The legendary Festival De Cannes kicked off on Tuesday with the city being transformed from now until the 23rd of May into a hub for all things cinema. This yearâs jury is headed up by none other than the legendary Park Chan-wook, being the first Korean filmmaker to ever hold this mantle. With legendary films emerging from last years line up such as Iranian Palme dâOr winner It Was Just an Accident, an important film due to its genesis being one of government censorship, as well as the highly popular Die My Love and Joachim Trierâs stand out Sentimental Value it is evident that keeping an eye on the films premiering at Cannes is sure to leave you with a watch list full of five star viewing experiences. Here are a couple of films premiering at Cannes that I think you should be looking out for this year.
- Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma.
Personally, this is by far my most highly anticipated film premiering at Cannes this year. Already having premiered in the âUn Certain Regardâ section of Cannes on the 13th of May, the reviews of Jane Schoenbrunâs next film have been nothing short of amazing with Alex Kaan of Phantasmag stating that the film is âa genre-bending spectacle and a testament to the power of queer film.â Whilst I myself will have to wait till August to confirm this assertion (as I, shocking as it is, am not on the Cannes guest list) I have no doubt in Schoenbrunâs ability as writer and director after my viewing of the spectacular I Saw the TV Glow, which if you havenât watched already, I urge you to right now. Since watching I Saw the TV Glow, I have patiently awaited Schoenbrunâs next project and upon hearing that it was to be an ode to horror and the psychosexual as well as touching on the portrayals of gender deviance in Psycho and The Silence of the Lambs, I felt as if Schoenbrun created the film with me in mind. The premise is highly meta with a queer filmmaker being hired to shoot the next instalment of a fictitious horror franchise called Camp Miasma. The director then becomes obsessed with casting the franchises, now reclusive, original final girl played by none other than Gillian Anderson. If this doesnât tantalise all the queer horror fans out there, I donât know what will.
2. Fatherland .
Doing a complete U turn in terms of genre, my next most anticipated film to premier at Cannes is Fatherland from Polish director, Pawel Pawlikowski featuring Sandra HĂźller of Anatomy of a Fall fame. I have a feeling that this film is set to be one of the most popular of the runners in the race to win the Palm dâOr this year. This biographical drama centres around renowned German novelist Paul Thomas Mann following his familyâs exile after standing against Nazi rule in Germany. Mann himself is a fascinating figure having won the 1929 Nobel Prize for Literature. As well as this, the fact that producer Edward Berger of All Quiet on the Western Front and Conclave fame opted not to direct the film himself, favouring a non-German director, adds another layer of intrigue surrounding Pawlikowskiâs portrayal of Mann that I canât wait to see.
3. Sheep in the Box.
Shifting focus now to a Sci-Fi pick, Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-edaâs latest film Sheep in the Box is another of the films in the running to win the Palm dâOr this year. Focusing upon the near future, Kore-eda explores notions of grief and the ethics of AI through this narrative in which, trying to cope with the grief at the loss of their child, a couple seek out a humanoid, robot replica of him. I find the inclusion of this film critiquing the expansion of AI intriguing in conjunction with films like Steven Soderberghâs documentary John Lennon: The Last Interview, also premiering at Cannes, using generative AI within the filmmaking process. I include this pick as a critique of AI always sits well with me, however, whether Kore-eda will have a fresh perspective on this issue or whether this film will read similarly to another overdone Black Mirror episode I will wait to find out.
With so many films from around the world premiering at Cannes this year, I would urge you to go and see if any pique your interest. I find that looking at the festivals roster can often introduce me to films I would have never come across or considered before.
