The 72nd Cannes Film Festival boasts big-name directors from Quentin Tarantino to Pedro Almodovar — plus plenty of fresh faces. Running May 14-25, here's what to look out for during this year's French Riviera film gala.
Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" will have its premiereImage: picture-alliance/A. Cooper
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1. The opening film
An icon of American independent cinema, Jim Jarmusch, opens the festival on May 14. With his new film, The Dead Don't Die, the director presents a not-so-serious zombie movie. Bill Murray and Adam Driver play an offbeat cop team, dealing with lots of bloody undead. Tilda Swinton and Danny Glover, as well as music veterans Iggy Pop and Tom Waits, are also in the satirical horror flick. With so many big names, it's sure to be busy a busy premiere on the red carpet.
2. The competition
Twenty more films are competing for the top Golden Palm prize. And as always, the festival is packed with stars, including regulars from previous years and some newbies. Spain's master director Pedro Almodovar presents a new melodrama, as do two-time Belgian winners Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne. From Great Britain comes veteran Ken Loach, while the US is represented by Terrence Malick, and Canada by prodigy Xavier Dolan. The French films on offer, with the exception of Abdellatif Kechiche (Blue is the Warmest Color), are made by lesser-known names. The competition is topped off by films from China and South Korea, Brazil and Palestine.
3. Quentin Tarantino
Only a few days before the beginning of the festival, the organizers were proud to announce the long-awaited film by star director Quentin Tarantino. His new flick, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, was finished right in the nick of time — fortunately for the Cannes audience. Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt (pictured above in a still from the film) and Margot Robbie are the protagonists in this drama set in the late 1960s as the hippie movement grips Hollywood.
Controversies in Cannes at the 71st Film Festival
A competition with few big names but lots of politically explosive material. An argument with Netflix. German cinema's disappointing presence. An overview of the issues facing Cannes as the film festival opens.
Image: Memento Films
An Iranian opener
Persian director Asghar Farhadi has been given the honor of opening the festival this year. The two-time Oscar winner has two big stars in his Spanish-Italian-French co-production "Everybody Knows." Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem play the lead roles in the thriller, which is up for the Golden Palm along with 20 other nominees.
Image: Memento Films
Hollywood engagement
US director Spike Lee and his latest movie "BlacKkKlansman" is a contender for the Golden Palm. Lee, who has often dealt with the subject of racism in his previous work, looks at the case of a police officer who smuggled himself into the Ku Klux Klan in this movie. Spike Lee is one of just two US directors (the other is David Robert Mitchell) in contention this year.
Image: D. Lee/F. Features
A strong showing from France
French cinema naturally sees the Cannes Film Festival as a game on home turf. A total of five French films are competing this year: from the arthouse film "The Image Book" by 87-year-old master Jean-Luc Godard to the love story "Sorry Angel" (above) by director Christophe Honoré, the cinematic motherland presents itself more strongly than any other nation in the competition.
Image: C. Honoré
Competing politics
There's often something new afoot in Cannes but this year the novelty is political: two films in the competition are by directors who are under house arrest in their homeland. Iranian Jafer Panahi sent his film "Three Faces," while the Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov forwarded his latest contribution, "Leto" (above). It's unlikely the directors can present their work in Cannes personally.
Image: K. Serebrennikow
Artsy films from the world over
Arthouse films by big name directors: these have been of particular interest in Cannes over the past few years. They've taken a back seat this year as the world awaits new works by famous directors. Pictured here: Turkish star director Nuri Bilge Ceylan's "The Wild Pear Tree" traces the fate of a young writer who returns to their rural home.
Image: nbcfilm
A woman for (jury) president
The film which will take home the Palme d'Or on May 19 is decided by, among others, Australian actress Cate Blanchett, who is the 2018 president of the jury. She sits on the jury along with several other women, including actresses Léa Seydoux and Kristen Stewart (from France and the US respectively) along with directors Andrey Petrovich Zvyagintsev (Russia) and Denis Villeneuve (Canada).
Image: Getty Images/I. Gavan
Lars von Trier's return
It was a bit unexpected that the Danish director Lars von Trier would appear again at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2011, he caused a scandal after he had allegedly expressed sympathy for Adolf Hitler at a press conference. The festival then excluded him. But this year Trier can show his new movie, "The House That Jack Built," albeit outside the competition.
Image: Zentropa-Christian Geisnaes
The German and the Pope
Once again, we are looking for German directors at the competition in Cannes in vain. There are a few films being shown on the side and "out of competition," including Wim Wenders' new documentary "Pope Francis – a man of his word" who is presenting his film at the Croisette. The film was created in close collaboration with the head of the Catholic Church.
Image: W. Wenders
Ulrich Köhler makes it to the "Un certain regard" series
Yet German director Ulrich Köhler was able to make the leap into the renowned side events, "Un Certain Regard" with his film, "In My Room." In the film, Köhler, who is the life partner of the award-winning director Maren Ade, looks at the midlife crisis of a man who wakes up one morning only to realize that all of humanity has disappeared.
Image: U. Köhler
Von Trotta's personal look at Ingmar Bergman
A third German is represented in Cannes: Margarethe von Trotta is showing her documentary "Ingmar Bergman," which she staged together with Felix Möller. Von Trotta had a personal relationship with Bergman. The festival honored the Swede, who was born 100 years ago, in 1997 with the "Palm of the Palm," a special prize for the "best director of all time."
Image: Epicentre Films
Han Solo's world premiere
As American films are not well represented at the festival this year, fewer Hollywood stars are expected. But fans of blockbuster cinema will still go home happy. The latest Star Wars opus "A Star Wars Story" premieres in Cannes. The film shares the experiences of Han Solo in a plot-heavy flick located in the Star Wars chronology spectrum as being before the very first movie from 1977.
Image: 2018 Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved.
The question of Netflix
One of the controversies to hit the Cannes film festival ahead of its opening was an argument with streaming platform Netflix. Questions about their presence at the festival and what they can show arose as Cannes requires a theatrical release for the works while Netflix premieres their own works online, for subscribers. The argument could not be resolved and Netflix films won't be screened.
Image: imago/Panoramic/L. Urman
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4. Where are the Germans?
It hasn't been easy for Germany in recent years. German directors are rarely invited by Cote d'Azur festival organizers, as is the case for 2019. Yet, Germany's money is represented, with four co-productions receiving German funding. There is also some German-language presence, with the Austrian Jessica Hausner invited to the competition for her film Little Joe. In a side event, Werner Herzog's new film Family Romance, LLC, which he filmed in Japan with amateur actors, will also be presented.
5. The jury
Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu will head a prominent jury this year, and will announce the winner of the Golden Palm on May 25. This year's judges include actresses Elle Fanning (US) and Maimouna N'Diaye (Burkina Faso), as well as a host of directing celebrities: Alice Rohrwacher (Italy), Enki Bilal and Robin Campillo from France, Kelly Reichardt (USA) and Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos.
A new film about musician Elton John will premiere out of competitionImage: picture-alliance/dpa
6. Special side events
Cannes, too, has special series where all new developments in the world of film are put on display — even those which aren't competing for the main awards. World premieres, for example, include the Elton John Biography, Rocket Man. Also, a new film by Claude Lelouch (81) Les plus belles annees d'une vie, with legendary actors Anouk Aimee and Jean-Louis Trintignant, will be screening. Last but not least, films by prominent directors such as Bruno Dumont and Christophe Honore are in the secondary section called "Un Certain Regard."
7. Honorary Golden Palm
Each year, the honorary award of the festival goes to a worthy actor or actress with years of success behind them. This year, it goes to iconic French actor and screen idol Alain Delon. Born in 1935, the actor has worked in cinema since the late 1950s, having appeared in over 80 films. Considered one of the greatest actors of European cinema, his biggest successes include films like Purple Noon, Le Samourai and The Leopard.
8. The Netflix dispute
In recent years the festival has become a pioneer in the fight against the participation of Netflix films. In contrast to the festivals in Berlin and Venice, Cannes does not show any productions in the competition which do not run in theaters. Cannes sees this as a statement of solidarity with cinemas, which means new films by star directors like Martin Scorsese or Steven Soderbergh have not been invited to participate.
A film by Austrian filmmaker Jessica Hausner will compete for the Golden Palm.Image: picture-alliance/dpa/H. Boesl
9. The women
This year, the festival has only four films by female directors. "In the Men's Club of Cannes, this could be described as progress," mocked the German newspaper, Süddeutsche Zeitung. Indeed, there have been even fewer female directors in recent Cannes competitions. Apart from Austrian Jessica Hausner, three French directors, Mati Diop, Celine Sciamma and Justine Triet, are represented in the race for the Golden Palm.
Closing the festival is a film by successful directing duo Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano, Hors Normes (The Specials), and it's likely to be met with great interest. Telling the story of an autistic youth, the comedy features acting greats such as Vincent Cassel and Reda Kateb, and plenty of fresh talent. The directors' biggest hit was Untouchable in 2011, while their lively wedding film C'est la Vie! was released two years ago.
