms 10.
Contact: Mediawan Rights
Walking In The Movies (S Kor)
Dir. Lyang Kim
Kim Dong-ho, a co-founder of Busan International Film Festival and one of the key figures in the rise of Korean cinema, stepped in front of the lens for this look at his long career. Kim, who spent 15 years as Busan festival director and helped it through periods of political turbulence, was followed by cameras for a year as he visited places of importance to him. It is co-produced by director Kim’s Busan-based Zone Film and Kookje Daily News with the participation of Busan’s Committee for Local Press.
Contact: M-Line Distribution
Profiles by: Ellie Calnan, Claudia Cox, Tim Dams, Charles Gant, Elaine Guerini, Jeremy Kay, Rebecca Leffler, Lee Marshall, Wendy Mitchell, Jonathan Romney, Michael Rosser, Mona Tabbara, Silvia Wong
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