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CANNES 2020

A scramble unfolds in the home stretch towards Cannes

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- An overview of the favourites and outsiders vying for a place in the 73rd edition of the Cannes Film Festival (running 12 – 23 May 2020)

A scramble unfolds in the home stretch towards Cannes
Directors Nanni Moretti, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Ildikó Enyedi, Paul Verhoeven, Mia Hansen-Løve, Leos Carax, Maïwenn, Nadav Lapid and Thomas Vinterberg

After a sumptuous 2019 vintage, whose notes lasted right up until the recent Oscar Awards with the triumph of the Palme d’Or picture Parasite by South Korea’s Bong Joon Ho, the Cannes Film Festival is soon to decant the programme of its 73rd edition, scheduled to unspool between 12 – 23 May 2020. Only two things are known for sure so far: American filmmaker Spike Lee will preside over the Official Competition jury (read our news) and Cannes selector Thierry Frémaux will have a very wide range of films and talented applicants to choose from (which isn’t to say we won’t enjoy a few surprises). An overview of these contenders seems fitting, before they officially enter into the swirling mass of films that will be battling it out in the selection process for their place in the sun, atop the Mount Olympus of world auteur cinema that is the Cannes Film Festival.

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At the forefront of these contenders are three filmmakers already in possession of a Palme d’Or: Italy’s Nanni Moretti, who’ll be staking his bets on Tre piani [+see also:
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]
, Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul armed with Memoria [+see also:
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]
 and France’s Laurent Cantet brandishing Arthur Rambo [+see also:
film review
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interview: Laurent Cantet
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]
.

Standing tall amongst the filmmakers having already triumphed in Cannes, we find Japan’s Naomi Kawase with her title True Mothers, Denmark’s Thomas Vinterberg with offering Another Round [+see also:
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]
, Mexico’s Michel Franco with Lo que algunos soñaron [+see also:
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]
, Chad’s Mahamat Saleh-Haroun with Lingui [+see also:
film review
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interview: Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, Achou…
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]
, and France’s Bruno Dumont with On a Half Clear Morning [+see also:
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interview: Bruno Dumont
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]
, alongside his compatriots Maïwenn, Xavier Beauvois and Mathieu Amalric with DNA [+see also:
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]
, Drift Away [+see also:
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interview: Xavier Beauvois
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]
 and Serre moi fort [+see also:
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]
 respectively. For the record, the potential inclusion of American director Sofia Coppola in the competition, with On The Rocks, is contingent on her film being released in French cinemas (a precondition for all works in contention for the Palme d’Or) since the film is produced by the Apple platform.

In terms of filmmakers having already participated in the competition on the Croisette, notable names include American director Wes Anderson with The French Dispatch [+see also:
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]
, the Netherlands’ Paul Verhoeven with Benedetta [+see also:
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, French director Leos Carax with Annette [+see also:
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(and the coupling of two stars, Marion Cotillard and Adam Driver), alongside his compatriots François Ozon with Summer of 85 [+see also:
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]
, Nicole Garcia with Lovers [+see also:
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interview: Nicole Garcia
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]
, Stéphane Brizé with For Better or For Worse [+see also:
film review
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interview: Stéphane Brizé
film profile
]
, Xavier Giannoli with Lost Illusions [+see also:
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interview: Xavier Giannoli
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]
 and Benoît Jacquot with Suzanna Andler [+see also:
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]
. There’s also Russian filmmaker Kirill Serebrennikov with Petrov’s Flu [+see also:
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]
, Hungarian director Kornel Mundruczó with the Canadian production Pieces of a Woman [+see also:
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interview: Kornél Mundruczó and Kata W…
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]
, Austria’s Ulrich Seidl with Rimini [+see also:
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interview: Ulrich Seidl
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]
, Italy’s Daniele Luchetti with The Ties [+see also:
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interview: Daniele Luchetti
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]
, Japanese filmmaker Kiyoshi Kurosawa with Wife of a Spy, the Iraqi Hiner Saleem with Goodnight, Soldier, and maybe even American star Sean Penn with Flag Day (even if the reception The Last Face was treated to in Cannes 2016 does seem difficult to move past on paper).

The most serious contenders for a first possible outing to the French festival’s competition notably include Hungary’s Ildikó Enyedi with The Story of My Wife [+see also:
film review
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interview: Ildikó Enyedi
film profile
]
, French director Mia Hansen-Løve with Bergman Island [+see also:
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interview: Mia Hansen-Løve
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]
, American Chloé Zhao with Nomadland, her compatriot David Lowery with The Green Knight, China’s Ann Hui with Love After Love, Lebanon’s Danielle Arbid with the French-Belgian co-production Passion simple [+see also:
film review
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interview: Danielle Arbid
film profile
]
, and even Israeli director Nadav Lapid with Ahed’s Knee [+see also:
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interview: Nadav Lapid
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]
.

There’s no shortage of talent in terms of European productions hoping for a Cannes premiere, as proven by the three Italian titles Il buco [+see also:
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interview: Michelangelo Frammartino
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]
, by Michelangelo Frammartino, The Macaluso Sisters [+see also:
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]
, by Emma Dante, and Miss Marx [+see also:
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interview: Susanna Nicchiarelli
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]
, by Susanna Nichiarelli. There’s also Fools [+see also:
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interview: Tomasz Wasilewski
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]
by Poland’s Tomasz Wasilewski, The Girl and the Spider [+see also:
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interview: Ramon Zürcher and Silvan Zü…
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]
by Swiss director Ramön Zurcher, The Last Ones [+see also:
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interview: Veiko Õunpuu
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]
by Estonia’s Veiko Õunpuu, The Innocents [+see also:
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interview: Eskil Vogt
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]
by Norwegian Eskil Vogt, Shorta [+see also:
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interview: Anders Ølholm and Frederik …
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]
by Danish directors Danois Frederik Louis Hviid and Anders Ølholm, The Europeans by Spanish filmmaker Víctor García León and the English-language feature Nobody Has to Know [+see also:
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interview: Bouli Lanners
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]
by Belgium’s Bouli Lanners and Tim Mielants.

Likewise impossible to ignore are Amira by Egyptian director Mohamed Diab, Memory Box [+see also:
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interview: Joana Hadjithomas, Khalil J…
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]
by Lebanese filmmakers Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige, The Man Who Sold His Skin [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Kaouther Ben Hania
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]
by Tunisia’s Kaouther Ben Hania (news), A Story of Love and Desire [+see also:
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]
by her compatriot Leyla Bouzid, Casablanca Beats [+see also:
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]
by Morocco’s Nabil Ayouch, La Nuit des Rois by the French-Ivory Coast director Philippe Lacôte, Here We Are [+see also:
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]
by the Israeli Nir Bergman, Shake Your Cares Away by his fellow countryman Tom Shoval and Mainstream by American director Gia Coppola.

On the French side of the starting blocks, over and above the names already mentioned, we find Onoda – 10,000 Nights in the Jungle [+see also:
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interview: Arthur Harari
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]
by Arthur Harari, Mandibles [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Quentin Dupieux
film profile
]
by Quentin Dupieux, Les Années 10 by Thierry de Peretti (article), Love Affair(s) [+see also:
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interview: Emmanuel Mouret
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]
by Emmanuel Mouret and After Blue [+see also:
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]
by Bertrand Mandico, not forgetting Between Two Worlds [+see also:
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interview: Emmanuel Carrère
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]
by Emmanuel Carrère.

Other stand-out productions of French origin include Madame Claude [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Florence Gastaud
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]
by Sylvie Verheyde, Our Men [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Rachel Lang
film profile
]
 by Rachel Lang, A Night Doctor [+see also:
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interview: Elie Wajeman
film profile
]
by Elie Wajeman and Madeleine Collins [+see also:
film review
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interview: Antoine Barraud
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]
by Antoine Barraud.

In terms of the ever-highly disputed category of first feature films, we find, amongst others, The Drover’s Wife by Australian director Leah Purcell, Skies of Lebanon [+see also:
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]
by French filmmaker Chloé Mazlo, Bruno Reidal [+see also:
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interview: Vincent Le Port
film profile
]
by her compatriot Vincent Le Port, The Third War [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Giovanni Aloi
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]
by Italy’s Giovanni AloïNatural Light [+see also:
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interview: Dénes Nagy
film profile
]
by Hungarian talent Dénes Nagy, The Swarm [+see also:
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interview: Just Philippot
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]
 by French director Just Philippot (article), The Translator [+see also:
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interview: Rana Kazkaz and Anas Khalaf
film profile
]
by the duo of Syrian origin Rana Kazkaz and Anas Khalaf, Hatching [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Hanna Bergholm
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]
by Finnish filmmaker Hanna Bergholm, Beginning [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Dea Kulumbegashvili
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]
by Georgia’s Dea Kulumbegashvili, Unclenching The Fists [+see also:
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]
by Russian director Kira Kovalenko, Taste by Vietnamese filmmaker Le Bao and the French films Gagarin [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Fanny Liatard and Jérémy Tr…
film profile
]
by the duo composed of Fanny Liatard and Jérémy Trouilh, Rascal [+see also:
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interview: Peter Dourountzis
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]
by Peter Dourountzis, The Heroics [+see also:
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interview: Maxime Roy
film profile
]
by Maxime Roy and My Best Part [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Nicolas Maury
interview: Nicolas Maury
film profile
]
by Nicolas Maury. Alongside them are The Hill Where Lionesses Roar [+see also:
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interview: Luana Bajrami
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]
by the French-Kosovan Luàna Bajrami, Apples [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Christos Nikou
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]
by Greece’s Christos Nikou, Libertad [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Clara Roquet
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]
by Spanish director Clara Roquet, Bootlegger by Canada’s Caroline Monnet, Sans Soleil by Belgian filmmaker Banu Akseki and Moneyboys [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: CB Yi
film profile
]
by China’s C.B Yi.

Last but not least, bumping up against others on the documentary side are The Brain [+see also:
film review
trailer
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]
by Swiss director Jean-Stéphane Bron, and French titles A Story of One's Own [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
by Amandine Gay and Bigger Than Us [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
by Flore Vasseur, while animations include Where is Anne Frank? [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ari Folman
film profile
]
by Israel’s Ari Folman and The Crossing [+see also:
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trailer
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]
by Florence Miailhe.

Possible films? Probable films? Amongst these many indications (which films will be ready in the spring? Who made them? Who is selling them?), and the suppositions that are cranked out by prognosticators-come-bar-room-philosophisers in the field of world cinema before the sword of selection finally falls, we also find, among various other hopes and dreams, that of discovering Tenet [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
by American director Christopher Nolan.

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(Translated from French)

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