LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION: This year’s Cannes Film Festival looks set to be more of a star-studded event than ever, promising plenty of red-carpet moments.
“This will be a festival when the stars are out in a massive way,” said the event’s artistic director Thierry Frémaux at a press conference revealing the majority of the lineup on Thursday in Paris.
With two films in which she stars showing, “Kristen Stewart will be the queen of Cannes,” Frémaux observed.
Stewart stars in Woody Allen’s “Café Society,” which will open the 69th edition of the festival on May 11, as well as in French director Olivier Assayas’ “Personal Shopper,” one of the 20 movies competing for the coveted Palme d’Or.
Several other French movies will be in competition, including Bruno Dumont’s “Ma Loute,” starring Fabrice Luchini, Juliette Binoche and Valeria Bruni Tedeschi; Nicole Garcia’s “Mal de Pierres,” and Alain Guiraudie’s “Rester Vertical.”
Canadian director Xavier Dolan’s “It’s Only the End of the World” will provide further red-carpet opportunities with a cast including Marion Cotillard, Léa Seydoux, Nathalie Baye, Vincent Cassel and Gaspard Ulliel. Cotillard also features in Garcia’s “Mal de Pierres” alongside Louis Garrel.
Sean Penn will mark his return to Cannes after a 15-year absence with “The Last Face,” featuring Charlize Theron, Javier Bardem and Adèle Exarchopoulos.
Pedro Almodóvar’s “Julieta,” Ken Loach’s “I, Daniel Blake” — which Frémaux described as “a very Ken Loach-ian Ken Loach” – and Jeff Nichols’ “Loving” also feature among the official selection.
German and Brazilian directors make their return to the competition after several years’ hiatus thanks to Maren Ade’s “Toni Erdmann” and Filho Kleber Mendonça’s “Aquarius,” respectively.
For the first time, the event will not feature a closing film on May 22. Instead its organizers chose to re-screen the winning Palme d’Or.
Several American movies will be screened outside of competition, including Jodie Foster’s “Money Monster,” starring George Clooney and Julia Roberts, Steven Spielberg’s “The BFG” and Shane Black’s “The Nice Guys,” featuring Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe.
In the Un Certain Regard selection, Lily-Rose Depp will make her official Cannes debut playing Isadora Duncan in Stéphanie Di Giusto’s “La Danseuse,” in which Mélanie Thierry, Soko, Gaspard Ulliel and Garrel also star.
Iggy Pop will bring his rock ‘n’ roll edge to Cannes, appearing to support the Midnight Screening of Jim Jarmusch’s “Gimme Danger,” a film about The Stooges.
The jury for this year’s festival, to be presided over by Australian director George Miller, best known for his “Mad Max” franchise, will be announced next week.