Cannes Film Festival organizers announced its 2019 lineup Thursday, pitting leading names in world cinema including Ken Loach and Pedro Almodóvar against each other in competition for the top prize, the Palme d'Or.
Festival veterans Loach and Almodóvar, as well as the Dardenne Brothers, Jim Jarmusch, Terrence Malick and Xavier Dolan — all of whom have previously won accolades at the French Riviera festival — will return for the May 14-25 event.
Four female directors were among the 19 nominated in the main category. They are Jessica Hausner for "Little Joe," Mati Diop for "Atlantiques," Celine Schiamma for "Portrait of a Young Lady on Fire" and Justine Triet for "Sibyl."
The last time four women were also nominated at Cannes was in 2011, when that number set a record for the festival. Last year, organizers pledged to raise the prominence of female filmmakers at festivals. A total of 13 women were included in the official selection this year — although male artists still dominate.
Jarmusch's "The Dead Don't Die," a zombie comedy starring Adam Driver, Bill Murray and Chloe Sevigny as police officers protecting a small town, will open the festival on a starry and surreal note.
This is not the first time Jarmusch has competed for the Palme at Cannes using the undead — his 2013 "Only Lovers Left Alive" featured erudite vampires.
Jarmusch is in the running along with other Americans including Malick, who returns after "Tree of Life" won the Palme d'Or in 2011 with the long-awaited "A Hidden Life," about an Austrian anti-Nazi conscientious objector who was executed in 1943. Memphis-born Ira Sachs will present "Frankie" starring Isabelle Huppert.
There was dismay that Quentin Tarantino missed out from being included with the highly anticipated "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie. Cannes Artistic Director Thierry Fremaux lamented to critics during the press conference that the movie was still in editing — explaining that Tarantino's insistence on using laborious 35mm will delay its completion.
Spanish director Almodovar will be back on the festival's red carpeted steps with the new film "Pain and Glory" — a self-referential movie about an aging filmmaker played by Antonio Banderas, alongside longtime muse Penelope Cruz. It's been compared to Italian filmmaker Fellini's masterpiece "8 1?2."
Oscar-winning director Alejandro Inarritu will be jury president although the jury members have not yet been announced.
Other highlights of the festival will include a biopic of singer Elton John called "Rocketman," which will be screened out of competition and was directed by Dexter Fletcher. The aging rocker will bring his own inimitable brand of star power to the festival when he attends the screening.
In Competition
Opening film
Jim JARMUSCH
THE DEAD DON’T DIE
Pedro ALMODÓVAR
DOLOR Y GLORIA
(PAIN AND GLORY)
Marco BELLOCCHIO
IL TRADITORE
(THE TRAITOR)
BONG Joon Ho
GISAENGCHUNG
(PARASITE)
Jean-Pierre DARDENNE
Luc DARDENNE
LE JEUNE AHMED
(YOUNG AHMED)
Arnaud DESPLECHIN
ROUBAIX, UNE LUMIÈRE
(OH MERCY!)
DIAO Yinan
NAN FANG CHE ZHAN DE JU HU
(THE WILD GOOSE LAKE)
Mati DIOP
ATLANTIQUE
Xavier DOLAN
MATTHIAS ET MAXIME
(MATTHIAS AND MAXIME)
Jessica HAUSNER
LITTLE JOE
Ken LOACH
SORRY WE MISSED YOU
Ladj LY
LES MISÉRABLES
Terrence MALICK
A HIDDEN LIFE
Kleber MENDONÇA FILHO
Juliano DORNELLES
BACURAU
Corneliu PORUMBOIU
THE WHISTLERS
Ira SACHS
FRANKIE
Céline SCIAMMA
PORTRAIT DE LA JEUNE FILLE EN FEU
Elia SULEIMAN
IT MUST BE HEAVEN
Justine TRIET
SIBYL
Un Certain Regard
Karim AÏNOUZ
A VIDA INVISÍVEL DE EURÍDICE GUSMÃO
(THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF EURÍDICE GUSMÃO)
Nariman ALIEV
EVGE
Kantemir BALAGOV
DYLDA
(BEANPOLE)
Zabou BREITMAN
Eléa GOBBÉ-MÉVELLEC
THE SWALLOWS OF KABUL
Monia CHOKRI
A BROTHER’S LOVE
Michael COVINO
THE CLIMB
Bruno DUMONT
JOAN OF ARC
Christophe HONORÉ
CHAMBRE 212
Oliver LAXE
O QUE ARDE
(A SUN THAT NEVER SETS)
Danielle LESSOVITZ
PORT AUTHORITY
Mounia MEDDOUR
PAPICHA
Midi Z
ZHUO REN MI MI
Albert SERRA
LIBERTÉ
Annie SILVERSTEIN
BULL
Maryam TOUZANI
ADAM
ZU Feng
LIU YU TIAN
(SUMMER OF CHANGSHA)
Out of Competition
Nicolas BEDOS
LA BELLE ÉPOQUE
Dexter FLETCHER
ROCKETMAN
Asif KAPADIA
DIEGO MARADONA
Claude LELOUCH
THE BEST YEARS OF A LIFE
Nicolas WINDING REFN
TOO OLD TO DIE YOUNG – NORTH OF HOLLYWOOD, WEST OF HELL
Midnight Screenings
LEE Won-Tae
THE GANGSTER, THE COP, THE DEVIL
Special Screenings
Waad Al KATEAB
Edward WATTS
FOR SAMA
Pippa BIANCO
SHARE
Alain CAVALIER
ÊTRE VIVANT ET LE SAVOIR
Abel FERRARA
TOMMASO
Werner HERZOG
FAMILY ROMANCE, LLC.
Juan SOLANAS
QUE SEA LEY
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SCHROM x Yacht Club, a full-service live-action, tabletop, and postproduction company, has teamed with Be Electric Studios, a soundstage, equipment rental, and virtual production company, to launch Electric XR, a virtual production collective.
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