The last few weeks have, quite honestly, been memorably chaotic as the lead-up to the announcement of the official selection for the 71st edition of the Cannes Film Festival nears. The fest will take place May 8th to the 19th. So much drama about Netflix, bouts between Festival head Thierry Fremaux and some directors (the latest rumor being that Mike Leigh was asked to snip the running time of his latest film "Peterloo.")
It will all be put to rest tomorrow, but in the meantime we have the festival's official poster, which continues the trend of 60's film homages from the past. This year they have decided to use Jean-Luc Godard's “
Pierrot le Fou,” and its actors Jean-Paul Belmondo and Anna Karina sharing a kiss while in two cars. I am not a fan of the film, but it nevertheless has a major importance to the French and European cinema in general.
As for my predictions, after weeks of scurrying around message boards and reading the trades, this is what seems to be the general consensus, although I wouldn't be surprised if some not listed here just show up tomorrow. I'm very open to surprises.
Asghar Farhadi’s Everybody Knows
Lars von Trier‘s The House That Jack Built
Laszlo Nemes‘ Sunset
Nuri Bilge Ceylan‘s The Wild Pear Tree
Brian De Palma’s Domino
Jafar Panahi's Three Faces
Pawel Pawlikowski’s Cold War
Mia Hansen-Løve's Maya
Carlos Vermut’s Quien Te Cantara
Matteo Garrone's Dogman
Lee Chang-Dong's Burning
Brillante Mendoza's Amo
Jia Zhangke’s Ash Is Purest White
Alice Rohrwacher's Lazarro Felice
Ciro Guerra Birds of Passage
Vanessa Filho's Gueule d’Ange
Bi Gan's Long Day's Journey Into Night
Paolo Sorrentino’s Loro
Mike Leigh‘s Peterloo
Spike Lee's BlackKklansman