Cannes Film Festival 2021
Premieres & Screenings
Monday the 12th
The French Dispatch
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The first day of the second week at this year’s festival brought arguably the most anticipated (and overdue) premiere and one of the most celebrated fimmmakers working today to the Riviera, as the incomparable Wes Anderson brought his latest relentlessly idiosyncratic and immaculately styled ensemble comedy/drama ‘The French Dispatch’ to the most fitting place to unleash it, in competition mode no less.
Anderson’s tribute to journalism, or at least what it used to be, is set in a picturesque fictional mid-20th century French city which brings together a collection of colourful characters and their stories, published by a French outpost of an American newspaper. The writer/director was flanked on the red carpet by producer Roman Coppola and composer Alexandre Desplat, plus a big chunk of his starry cast including Mathieu Amalric, Stephen Park, Timothée Chalamet, Lyna Khoudri, Tilda Swinton, Bill Murray, Adrien Brody and Benicio Del Toro, ‘The French Dispatch’ is out on the 22nd of October in the UK and US.
The French Dispatch photocall (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Bergman Island
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Monday’s official competition slate also brought French writer/director Mia Hansen-Løve back to Cannes with her relationship drama tribute to filmmaking and inspiration ‘Bergman Island’. Set in the Swedish island where Ingmar Bergman lived and found inspiration, it follows an American filmmaker couple seeking inspiration in writing their respective screenplays, only to be drawn by a beautiful wilderness which blurs the lines of reality but begins to push them apart.
Hansen-Løve was joined by her stars Hampus Nordenson, Anders Danielsen Lie, Vicky Krieps and Tim Roth, ‘Bergman Island’ is out on the 14th of July in France, with no UK date yet.
Bergman Island press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Petrov’s Flu
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The third official competition premiere of the day saw the work of Russian writer/director Kirill Serebrennikov—a multiple Cannes nominee but rare attendee thanks to his legal and alleged political troubles back home—return to the festival virtually and in the form of his idiosyncratic hallucinatory look at post-Soviet Russia ‘Petrov’s Flu’. Set in the bleakness after the fall of the iron curtain, it follows a flu-riddled comic book artist whose walk across town becomes a frozen fever dream as he floats between fantasy and a reality which may be even scarier. In his absence Serebrennikov was represented by his stars Yulia Peresild, Ivan Dorn, Chulpan Khamatova, Yury Kolokolnikov and producer Ilya Stewart, ‘Petrov’s Flu’ is out on the 9th of September in Russia, with no UK date yet.
Petrov’s Flu press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Tuesday the 13th
Titane
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After a daring bloodthirsty debut (Raw) which took the European film festival circuit by storm in 2016, French writer/director Julia Ducournau returned to the Riviera on Tuesday in (eventually triumphant) competition mode with her pulsating and equally provocative sophomore feature ‘Titane’. An urban set contemporary thriller which follows a middle-aged father who is reunited with his missing son after a decade and a series of unexplained crimes, and the the formidable and mysterious young woman who transforms lives.
Ducournau was flanked on the red carpet by his stars Laïs Salameh, Agathe Rousselle, Vincent Lindon and Garance Marillier, ‘Titane’ is out on the 14th of July in France, with no UK date yet.
Titane press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
A Hero (Ghahreman)
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Tuesday also brought some Persian participation to the official competition and a Middle-East cinema titan back to Cannes when writer/director Asghar Farhadi brought a premiere for his latest Iranian meditation on the human condition ‘A Hero’. A story following the plight of a man condemned to prison for an unpaid debt, who tries to convince his accuser to withdraw the charge whilst on a two-day prison leave, only for things to go unexpectedly awry. Farhadi was flanked by his producer Alexandre Mallet-Guy and stars Sarina Farhadi and Amir Jadidi, ‘A Hero’ is out on the 22nd of December in France, with no UK date yet.
A Hero screening ovation (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Deception (Tromperie)
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The day’s big out-of-competition special premiere saw long-time Cannes attendee Arnaud Desplechin return to the festival for a screening of his contemplative period human drama ‘Deception’. A story set in 1980s London where an American novelist is exiled and struggles to balance his marriage with the fictional women of his imagination and a very real younger mistress, with whom he spends much time existentially deconstructing the pillars which make up his life. The writer/director was on hand with just one of his stars Denis Podalydès thanks to COVID complications, ‘Deception’ is out on the 22nd of December in France, with no UK date yet.
Deception trailer (courtesy of The Upcoming)
Wednesday the 14th
Red Rocket
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Wednesday’s competition proceedings brought some American interest and with it a return of inventive writer/director Sean Baker, who once again focused his lens on marginalised working-class people to give us a premiere of his latest daring naturalistic slice of 21st century Americana ‘Red Rocket’. A comedy/drama chronicle of a washed-up porn star and hustler who reluctantly returns to his Texas home-town, putting him on an awkward collision course with locals who barely tolerate him.
Baker was flanked on the red carpet by his stars Simon Rex, Suzanna Son, Brittney Rodriguez and Bree Elrod, ‘Red Rocket’ has no confirmed dates yet.
Red Rocket press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Paris, 13th District (Les Olympiades, Paris 13e)
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There was also some further homegrown interest in the official competition on Wednesday, which saw Cannes regular and one of the finest French filmmakers working today Jacques Audiard return to the Riviera with a premiere of his distinctly 21st century love story ‘Paris, 13th District’. Set in the capital and revolving around a love rectangle which sees three young women and a young man navigate the treacherous waters between friendship and modern romance. The writer/director was joined by his stars Makita Samba, Jehnny Beth, Lucie Zhand and Noemie Merlant, ‘Paris, 13th District’ is out on the 27th of October in France, with no UK date yet.
Paris, 13th District press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
The Story of My Wife (Feleségem Története)
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The third of Wednesday’s competition premieres was a pan-European affair which brought an overdue return to the festival for Hungarian writer/director Ildikó Enyedi, as she adapts the Milán Füst novel into mid-century relationship screen drama ‘The Story of My Wife’. A tale of romance and jealousy which follows a Dutch sea captain who makes a bet with a friend to marry the first woman who enters a a café, only to then become paranoid about his marriage and the fidelity of his young French wife. Enyedi was joined by her stars Louis Garrel, Gijs Naber, Luna Wedler and Sergio Rubini plus producer Monika Mecs, ‘The Story of My Wife’ is out on the 12th of January 2022 in France, with no UK date yet.
The Story of My Wife press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Thursday the 15th
France
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The second Thursday at the festival this year brought Riviera regular Bruno Dumont back in competition mode with his latest idiosyncratic French dramedy and quirky satirical meditation on the modern media ‘France’. It follows the career of a French celebrity journalist and TV personality as she struggles to balance a frenzied career with her personal life, only for everything to be thrown upside down by a freak accident.
Writer/director Dumont was without his COVID-affected star Léa Seydoux but was joined by her co-stars Blanche Gardin, Emanuele Arioli and Benjamin Biolay, ‘France’ is out on the 25th of August, with no UK dates yet.
France photocall (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Memoria
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The day’s other official competition screening saw well-travelled Thai filmmaker and former Palme d’Or-winner Apichatpong Weerasethakul return to the festival with his stars Elkin Diaz, Jeanne Balibar, this year’s Cannes MVP Tilda Swinton and Juan Pablo Urrego for a premiere of his latest transcendental human drama ‘Memoria’. A reflective character tale set mostly in rural Colombia where a Scottish woman finds herself after visiting her sister in the city, as she begins to connect with locals who help her to reconcile the strange sounds she hears and her personal struggles with her sleeping thoughts, through shared memories. ‘Memoria’ has no confirmed dates.
Memoria trailer (courtesy of Neon)
Casablanca Beats (Haut et Fort)
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Thursday’s final competition premiere brought North African cinema and French-Moroccan filmmaker Nabil Ayouch back to the Riviera with his latest realist Moroccan street meditation on the human condition ‘Casablanca Beats’. A story set in the historic city and following the fortunes of a former rapper who transforms the lives of working-class kids when he takes a job a local cultural centre and opens their minds to the expressive possibilities of hip-hop. The writer/director was flanked by his stars Mehdi Razzouk, Abdelilah Basbousi, Samah Barigou, Anas Basbousi, Ismail Adouab, Zineb Boujemaa, Amina Kannan, Nouhaila Arif, Meriem Nakkach and Sofia Akhmisse, ‘Casablanca Beats’ has no release date yet.
Casablanca Beats press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Friday the 16th
Nitram
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After tacking Shakespeare, a video game phenomenon and Ned Kelly for the screen in his striking inimitable style, Aussie director Justin Kurzel returned to the Cannes competition in a more sombre tone as he takes a personalised, dramatised approach to the the very real events in mid-90s Australia which led to a transformative mass shooting massacre, with the premiere of ‘Nitram’. The tale of a young suburban Tasmanian who struggles to fit in until he meets a reclusive heiress, only for family frustration and personal tragedy to fuel a loneliness and resentment which monstrously explodes into horror for the whole community, and a country around him.
Kurzel was flanked in the Riviera by his stars Caleb Landry Jones, producer Nick Batzias and screenwriter Shaun Grant, ‘Nitram’ has no confirmed dates yet.
Nitram press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
The Restless (Les Intranquilles)
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The penultimate day’s second in-competition premiere was a Francophone family affair which saw Belgian director Joachim Lafosse return to Cannes for his debut official competition run with ‘The Restless’. A family drama centred around a couple who struggle to keep their relationship and their unit together through shared love despite the disruptiveness of his bipolarity. Lafosse was joined by his stars Gabriel Merz Chammah, Leïla Bekhti and Damien Bonnard, ‘The Restless’ is out on the 20th of October in France, with no UK date yet.
The Restless press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Vortex
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The big out-of-competition special premiere of the day signalled a recently announced return to the Riviera for French cinema’s Argentinian-born provocateur-in-chief Gaspar Noé, as he scooped genre film legend Dario Argento in front of the camera as his star alongside Françoise Lebrun, Kylian Dheret and Alex Lutz for his latest dark concoction ‘Vortex’. A drama/documentary hybrid shrouded in mystery and blending styles, revolving around the last days of an elderly couple suffering from dementia, and that’s about all we know. ‘Vortex’ has no confirmed dates yet, and may well undergo some changes before its eventual release.
Vortex photocall (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Saturday the 17th
OSS 117: From Africa with Love (OSS 117: Alerte Rouge en Afrique Noire)
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The honour of closing Cannes ’21 fell to French director Nicolas Bedos who managed to wrap the screenings up with lighter tones as he took over the helm of a popular French spy comedy franchise from Michel Hazanavicius and gave the Cannes faithful a premiere of ‘OSS 117: From Africa with Love’, the 3rd instalment of the hit Bond parody.
Bedos was flanked on the red carpet by his star titular agent Jean Dujardin along with co-stars Natacha Lindinger, Fatou N’Diayeand and Pierre Niney, and screenwriter Jean-François Halin, ‘OSS 117: From Africa with Love’ is out on the 4th of August in France, with no UK dates.
OSS 117: From Africa with Love photocall (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
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