Screen staff preview each of the titles in the Cannes Film Festival’s Competition and Out of Competition sections, which this year includes films from Asghar Farhadi, Andrey Zvyagintsev, Pedro Almodovar, Pawel Pawlikowski, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Marie Kreutzer and Cristian Mungiu.
The festival runs May 12-23.
Competition
All Of A Sudden (Fr-Japan-Ger-Belg)
Dir. Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Hamaguchi returns to Cannes for the first time since 2021’s Drive My Car, which took three awards in Competition before winning the best international feature Oscar. All Of A Sudden marks his first film shot outside Japan, and follows a woman who runs a struggling nursing home and a stage director with terminal cancer. The cast is led by Virginie Efira (Benedetta) and Tao Okamoto (The Wolverine). Produced by Cinefrance, Office Shirous, Bitters End, Heimatfilm and Tarantula, the film is set for release in Japan on June 19 and in France on August 12.
Contact: Bitters End (Asia); Cinefrance International (rest of world)
Another Day (Fr)
Dir. Jeanne Herry
Adele Exarchopoulos stars as a gifted actress struggling to earn the recognition she craves, living paycheck to paycheck in Paris while grappling with anxiety and alcohol addiction. Herry reteams with Exarchopoulos, longtime production partners Alain Attal of Trésor Films and Hugo Sélignac at Mediawan’s Chi-Fou-Mi Productions, and co-producer Studiocanal after their 2023 France box-office hit All Your Faces.
Contact: Chloé Marquet, Studiocanal
The Beloved (Sp-Fr)
Dir. Rodrigo Sorogoyen
Sorogoyen’s drama stars Javier Bardem and Victoria Luengo as an estranged film director father and his actress daughter reunited for a shoot. Sorogoyen screened rural thriller The Beasts in Cannes Premiere in 2022, which sold well internationally and won nine Goya awards. Movistar Plus+ produces his latest with Spain’s Caballo Films and El Ser Querido, and France’s Le Pacte and Canal+. A Contracorriente Films is distributing in Spain.
Contact: Flavien Eripret, Goodfellas
The Birthday Party (Fr)
Dir. Léa Mysius
Mysius’ home invasion thriller marks the filmmaker’s anticipated return to the Croisette after her debut feature Ava premiered in Critics’ Week in 2017 and The Five Devils played Directors’ Fortnight in 2022. Hafsia Herzi and Monica Bellucci star in the director’s third film, set in an isolated hamlet as a family prepares for a 40th birthday celebration before the evening takes a dark turn. Bastien Bouillon and Benoît Magimel co-star. Jean-Louis Livi produces for his F Comme Film banner.
Contact: mk2 Films
Bitter Christmas (Sp)
Dir. Pedro Almodovar
The Spanish veteran plays Cannes Competition for the seventh time, returning after Venice launches for 2021’s Parallel Mothers and 2024’s The Room Next Door. Produced by Agustin Almodovar for El Deseo, the meta-fictional tragicomedy sees a filmmaker (played by Leonardo Sbaraglia) write a script about an advertising director (Barbara Lennie) navigating a crisis two decades earlier. Warner Bros released in Spain on March 20 and has Mexico rights, with Sony Pictures Classics handling North America and Curzon the UK. Almodovar has won in Cannes for best director (All About My Mother in 1999) and screenplay (Volver in 2006) but never the Palme d’Or.
Contact: Film Factory Entertainment
La Bola Negra (Sp-Fr)
Dirs. Javier Ambrossi, Javier Calvo
Since 2017 feature debut Holy Camp!, the Spanish duo also known as Los Javis have focused on directing and producing TV series including La Mesías. Anticipation is high for La Bola Negra, named after an unfinished work by writer Federico Garcia Lorca. Set in 1932, 1937 and 2017, it explores queer desire through the intertwined stories of three men. The cast includes musician Guitarricadelafuente, Penelope Cruz and Glenn Close. Movistar Plus+ and Suma Content produce with El Deseo, Atresmedia and France’s Le Pacte; Elastica Films will release in Spain.
Contact: Flavien Eripret, Goodfellas
Coward (Belg-Fr-Neth)
Dir. Lukas Dhont
Belgium’s Dhont stepped up to Cannes Competition in 2022 with Close, after his 2018 debut Girl launched in Un Certain Regard. His first historical drama explores masculinity and vulnerability through the lens of men fighting in the First World War, and stars Valentin Campagne (Colours Of Time) and newcomer Emmanuel Macchia. Michiel Dhont produces for Ghent-based The Reunion with Netherlands’ Topkapi Films and Belgium’s Versus Production, and in co-production with companies including Orange Belgium and France 2 Cinéma.
Contact: The Match Factory
The Dreamed Adventure (Ger)
Dir. Valeska Grisebach
German filmmaker Grisebach returns to Cannes with her first feature since 2017’s Western, which premiered in Un Certain Regard. Set in the remote border region of Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey, the story follows a woman who becomes entangled in an illegal trade after helping out an old acquaintance. The cast is led by Yana Radeva and Western’s Syuleyman Alilov Letifov. Komplizen Film produces in co‑production with Kazak Productions, Miramar Film, Panama Film, Grisebach, New Matter Films, Arte France Cinéma and ZDF/Arte.
Contact: The Match Factory
Fatherland (Pol-Ger-It-Fr)
Dir. Pawel Pawlikowski
Poland-born Pawlikowski won the best director prize at Cannes in 2018 with his most recent feature Cold War, which went on to earn four Bafta nominations and three at Oscar. His latest stars Hanns Zischler as Nobel Prize-winning writer Thomas Mann, who in 1949 returns from the US to Germany and embarks on a road trip with his daughter Erika (Sandra Hüller) across a country in ruins. The multi-partner co-production is lead-produced by Poland’s Extreme Emotions, Germany’s Nine Hours, Italy’s Our Films and France’s Chapter 2. Mubi fully financed and has rights including North America, Latin America, UK, Germany, Italy and Spain.
Contact: The Match Factory
Fjord (Rom)
Dir. Cristian Mungiu
Romanian director Mungiu breaks out of his home country with his sixth feature, telling the story of a Romanian father (Sebastian Stan) and Norwegian mother (Renate Reinsve) living in the latter’s village of birth, whose lives are thrown into chaos after their children’s behaviour elicits local suspicion. Mungiu won the Palme d’Or in 2007 with 4 Months, 3 Weeks And 2 Days, and the screenplay and director prizes respectively with Beyond The Hills in 2012 and Graduation in 2016. Fjord, his fifth film to play in Cannes Competition, is backed by Neon, which has rights in North America, UK, Australia and New Zealand.
Contact: Flavien Eripret, Goodfellas
Gentle Monster (Austria-Fr-Ger)
Dir. Marie Kreutzer
Cannes habitué Léa Seydoux headlines the cast of Kreutzer’s sixth feature, in which a renowned pianist relocates her family to the countryside — only to uncover a life-changing truth that forces her to re-evaluate everything. Catherine Deneuve, Laurence Rupp and Jella Haase are among the supporting cast. The film was the first backed through European investment fund IPR.VC’s partnership with mk2 Films, which produced and is selling the title. This is Kreutzer’s first time in Competition and second in official selection, after Corsage launched in Un Certain Regard in 2022.
Contact: mk2 Films
Hope (S Kor)
Dir. Na Hong-jin
This genre thriller follows a police chief in a remote South Korean village who is drawn into a spiralling mystery after reports of a tiger sighting. The cast includes Korean stars Hwang Jung-min (Deliver Us From Evil), Zo In-sung (TV series Moving) and Jung Ho-yeon (Squid Game), alongside Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander. All of director Na’s films have been selected for Cannes including The Chaser (Out of Competition, 2008), The Yellow Sea (Un Certain Regard, 2011) and The Wailing (Out of Competition, 2016). The cinematographer is Hong Kyung-pyo of 2019 Palme d’Or and Oscar winner Parasite. Neon has taken English-language markets including the US and UK.
Contact: Plus M Entertainment
The Man I Love (US-Fr)
Dir. Ira Sachs
Sachs’ 10th feature is his sixth co-written with Brazil-born Mauricio Zacharias, following Keep The Lights On, Love Is Strange, Little Men, Cannes 2019 Competition entry Frankie and Passages. It is described as “a musical fantasia of a city under duress”, set in New York during the late-1980s Aids crisis. Rami Malek stars as a downtown artist, alongside Tom Sturridge, Rebecca Hall, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Luther Ford. The producers include SBS Productions’ Saïd Ben Saïd and Big Creek Projects’ Scott McGehee, David Siegel and Mike Spreter, alongside Myriam Schroeter and Misook Doolittle. Sachs returns to Cannes after Sundance launches for Passages in 2023 and Peter Hujar’s Day last year.
Contact: mk2 Films
A Man Of His Time (Fr-Belg)
Dir. Emmanuel Marre
Inspired by the filmmaker’s own great-grandfather, this 1940s-set drama stars Swann Arlaud (Anatomy Of A Fall) as Henri Marre, who arrives in Vichy with a political manuscript hoping to save France — and himself — from downfall. Belgian actress Sandrine Blancke also stars. It marks Marre’s follow-up to Zero Fucks Given, co-directed with Julie Lecoustre, which won a Critics’ Week prize at Cannes in 2021. France’s Kidam and Belgium’s Michigan Films produce, with Anatomy Of A Fall duo Les Films Pelléas and Les Films de Pierre among the co‑producers.
Contact: Charades
Minotaur (Fr-Ger-Latvia)
Dir. Andrey Zvyagintsev
Serious illness in 2020-21 saw Zvyagintsev put a planned English-language film on hold. The Russian filmmaker now returns with his sixth feature, and his fourth in Cannes Competition following The Banishment (2007) and prize winners Leviathan (2014) and Loveless (2017). Set in a small Russian town in 2022, the year of the invasion of Ukraine, Minotaur stars Dmitry Mazurov as a business executive whose controlled existence is impacted by professional crises, global chaos and his wife’s affair. France’s Charles Gillibert for CG Cinéma and mk2’s Nathanael Karmitz produce alongside Marco Perego. Mubi has rights including North America, UK and Germany.
Contact: mk2 Films
Moulin (Hun-Fr)
Dir. Laszlo Nemes
Months after premiering Orphan in Venice, Hungarian filmmaker Nemes (Son Of Saul, Sunset) returns with another historical drama, and his first French-language feature. Gilles Lellouche headlines the true story of Jean Moulin, who unified the French Resistance during the Second World War but was eventually captured by the Gestapo under the notorious Klaus Barbie, played by Lars Eidinger. Written by Olivier Demangel (Dog 51, TV series Class Act), Moulin is produced by Alain Goldman for Pitchipoï Productions and Montmartre Films, in co‑production with TFI. Studio TFI will release in France.
Contact: 193
Nagi Notes (Japan-Fr)
Dir. Koji Fukada
Set in the rural Japanese town of Nagi, this drama centres on a sculptor, living in the shadow of a past love who continues to shape her art, finding welcome distraction in a visit from her former sister-in-law. Takako Matsu and Shizuka Ishibashi lead the cast. Writer/director Fukada graduates to Competition after winning the Un Certain Regard prize in 2016 with Harmonium and playing in Cannes Premiere last year with Love On Trial. Nagi Notes is produced by Hassaku Labs in Japan and Survivance in France, alongside Star Sands, Momo Film and Wonderstruck. A local release is set for September 25.
Contact: mk2 Films
Paper Tiger (US)
Dir. James Gray
Gray has been a Cannes regular since The Yards screened in Competition 26 years ago. His latest, based on his own original screenplay, is a crime thriller starring Scarlett Johansson, Miles Teller and Adam Driver about two brothers whose pursuit of the American Dream leads to the family being terrorised by the Russian mafia. Production companies are Rodrigo Teixeira’s RT Features and Anthony Katagas’s AK Productions. Neon bought North American rights before the festival.
Contact: The Veterans
Parallel Tales (Fr-Belg-It)
Dir. Asghar Farhadi
Farhadi makes his third film in Europe following the France-set The Past (2013) and Spanish kidnap drama Everybody Knows (2018). Paris-set Parallel Tales stars Isabelle Huppert as a writer who seeks inspiration for her novel by spying on her neighbours across the street. The cast includes Virginie Efira, Vincent Cassel and Pierre Niney. France’s Memento produces alongside Italy’s Lucky Red, Belgium’s Panache Productions and La Compagnie Cinématographique plus Anonymous Content from the US. UTA Independent Film Group is handling the North America sale.
Contact: Charades
Sheep In The Box (Japan)
Dir. Hirokazu Kore-eda
Japan’s Kore-eda won the Palme d’Or with Shoplifters in 2018. His latest is a near-future film about a couple who take a humanoid robot into their home after the death of their son. It reunites the filmmaker with Haruka Ayase of 2015’s Our Little Sister. Fuji Television Network, Gaga, Toho and Aoi Pro produce, and Neon has rights in the US, UK and Australia, having distributed Kore-eda’s 2022 feature Broker. Toho has set a May 29 release in Japan.
Contact: Gaga (Asia, North America); Flavien Eripret, Goodfellas (rest of world)
The Unknown (Fr)
Dir. Arthur Harari
The Oscar-winning co-screenwriter of Anatomy Of A Fall heads back to Cannes with his third feature as a director after 2016 debut Dark Inclusion and Onoda — 10,000 Nights In The Jungle, which opened Un Certain Regard in 2021. Léa Seydoux and Niels Schneider lead the story of a man who wakes up in the body of an unknown woman after they spend the night together. Neon acquired North American rights at the Cannes market in 2024.
Contact: Pathé
A Woman’s Life (Fr)
Dir. Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet
Léa Drucker stars as a surgeon struggling to balance her hospital duties and private life, but is stirred up by a novelist (Mélanie Thierry) who comes to observe her as research for a book. The second feature for writer/director Bourgeois-Tacquet is her first in Competition, after 2021 debut Anaïs In Love premiered in Critics’ Week. It is produced by Palme d’Or winner Les Films Pelléas (It Was Just An Accident, Anatomy Of A Fall).
Contact: Be For Films
Out of Competition
Crescendo (Fr)
Dir. Agnes Jaoui
Prolific French writer/director Jaoui returns with an ensemble comedy drama that brings #MeToo into the world of opera, as accusations of sexual assault shake up a production of Mozart’s The Marriage Of Figaro. Jaoui also stars opposite Daniel Auteuil and this year’s Cannes opening and closing ceremonies host Eye Haïdara. It is produced by France’s Les Films du Kiosque.
Contact: Chloe Marquet, Studiocanal
De Gaulle: Tilting Iron (Fr)
Dir. Antonin Baudry
The first of Pathé’s two-part summer blockbuster hopeful stars Simon Abkarian as General Charles de Gaulle alongside Benoît Magimel, Mathieu Kassovitz, Anamaria Vartolomei, Simon Russell Beale and Campbell Scott. Set in June 1940, the geopolitical thriller centres on the French resistance during the Second World War, and follows De Gaulle from France to London as he interacts with Franklin D Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and other historical figures.
Contact: Pathé
Diamond (US)
Dir. Andy Garcia
Garcia, who directed 2005’s The Lost City, presents his second fiction feature and also stars as the titular Joe Diamond, in what is billed as a contemporary noir with period touches about a man with a traumatic past. Dustin Hoffman and Bill Murray, who both starred with Garcia in The Lost City, join a cast that includes Brendan Fraser, Vicky Krieps, Rosemarie DeWitt, Robert Patrick and Danny Huston. Garcia produces for his CineSon Productions alongside Jai Stefan for Shrink Media, Paul Soriano for Black Cap Pictures/TEN17P, and Frank Mancuso Jr. CAA reps North America.
Contact: The Veterans
The Electric Kiss (Fr)
Dir. Pierre Salvadori
Cannes’ opening film is a romantic comedy set in 1928, starring Pio Marmaï as a famous painter who loses inspiration after the death of his wife. He is tricked into believing he is in communication with his dead spouse by a gallery owner, who then starts to fall for him. Vimala Pons, Gilles Lellouche and Anaïs Demoustier co-star in a Les Films Pelléas production. Salvadori has directed nearly a dozen films, including 2006 French box-office hit Priceless.
Contact: Playtime
Forsaken (Fr)
Dir. Vincent Garenq
Antoine Reinartz (Anatomy Of A Fall) stars as real-life history teacher Samuel Paty, whose 2020 murder by an Islamist terrorist for showing cartoons of Muhammad during a lesson sent shockwaves through France. The film is based on journalist and TV producer Stéphane Simon’s 2023 book The Last Days Of Samuel Paty and focuses on the 11 days leading up to the teacher’s death. France’s Outside Films and Les Films du Kiosque produce. Garenq’s previous films include 2016’s Kalinka starring Daniel Auteuil and 2014’s The Clearstream Affair with Gilles Lellouche.
Contact: Studio TF1
Her Private Hell (US-Den)
Dir. Nicolas Winding Refn
Danish filmmaker Winding Refn won the best director prize at Cannes in 2011 for Drive, which made more than $80m at the worldwide box office and boosted its director’s international profile. Her Private Hell is his first feature since 2016’s The Neon Demon. Mubi picked up rights for UK-Ireland, Italy, Spain and Latin America, while Neon will release in North America. Plot details have been closely guarded, with the film billed as an original thriller featuring plenty of glamour, sex and violence. Sophie Thatcher and Charles Melton star.
Contact: Neon International
Karma (Fr)
Dir. Guillaume Canet
Canet directs Marion Cotillard in this psychological thriller about a woman who flees to France from a village in northern Spain, after she becomes a suspect in the disappearance of her stepson. Her partner sets out to track her down before the police can find her. Denis Ménochet and Leonardo Sbaraglia also star, and the producers are France’s Iconoclast and Canet’s label Caneo.
Contact: Pathé
Profiles by: Elisabet Cabeza, Ben Dalton, Charles Gant, John Hazelton, Rebecca Leffler, Jonathan Romney, Michael Rosser, Matt Schley, Anna Stafford, Mona Tabbara, Silvia Wong
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