The eyes of the world were on UGC Normandie in Paris on April 13, where the official selection for the upcoming Cannes Film Festival was announced. It was an opportunity to unveil the details of this edition, which will take place from 16 to 27 May on the Croisette, with a very prestigious programme. Let’s look back at the highlights of this conference.
Iris Knobloch’s first words
In 2023, the Cannes Film Festival will be presided over by a woman for the first time. Iris Knobloch officially assumed the position of president in July 2022, succeeding Pierre Lescure. During the conference, the former director of Warner Media Europe praised the success of the latest edition and expressed her desire for modernity: “You could say ‘back to the origins’, I would rather say back to the future”».
The Return of the Veterans
This year’s Cannes Film Festival selection is all about veterans. Among the directors making an eagerly awaited return is Wim Wenders, winner of the Palme d’Or for Paris Texas in 1984, which this year will present two feature films: The Sound of Time in the special screening e perfect days in competition. Other directors who have already won the top accolade will also return: Ken Loach (The old oak), Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Les Herbes sèches), Hirokazu Kore-eda (Monsters). But the most awaited event is the presentation of Killers of the Flower Moon by Martin Scorsese with Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert de Niro. The film will be presented out of competition, but still has a chance to compete for La Palma.
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His Majesty Harrison Ford
In 2022, Tom Cruise was definitely the star of the Croisette. The actor, who came to present Top Gun: Maverick, was entitled to a Palm of Honor and a fireworks display on the steps. Will the same welcome be given to Harrison Ford this year? The 80-year-old actor will still be coming for the out-of-competition screening of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny by James Mangold. On this occasion, the Festival will pay homage to him with the screening of some extracts from One Hundred and One Nights of Cinema Simon by Agnès Varda, in which she appeared in 1995.
Benoît Magimel on all fronts
He won two consecutive César Awards for his performances in De son vivant (2022) e Pacifiction (2023). The French actor will once again be omnipresent in the world of cinema with three films presented on the Croisette: Omar the sentence by Elias Belkeddar La Passion de Dodin-Bouffant by Tran Anh Hung e Rosalie by Stéphanie Di Giusto.
The influence of Italian and American cinema
Here are the most awaited events of this Festival. Wes Anderson will take the stage for the screening of his new film Asteroid City, which brings together the cream of American actors: Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson, Margot Robbie, etc. Also Sam Levinson, showrunner of the series The Idol (with The Weeknd and Lily-Rose Depp, who will arrive in Italy exclusively for Sky and NOW) and Todd Haynes (May December with Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore) will be part of a large US delegation. But Italian cinema will not be excluded. Three Italian directors will be present in the competition: Nanni Moretti with The sun of the futureAlice Rohrwacher with The Chimera and Marco Bellocchio with Kidnapped.
A record number of female directors
Every year the Cannes Film Festival is criticized for its lack of gender parity. Is it a coincidence or a desire to make up for lost time? The 2023 edition assigns a place of honor to women directors in this official selection. Six of them will be in the running for the Palme d’Or: Justine Triet, Catherine Breillat, Jessica Hausner, Kaouther Ben Hania, Ramata-Toulaye Sy and Alice Rohrwacher.