Cannes Film Festival: What to Watch Out For

Paris:The Cannes Film Festival promises another action-packed week or two of world premieres, star-studded red carpets, parties and fashion when it kicks off on Tuesday.

AFP looks ahead to some of the most anticipated moments and looks:

– Main competition –

A total of 22 films are competing for the prestigious Palme d’Or for the best film, which will be distributed on May 23.

Artistic luminaries such as Spain’s Pedro Almodovar, Japan’s Hirokazu Kore-eda or Romania’s Cristian Mungiu will face emerging talents such as Belgian prodigy Lukas Dhont and France’s Lea Mysius.

There is excitement in the industry about South Korean director Na Hong-jin’s “Hope”, starring real-life partners Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander, as well as famous Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda’s artificial intelligence and technology-themed “Sheep in the Box”.

This year, the nine-person jury will be chaired by South Korean director Park Chan-Wook, but will also include Demi Moore, who returns after her star turn in 2024’s “The Substance.”

– The ghost of Hollywood –

Unlike previous editions that featured the Tom Cruise-produced “Mission: Impossible” or “Top Gun,” no major U.S. studio has chosen Cannes to launch a blockbuster.

Hollywood traditionally offers mass-market entertainment as well as more offbeat, independent cinema in its Cannes lineup.

Reasons for their absence include cost cutting, a growing preference for tightly controlled social media-led launches, and the risk that harsh reviews from Cannes critics can ruin a film.

Vin Diesel and his “Fast and Furious” co-star Michelle Rodriguez will fly in for a special 25th anniversary screening of the first movie in the franchise.

-Travolta-

One man who won’t give up on the possibility of being reviewed by some of the world’s toughest movie critics is movie legend John Travolta.

The airplane-mad actor will bring some stardust when he unveils his directorial debut, “Propeller One-Way Night Coach,” about a young boy’s journey through the “golden age of aviation.”

– A-listers –

Other stars from around the world will descend on the Cannes red carpets for the next two weeks in what will be one of the most celebrity-dense places on the planet.

Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver are preparing to promote American director James Gray’s thriller “Paper Tiger” in competition, while “Bohemian Rhapsody” star Rami Malek stars in Ira Sachs’ “The Man I Love”.

Spanish favorite Javier Bardem, Norwegian star Renate Reinsve, Kristen Stewart and Woody Harrelson are starring in films that will be released on the French Riviera for the first time.

Julianne Moore and Cate Blanchett will also take the stage, while Barbra Streisand and “Lord of the Rings” director Peter Jackson will receive lifetime achievement awards.

– A Russian is returning –

The debut of Andrey Zvyagintsev, one of Russia’s most awarded independent directors, will be celebrated for cinematic and personal reasons.

The Oscar-nominated director of “Leviathan” and “Loveless” nearly died from Covid after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 and was forced to flee his hometown.

His first film since 2017 is called “Minotaur” and deals with the extremely sensitive issue of the Russian bourgeoisie, which was struggling with conscription at the beginning of the Ukrainian war.

– Lennon created by artificial intelligence –

Director Steven Soderbergh will present his documentary “John Lennon: The Last Interview,” featuring The Beatles songwriter hours before his murder.

Soderbergh turned the audio-only recording into a film, using archival images as examples and, very controversially, AI-generated images of the late singer.

– Football –

There will be a surprising amount of football at the lofty temple of cinema, including the British-made documentary “Cantona” about legendary French striker Eric Cantona.

The Argentinian film “The Match” sheds light on the 1986 World Cup England-Argentina match, which ended with a goal scored by Diego Maradona after a handball.

– The best of the rest –

With war-torn Iran in the news, Pegah Ahangarani’s “Rehearsals for Revolution”, a film about political repression, came out at just the right time.

After the first time a Nigerian movie was screened in hallowed ground at Cannes last year, twin brothers Arie and Chuko Esiri will represent Nollywood again by screening the star-studded “Clarissa.”

Selected in the Director’s Fortnight competition, the film stars “The Bear” star Ayo Edebiri and “Selma” actor David Oyelowo.

“The Godfather III” and “Ocean’s Eleven” actor Andy Garcia is promoting his “passion project” “Diamond,” which he has been working on for 15 years.

Two big-budget war-themed French productions, one about former diplomat Antonin Baudry’s political giant Charles de Gaulle and the other about Laszlo Nemes’ Resistance hero Jean Moulin, will be important events for the host country.