Screen spotlights 19 titles from North America that could make a splash at film festivals in 2024, including new films from Sean Baker, Edward Berger, Rachel Morrison, Yorgos Lanthimos, Pablo Larrain, Marielle Heller and David Cronenberg.
Anora
Dir: Sean Baker
Sean Baker’s romantic comedy drama about sex workers comes after Red Rocket premiered in Cannes Competition in 2021 and The Florida Project played Directors’ Fortnight four years prior. Neon holds US rights.
Contact: FilmNation (international sales), nyoffice@filmnation.com
BLKNWS
Dir: Kahlil Joseph
Based on Joseph’s Venice and Sundance installation of the same name which asked questions about news and culture and used the prism of the newsreel format to explore what Black control of a cable news network might look like. A24 will distribute and co-produced with Participant.
Contact: A24
Conclave
Dir: Edward Berger
Following on from his Oscar and Bafta winning All Quiet On The Western Front, Edward Berger returns with a Vatican thriller about a Cardinal who must unravel a mystery before a new Pope is elected. Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, and Isabella Rossellini are among the cast. Focus Features holds US rights.
Contact: FilmNation (international sales), nyoffice@filmnation.com
Eden
Dir: Ron Howard
If ready in time, Ron Howard’s starry thriller about a group of people who turn their backs on society and try to start a new life in the Galapagos, could make waves at a major festival later this year. The Imagine Entertainment project boasts a spectacular cast of Sydney Sweeney, Ana de Armas, Jude Law, Vanessa Kirby and Daniel Bruhl that would light up any red carpet.
Contact: AGC International (worldwide sales), sales@agcstudios.com
The End
Dir: Joshua Oppenheimer
The Act Of Killing’s Joshua Oppenheimer makes his first foray into fiction with a Golden Age-style musical about the last human family on Earth which stars Tilda Swinton, Michael Shannon, and George MacKay. Neon holds US rights and The Match Factory sells international on the starry title which would be the envy of any major festival.
Contact: The Match Factory (international sales), info@matchfactory.de
Flint Strong
Dir: Rachel Morrison
Oscar-nominated Mudbound cinematographer Morrison directs her first feature, a story about boxer Claressa Shields, who endured a childhood of poverty and sexual abuse and went on to become the first American women to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals (London 2012, Rio 2016). Barry Jenkins wrote the screenplay; Ryan Destiny stars alongside Brian Tyree Henry and Oluniké Adeliyi.
Contact: MGM
Joker: Folie a Deux
Dir: Todd Phillips
Joaquin Phoenix reprises his Oscar-winning role as Arthur Fleck, aka The Joker, starring opposite Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn in a musical crime story. The R-rated 2019 original earned close to $1.1bn at the global box office and is a tough act to follow. But as evidenced by theThe Hangover trilogy, filmmaker Todd Phillips knows how to keep audiences coming back for more. The prospect of another Venice world premiere slot is possible given Warner Bros’ October 4 US release date.
Contact: Warner Bros (worldwide distribution)
Kinds Of Kindness
Dir: Yorgos Lanthimos
Yorgos Lanthimos’s follow-up to 2024 awards contender and Venice Golden Lion winner Poor Things, was developed by Element Pictures and Film4 and wrapped in New Orleans last year. The maverick filmmaker reunites with Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe and Margaret Qualley from Poor Things and the cast includes Jesse Plemons. Searchlight Pictures distributes. Venice might as well prepare the invitations now.
Contact: Searchlight Pictures (worldwide distribution)
Maria
Dir: Pablo Larrain
Chilean auteur Pablo Larrain directs Angelina Jolie as the iconic opera singer Maria Callas, which any festival director would put among their top asks. Production got underway in Europe late last year with a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement and FilmNation handles worldwide sales. Larrain often brings his films to Venice like last year’s El Conde, and Spencer and Jackie before it, so a glitzy Lido debut would not appear out of the question.
Contact: FilmNation (international sales), nyoffice@filmnation.com
MaXXXine
Dir: Ti West
Could Ti West’s third entry in his X horror trilogy starring Mia Goth arrive in Venice later this year? If the film is ready in time it’s certainly possible after Pearl debuted on the Lido in 2022. Goth reprises her role as Maxine, the aspiring actress who survived murderous elderly hosts in 2022 SXSW entry X. MaXXXine takes place in the 1980s as Maxine has set her sights on taking Hollywood by storm.
Contact: A24 (worldwide distribution)
Megalopolis
Dir: Francis Ford Coppola
Were the stars to align, having Francis Ford Coppola back on the Croisette would complete a circle that started back in 1979 when a work-in-progress Apocalypse Now shared the Palme d’Or with Volker Schlondorff’s The Tin Drum. Will the world’s most famous California wine grower’s new opus starring Adam Driver as an architect who plans to rebuild disaster-struck New York City be ready in time? Who knows, but oh what an occasion that would be. Aubrey Plaza, Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight, Jason Schwartzman, Shia LaBeouf, Laurence Fishburne, Talia Shire and Forest Whitaker are among the cast. No distributor was attached at time of writing.
Contact: American Zoetrope, www.zoetrope.com
The Nickel Boys
Dir: RaMell Ross
From Plan B comes Ross’s adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name about a Black boy sent in the 1960s to a notorious Florida reform school. Aunjanue Ellis, Ethan Herisse, Brandon Wilson, and Fred Hechinger lead the cast. The film will be distributed in the US through MGM’s Orion Pictures. Ross’s credits include the 2018 Sundance entry Hale County This Morning, This Evening.
Contact: MGM
Nightbitch
Dir: Marielle Heller
After Marielle Heller’s A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood premiered at 2019 TIFF and Can You Ever Forgive Me? debuted a year prior at Telluride and TIFF, her new film will be in demand by festivals. Amy Adams stars in the fantasy comedy horror about a homebound suburban mother who suspects she might be turning into a dog.
Contact: Searchlight Pictures (worldwide distribution)
The Order
Dir: Justin Kurzel
Justin Kurzel’s follow up to Nitram and True History Of The Kelly Gang is the story of an FBI agent who suspects the charismatic leader of a domestic terrorist group may be behind a spate of violent crimes in the Pacific NorthWest. Jude Law stars with Nicholas Hoult and Tye Sheridan.
Contact: AGC International (worldwide sales), sales@agcstudios.com
Orwell
Dir: Raoul Peck
After helming documentaries about James Baldwin (2017’s I Am Not Your Negro) and executed Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba (1991’s Lumumba: Death Of A Prophet), Peck turns his gaze to George Orwell, the British literary titan and 1984 and Animal Farm author. Alex Gibney produces with Velvet Films and Anonymous Content, while Neon holds North American rights.
Contact: AC Independent (international sales), www.anonymouscontent.com
Shirley
Dir: John Ridley
Ridley, an adapted screenplay Oscar winner for 12 Years A Slave, directs Regina King as Shirley Chisholm, America’s first Black congresswoman and presidential candidate, in the drama from Participant. The cast includes Lance Reddick, Lucas Hedges, and Christina Jackson.
Contact: Netflix
The Shrouds
Dir: David Cronenberg
David Cronenberg’s film is ready and likely eyeing a Cannes berth. The Canadian auteur returns with a horror thriller about a grieving businessman who creates a burial shroud that connects to the dead. Diane Kruger, Guy Pearce, and Vincent Cassel star. Cronenberg has launched many a film in Cannes, most recently Crimes Of The Future in 2022. Sphere Films is the Canadian distributor.
Contact: SBS International (sales) contact@sbs-distribution.fr
Without Blood
Dir: Angelina Jolie
Jolie returns to the director’s chair after First They Killed My Father and By The Sea in this Italy-set drama starring Salma Hayek and Demián Bichir. The story is based on Alessandro Baricco’s novella about the brutality of war and a woman’s quest for revenge. Without Blood marks Jolie’s first project in a three-year partnership with Fremantle.
Contact: Fremantle, generalenquiries@fremantle.com
Wolfs
Dir: Jon Watts
An autumn festival berth is likely for George Clooney and Brad Pitt in Spider-Man trilogy director Jon Watts’ latest film about fixers assigned to the same job. Sony Pictures is partnering with Apple Original Films to distribute the film in September following their successful collaboration on Napoleon.
Contact: Apple TV+ (worldwide distribution)
Cannes Out of Competition possibles
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Dir: George Miller
A slot seems likely for Miller’s return to the dust-ravaged post-apocalypse, given that Mad Max: Fury Road, the film which spawned Furiosa, premiered out of competition on the Croisette in 2015 and Warner Bros has set a worldwide release around May 24. Charlize Theron introduced the character in the earlier film and Anya Taylor-Joy assumes the mantle as a younger Furiosa. Chris Hemsworth also stars.
Worldwide distribution: Warner Bros
IF
Dir: John Krasinksi
Krasinksi’s family story centres on a young girl who sees people’s imaginary friends. Cailey Fleming stars alongside Krasinksi, Ryan Reynolds, Steve Carell, Emily Blunt and a very long list (read: buzzy red carpet) of A-listers. Paramount has set a May 17 US release and global roll-out, making the timing perfect for an out of competition slot in the Cote d’Azur.
Worldwide distribution: Paramount
Inside Out 2
Dir: Kelsey Mann
Cannes head Thierry Fremaux is partial to Hollywood animation playing out of competition and Pixar’s sequel to Inside Out, its $850m-plus 2015 smash, is scheduled to open through Disney on June 14 and would fit the bill perfectly. Amy Poehler, Tony Hale and Maya Hawke are among the voice cast on Mann’s story of Riley the teenager as she encounters new emotions.
Worldwide distribution: Disney
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