Paris France.- The 76th edition of the Cannes International Film Festival will be the most feminine in recent years, as six directors will seek to win the Palme d’Or, the highest prize.
They are the Austrian Jessica Hausner, with Club Zero; Tunisian Kaouther Ben Hania, with Four Daughters; the French Justine Triet, with Anatomie d’Une Chute; the Italian Alice Rohrwacher, with La Chimera; the French Catherine Breillat, with L’Eté Dernier, and the Senegalese Ramata-Toulaye Sy, with Banel & Adama.
The latter is a unique case, as it is a debut, so the feature film may also compete for the Golden Camera.
In total, 19 films will be in contention for the highest award, a selection that “will mix young filmmakers with veterans, to remember that in terms of art, there is no expiration date,” declared yesterday, at a press conference, the general delegate of the contest, Thierry Frémaux.
The American Wes Anderson (Asteroid City), the British Ken Loach (The Old Oak) and the German Wim Wenders (Perfect Days), all of them regulars at Cannes, stand out on the list, to which the American could be added at the last minute. Martin Scorsese, who at the age of 80 presents The Assassins of the Flower Moon, with Leonardo DiCaprio.
This film, which narrates a series of murders of indigenous people in the 1920s, was announced two weeks ago, but it could still be part of the selection, explained Frémaux.
On the Latin American side, there is only one Brazilian author competing for the highest award, Karim Ainouz, with Firebrand.
In the absence of waiting for later additions, there will be no Mexican productions in this edition of Cannes.
But beyond the competition, the festival is announced to be full of stars for a long list of world premieres.
Five weeks from the start of the contest (which will take place from May 16 to 27), the premiere of the fifth installment of Indiana Jones, with Harrison Ford, a short western and gay by Pedro Almodóvar (Strange Form of Life) and Johnny Depp wearing a wig in a film about Louis XV (Jeanne du Barry).
The Spanish director Víctor Erice (El Espíritu de la Colmena), who has not made a feature film for three decades, will present Close Your Eyes out of competition.
The South Korean Kim Jee-woon, with Cobweb, or the Brazilian Kleber Mendonca Filho, with Retratos Fantasmas will also be the subject of special sessions.
The president of the festival jury is the Swedish Ruben Östlund, who last year won the Palme d’Or with the satirical film The Triangle of Sadness.
