The Festival de Cannes has announced the lineup for the official selection, including the Competition and Un Certain Regard sections, as well as special screenings, for the 72nd edition of the festival. See also the full lineups of the Directors' Fortnight, Critics’ Week and ACID programme.
Frankie
COMPETITION
Pain and Glory (Pedro Almodóvar): Pain and Glory tells of a series of reencounters experienced by Salvador Mallo, a film director in his physical decline. Some of them in the flesh, others remembered: his childhood in the 60s, when he emigrated with his parents to a village in Valencia in search of prosperity, the first desire, his first adult love in the Madrid of the 80s, the pain of the breakup of that love while it was still alive and intense, writing as the only therapy to forget the unforgettable, the early discovery of cinema, and the void, the infinite void that creates the incapacity to keep on making films. Pain and Glory talks about creation, about the difficulty of separating it from one’s own life and about the passions that give it meaning and hope. In recovering his past, Salvador finds the urgent need to recount it, and in that need he also finds his salvation.
The Traitor (Marco Bellocchio): The real life of Tommaso Buscetta the so called "boss of the two worlds", first mafia informant in Sicily 1980's.
The Wild Goose Lake (Diao Yi'nan): The story of a gangster on the run who eventually sacrifices himself to save his family and the woman he encounters along the way.
Parasite (Bong Joon-ho): All unemployed, Ki-taek’s family takes peculiar interest in the Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpected incident.
Young Ahmed (Jean-Pierre Dardenne & Luc Dardenne): In Belgium, today, the destiny of young Ahmed, 13, caught between his imam's ideals of purity and life's temptations. How can love of life win out over his desire to put someone to death?
Oh Mercy! (Arnaud Desplechin): Christmas night in Roubaix. Police chief Daoud roams the city. Burnt out cars, violent altercations… In the face of poverty, deception and distress, Daoud knows who is lying and who is telling the truth. Fresh out of the police academy, Louis has recently joined Daoud’s crew. Young, awkward and easily misled, he constantly misunderstands those he encounters. Daoud and Louis are confronted with the murder of an old woman. The old woman’s neighbours – two young women, Claude and Marie – are arrested. They are addicts, alcoholics, lovers… With words, rising beyond the horror of their crime, Daoud will find a way to give two murderers back their humanity.
Atlantics (Mati Diop): Along the Atlantic coast, a soon-to-be-inaugurated futuristic tower looms over a suburb of Dakar. Ada, 17, is in love with Souleiman, a young construction worker. But she has been promised to another man. One night, Souleiman and his co-workers leave the country by sea, in hope of a better future. A few days after the departure of the boys, a fire devastates Ada’s wedding party, while a mysterious fever starts to spread. Could Souleiman be back for Ada?
Matthias and Maxime (Xavier Dolan): Matt and Max, two best childhood friends approaching their thirties, go to a party to celebrate Max’s departure for a two-year trip. An unplanned kiss will come to question everything.
Little Joe (Jessica Hausner): Alice, a single mother, is a dedicated senior plant breeder at a corporation engaged in developing new species. She has engineered a very special crimson flower, remarkable not only for its beauty but also for its therapeutic value: if kept at the ideal temperature, fed properly and spoken to regularly, this plant makes its owner happy. Against company policy, Alice takes one home as a gift for her teenage son, Joe. They christen it ‘Little Joe’ but as it grows, so too does Alice’s suspicion that her new creations may not be as harmless as their nickname suggests.
The Dead Don't Die (Jim Jarmusch): The peaceful town of Centerville finds itself battling a zombie horde as the dead start rising from their graves.
Mektoub, My Love: Intermezzo (Abdellatif Kechiche): It's the end of summer vacation for Amin. The young photographer spends cozy evenings with Charlotte, the ex-girlfriend of his Casanova cousin. She talks to him about literature, he photographs her. Nobody knows that they see each other, especially not Ophélie, his childhood friend, who instead confides her troubles to Amin : her father wants her to take over the family farm, her fiancé Clement will return soon from Iraq for their wedding, she is pregnant with Tony’s baby, and Tony wants to keep their affair secret instead of having a serious relationship. Ophélie constantly contemplates her choices : would it be better to get an abortion in secret and marry Clement or to follow her maternal instinct and keep the child, perhaps seeking refuge with Amin in Paris?
Sorry We Missed You (Ken Loach): Ricky and his family have been fighting an uphill struggle against debt since the 2008 financial crash. An opportunity to wrestle back some independence appears with a shiny new van and the chance to run a franchise as a self-employed delivery driver. It’s hard work, and his wife’s job as a carer is no easier. The family unit is strong but when both are pulled in different directions everything comes to breaking point.
Les misérables (Ladj Ly): Stéphane has recently joined the Anti-Crime Brigade in Montfermeil, in the Paris suburbs. Alongside his new colleagues Chris and Gwada – both experienced members of the team – he quickly discovers tensions running high between neighbourhood gangs. When they find themselves overrun during the course of an arrest, a drone captures their every movement, their every action… Inspired by the riots of 2005, César nominee and Kourtrajmé* collective member Ladj Ly explores contemporary Montfermeil, the same place where Victor Hugo chose to set “Les Misérables” in 1862. More than 150 years later, the similarities between today’s angry, hoodie-wearing youth and Gavroche are only too clear.
A Hidden Life (Terrence Malick): The Austrian Franz Jägerstätter, a conscientious objector, refuses to fight for the Nazis in World War II and is executed by them in 1943. Opening at Jägerstätter’s home in Austria’s countryside, the film follows Franz and his wife, Fani, along their path of resistance. Told through real wartime letters, this love story finds the couple in conflict with the members of their close-knit town, their church, their government, and even their friends — all of which brings them to a dramatic choice.
Bacurau (Kleber Mendonça Filho & Juliano Dornelles): A filmmaker decides to travel to a village in the interior of Brazil to make a documentary. As days go by, he begins to discover that the locals are not exactly what they appear to be and hide dangerous secrets.
The Whistlers (Corneliu Porumboiu): Not everything is as it seems for Cristi, a police inspector in Bucharest who plays both sides of the law. Embarked by the beautiful Gilda on a high-stakes heist, both will have to navigate the twists and turns of treachery and deception. A secret whistling language spoken on the Spanish island of La Gomera might just be what they need to pull it off.
Frankie (Ira Sachs): Three generations grappling with a life-changing experience during one day of a vacation in Sintra, Portugal, a historic town known for its dense gardens and fairy-tale villas and palaces.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Céline Sciamma): Brittany, France, 1760. Marianne, a painter, is commissioned to do the wedding portrait of Héloïse, a young lady who has just left the convent. Héloïse is a reluctant bride to be and Marianne must paint her without her knowing. She observes her by day and secretly paints her at night. Intimacy and attraction grow between the two women as they share Héloïse’s first and last moments of freedom, all whilst Marianne paints the portrait that will end it all.
It Must Be Heaven (Elia Suleiman): Elia Suleiman, the central character and narrator, escapes from Palestine seeking an alternative homeland, only to realize that Palestine is always there, just behind him. The promise of a new life soon turns into a comedy of errors. However far he travels, from Paris to New York, something reminds him home: the police, border controls and racism are never far away… And while he does everything he can to integrate into a new society, trying to erase the traces of his nationality, everyone constantly reminds him of where he has come from. As he wanders and wonders, through searching and self-searching, Elia Suleiman asks the fundamental question: where can we truly call home? From award-winning director Elia Suleiman, a burlesque saga exploring identity, nationality and belonging… in which humour brings new hope for others and for Suleiman himself.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Quentin Tarantino): A TV actor and his stunt double embark on an odyssey to make a name for themselves in the film industry during the Charles Manson murders in 1969 Los Angeles.
Sibyl (Justine Triet): Sibyl, a jaded psychotherapist, returns to her first passion: writing. But her newest patient Margot, a troubled up-and-coming actress, proves to be a source of inspiration that is far too tempting. Fascinated almost to the point of obsession, Sibyl becomes more and more involved in Margot’s tumultuous life, reviving volatile memories that bring her face to face with her past.
OUT OF COMPETITION
Rocketman (Dexter Fletcher): A musical fantasy about the fantastical human story of Elton John's breakthrough years.
The Best Years of a Life (Claude Lelouch): The epilogue to Claude Lelouch’s masterpiece “A Man and a Woman”
Too Old To Die Young (Nicolas Winding Refn): A grieving police officer who, along with the man who shot his partner, finds himself in an underworld filled with working-class hit men, Yakuza soldiers, cartel assassins sent from Mexico, Russian mafia captains and gangs of teen killers.
Diego Maradona (Asif Kapadia): Having never won a major tournament, ailing football giant SSC Napoli had criminally underachieved. Their fanatical support was unequalled in both passion and size. None was more feared. But how they ached for success… On 5th July 1984, Diego Maradona arrived in Naples for a world-record fee and for seven years all hell broke loose. The world’s most celebrated football genius and the most dysfunctional city in Europe were a perfect match for each other. Maradona was blessed on the field but cursed off it; the charismatic Argentine, quickly led Naples to their first-ever title. It was the stuff of dreams. But there was a price… Diego could do as he pleased whilst performing miracles on the pitch, but when the magic faded he became almost a prisoner of the city. The third film from the Academy Award and BAFTA-winning team behind Senna and Amy, the film will be constructed from over 500 hours of never-before-seen footage from Maradona’s personal archive and in the style of Senna and Amy, will be a high-end and definitive feature documentary made with the full support of Maradona.In a city where the devil would have needed bodyguards, Maradona became bigger than God himself. This is the wild and unforgettable story of God-given talent, glory, despair and betrayal, of corruption and ultimately redemption.
La Belle Époque (Nicolas Bedos): Victor (Daniel Auteuil), a jaded sixtysomething, has his life turned upside down the day that Antoine (Guillaume Canet), a flourishing entrepreneur, offers him a unique new brand of entertainment. Using a combination of theatrical artifice and historical re-enactment, his company gives its clients the opportunity to delve back into the period of their choice. Victor decides to relive the most memorable week of his existence, 40 years earlier, when he met the love of his life.
UN CERTAIN REGARD
Invisible Life (Karim Aïnouz): Rio de Janeiro in the 1940s, the life of Guida and Euridice Gusmão, raised to be invisible in the eyes of the Brazilian society of that time, like all the other women of that generation.
Beanpole (Kantemir Balagov): 1945, Leningrad. World War II has devastated the city, demolishing its buildings and leaving its citizens in tatters, physically and mentally. Although the siege – one of the worst in history – is finally over, life and death continue their battle in the wreckage that remains. Two young women, Iya and Masha, search for meaning and hope in the struggle to rebuild their lives amongst the ruins. 26-year-old Kantemir Balagov follows TESNOTA, winner of the FIPRESCI Prize at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, with a powerful period drama.
The Swallows of Kabul (Zabou Breitman & Eléa Gobé Mévellec): Summer 1998, Kabul in ruins is occupied by the Taliban. In love despite the daily violence and misery, Mohsen and Zunaira want to believe in the future. But a senseless act by Mohsen will upset their lives forever.
A Brother’s Love (Monia Chokri): After failing to secure a faculty position in the Philosophy department, 35-year-old Sophia is forced to “temporarily” move in with her older brother Karim. Given their close relationship, he’s more than happy to share his place with his little sister. Their unbreakable bond will be put to the test when, for the first time in his life, Karim falls head over heels in love. Feeling abandoned, Sophia is forced to question her real purpose in life and make choices that will allow her to finally become an adult.
The Climb (Michael Covino): The film tells the story of the friendship between two lifelong friends spanning several years, marriages, heartbreaks and conflicts.
Jeanne (Bruno Dumont): A musical that tells Joan of Arc’s story through her victorious battles against the English, court case and death, burnt at the stake.
A Sun That Never Sets (Oliver Laxe): When Amador Coro gets out of prison for having provoked a fire, nobody is waiting for him. He returns to his home town, a small village hidden in the mountains of rural Galicia, to live with his elder mother, Benedicta, and three cows. Life goes on calmly, following the rhythm of the nature. Until the night when a fire devastates the region.
Room 212 (Christophe Honoré): Richard and Catherine were in love and got married when they were 20 years old. Years later, Catherine finds herself a lover. Richard discovers the affair and is driven to despair. Catherine takes off, but she doesn’t go far. She simply crosses the street and holes up in a bedroom in a hotel.
Port Authority (Danielle Lessovitz): On the steps outside New York City’s dizzying central bus station, Port Authority, a girl named Wye vogues with her siblings. Paul, a young drifter, watches her, transfixed by her beauty. After he seeks her out, an intense love soon blossoms between them. Wye introduces him to the ballroom community, an underground LGBTQ subculture, and to her house, a self-selected chosen family. But when Paul discovers Wye is trans, he is forced to confront his feelings for her and the social forces that seek to rupture their bond.
Papicha (Mounia Meddour): Nedjma, an 18 year-old student passionate about fashion design refuses to let the tragic events of the Algerian Civil War to keep her from experiencing a normal life and going out at night with her friend Wassila. As the social climate becomes more conservative, she rejects the new bans set by the radicals and decides to fight for her freedom and independence by putting up a fashion show.
Adam (Maryam Touzani): Abla, a widow and mother to a 10-year-old girl, struggles to survive and give her child the best possible future. After the death of her husband, she starts a home-based business from her kitchen, which opens up on the street through a metal shutter. Every day, she makes and sells homemade bread and all types of traditional Moroccan pastries. Closed-off from life, leading an existence devoid of happiness and taking refuge in her work, Abla has become old before her time. Unable to manifest love towards her child, she has replaced tenderness with pragmatism. When Samia, a young woman who is heavily pregnant knocks on her door, seeking shelter and overwhelmed by the weight of her burden of giving birth to a child without a father, Alba is unaware that this chance encounter will change her forever.
Zhuo Ren Mi Mi (Midi Z)
Liberté (Albert Serra): Anno 1774, shortly before the French Revolution. Somewhere between Potsdam and Berlin. A group of French libertines have escaped the new, ultra-conservative government of Louis XVI. They then meet with legendary German freethinker and seducer Duc de Walchen (Helmut Berger). In a country ruled by a hypocritical regime of virtue, the mission of this group of expats under the leadership of the cunning Duchesse de Valselay (Ingrid Caven) is to export to Germany the libertinage, a philosophy based on the rejection of moral boundaries and authorities. Over the course of their search for partners, the expats discover that this derelict parkland is the meeting place of a group of decadent local libertines and freethinking courtiers of Frederick the Great. But the Germans, with their idiosyncrasies, aren’t quite convinced by such a radical trend just yet, so the ever-ambitious Duchess de Valselay develops some sophisticated strategies for improving libertinage’s marketing. Albert Serra stages a tableau vivant of old Europe, in which new fashions and modern business practices take on grotesque forms.
Bull (Annie Silverstein): In a near-abandoned subdivision west of Houston, a wayward teen runs headlong into her equally willful and unforgiving neighbor, an aging bullfighter who’s seen his best days in the arena; it’s a collision that will change them both.
Summer of Changsha (Zu Feng)
The Bears' Famous Invasion of Sicily (Lorenzo Mattotti): To find his long lost son and food to survive the winter, the great bear king leads his clan down from the mountains and into the world of men. After escaping terrible monsters and defeating an evil duke, the bears and men live together in peace – for a time.
Odnazhdy v Trubchevske (Larissa Sadilova)
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
Tommaso (Abel Ferrara): Playing opposite the director’s own wife and daughter, Willem Dafoe is a Ferrara-like American artist living in Rome in this improvised drama of doubt and disconnection, shot in self-reflective documentary style.
Share (Pippa Bianco): After discovering a disturbing video from a night she doesn’t remember, sixteen-year-old Mandy must try to figure out what happened and how to navigate the escalating fallout.
For Sama (Waad Al Kateab & Edward Watts): For Sama traces the journey of a young woman, Waad al-Kateab, through love, marriage and motherhood across five years of the revolution in Aleppo, Syria. An intimate, visceral documentary about the female experience of war, Waad faces an impossible decision: should she flee the city to protect her young daughter’s life? But to leave means abandoning the struggle for freedom for which she has already sacrificed so much.
Etre vivant et le savoir (Alain Cavalier): Documentary about Emmanuèle Bernheim's autobiography "Tout s’est bien passé" who provided euthanasia to her dying father, but later died by herself from cancer before filming began. Alain Cavalier works with the images of his video diary.
Family Romance LLC (Werner Herzog)
Chicuarotes (Gael García Bernal): A group of teenagers in Mexico City set out to enrich their lives.
Cordillera of Dreams (Patricio Guzmán)
Ice on Fire (Leila Conners): This eye-opening film explains the present-day effects of excess carbon on planetary systems large and small, and explores the ways people can reduce carbon input to the atmosphere, as well as “draw down” the existing excess. Shot in nine countries around the world, the documentary visits visionaries and scientists young and old who are innovating cutting-edge efforts to mitigate climate change and minimize climate-related events, despite a rapidly warming planet.
5B (Dan Krauss): Documentary about the staff and patients of San Francisco General Hospital’s AIDS ward during the early years of the epidemic.
MIDNIGHT SCREENINGS
The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil (Lee Won-tae): Jang Dong-soo is a gang boss in Cheonan. He becomes the target of serial killer Kang Kyung-ho. Jang Dong-Soo survives and he is the only person to have survived from an attack by Kang Kyung-ho. Detective Jung Tae-seok hates organized crime members, but he works with Jang Dong-soo to catch serial killer Kang Kyung-Ho.
Lux Æterna (Gaspar Noé)
CANNES CLASSICS
Easy Rider (Dennis Hopper, USA)
The Shining (Stanley Kubrick, UK/USA)
La Cité de la peur, une comédie familiale (Alain Berbérian, France)
The Young and the Damned (Luis Buñuel, Mexico)
Nazarín (Luis Buñuel, Mexico)
The Golden Age (Luis Buñuel, France)
Seven Beauties (Lina Wertmüller, Italy)
Miracle in Milan (Vittorio De Sica, Italy)
Loves of a Blonde (Milos Forman, Czech Republic)
Forman vs. Forman (Helena Trestikova and Jakub Hejna, Czech Republic / France)
Toni (Jean Renoir, France)
Le Ciel est à vous (Jean Grémillon, France)
Moulin Rouge (John Huston, UK)
They Loved Life (Andrzej Wajda, Poland)
Diary of a Nurse (Tao Jin, China)
The White Snake Enchantress (Taiji Yabushita, Japan)
125 Rue Montmartre (Gilles Grangier, France)
The Witness (Péter Bacsó, Hungary)
The White Caravan (Eldar Shengelaia and Tamaz Meliava, Georgia)
Plogoff, des pierres contre des fusils (Nicole Le Garrec, France)
Caméra d’Afrique (Férid Boughedir, Tunisia / France)
The Horse Thief (Tian Zhuangzhuang and Peicheng Pan, China)
The Doors (Oliver Stone, USA)
Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound (Midge Costin, USA)
Les Silences de Johnny (Pierre-William Glenn, France)
La Passione di Anna Magnani (Enrico Cerasuolo, Italy / France)
Cinecittà - I mestieri del cinema Bernardo Bertolucci (Mario Sesti, Italy)