Cannes Film Festival 2022
After a global pandemic put an end to the 2020 version and moved last year’s streamlined return to a high summer affair, the world’s biggest and most prestigious film festival returned en force to its traditional spring slot and brought the great and the good of global cinema back to the French Riviera to celebrate 75th edition of the annual Cannes Film Festival.
As usual films and their makers from across the globe gathered to unleash the fruits of their labour and give the media and selected audiences a valuable glimpse of the likely award-contending films to be released throughout the rest of 2022 and well into 2023, both in competition and out. Meanwhile French screen veteran Vincent Lindon returned to the Riviera after starring in last year’s Palme d’Or winner—Julia Ducournau’s ‘Titane’—to take up the presidency of this year’s main competition jury which eventually awarded the prestigious award once again to Ruben Östlund, this time for ‘Triangle of Sadness’.
So let’s break down some of the major films and players in this year’s much anticipated festival.
Jury
Image Source: Getty Images
As per tradition the Palme d’Or among other prizes was awarded by a jury made up of an eclectic selection of filmmakers and artists presided over by French star Vincent Lindon and included Iranian filmmaker and Cannes regular Asghar Farhadi, British actress/filmmaker Rebecca Hall, French writer/director Ladj Ly, American writer/director Jeff Nichols, Indian actress Deepika Padukone, Swedish actress Noomi Rapace, Norwegian writer/director Joachim Trier, and Italian actress Jasmine Trinca.
Jury photocall (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Premieres & Screenings
Tuesday the 17th
Final Cut (Coupez !)
Image Source: Getty Images
After Jim Jarmusch kicked off the 2019 edition of Cannes with his zombie comedy ‘The Dead Don’t Die’ and French filmmaker Leos Carax opened last year’s festival in idiosyncratic musical style with ‘Annette’, this year’s opening film proved a combination of the two when French writer/director and Cannes regular Michel Hazanavicius opened the proceedings with a premiere of his French zombie filmmaker comedy ‘Final Cut’. The story of a film crew whose fortunes shooting a low budget zombie film go from bad to worse when a real zombie attack ensues and they’re plunged into a hilarious and bloody fight for survival.
Hazanavicius was joined on the red carpet by his stars Bérénice Bejo, Romain Duris, Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz and Grégory Gadebois among others, ‘Final Cut’ is out on the 17th of May in France, with no UK or US dates yet.
Final Cut press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Wednesday the 18th
Tchaikovsky’s Wife (Zhena Chaikovskogo)
Image Source: Getty Images
The first full day of screenings at the festival this year saw some Russian participation in the official competition as writer/director and Cannes favourite Kirill Serebrennikov finally returned to the Riviera in physical form—after years of politically motivated house arrest in his native country—flanked by his stars Vladimir Mishukov, Alyona Mikhailova, Odin Byron and Filipp Avdeev for an in-competition premiere of ‘Tchaikovsky’s Wife’. An unconventional biopic charting the complex and tumultuous relationship between the celebrated 19th century composer and his wife Antonina. ‘Tchaikovsky’s Wife’ has no confirmed released dates yet.
Tchaikovsky’s Wife red carpet (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
The Eight Mountains (Le Otto Montagne)
Image Source: Getty Images
The second of the day’s competition entries saw well-travelled Belgian filmmaker Felix van Groeningen return from his Italian voyage with a premiere of reflective alpine human drama ‘The Eight Mountains’. A chronicle of two boys who become men under the shadow of an Italian mountain town, coming-of-age together and sharing formative experiences in this tale of legacy and friendship. Van Groeningen was joined on the red carpet by his stars Alessandro Borghi, Luca Marinelli, Elena Lietti and Filippo Timi, ‘The Eight Mountains’ has no confirmed dates yet.
The Eight Mountains press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Top Gun: Maverick
Image Source: Wire Images
The day’s big out-of-competition screening brought high-octane Hollywood and superstar nostalgia to the Cannes red carpet when Joseph Kosinski and star/producer Tom Cruise brought a sequel over 35 years in-the-making to the Riviera for a world premiere of ‘Top Gun: Maverick’. A tale which sees Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell returns to where it all began after more than three decades of service as an ace US Navy pilot, tasked with training a new generation of top guns but destined to confront the ghosts of the past and the legacy of a dear departed wingman, while teaching talented young pilots about duty and sacrifice.
Cruise along with director Kosinski and producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Christopher McQuarrie were flanked on the red carpet by co-stars Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Glen Powell, Jon Hamm, Danny Ramirez and Jay Ellis among others, ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ is out now in the UK and US.
Top Gun: Maverick red carpet (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Thursday the 19th
Armageddon Time
Image Source: AP
The first Thursday’s competition selection brought American participation and a return of New York writer/director James Gray to the festival, bringing with him a film which took him back home to his city’s past—after previous adventures in the Amazon and outer space—as he gathered his stars Anne Hathaway, Jeremy Strong, Jaylin Webb and Banks Repeta for a premiere of ‘Armageddon Time’.
A coming-of-age character tale set in 1980s Queens, following the multi-generation struggles of a family trying to get their piece of the American Dream. ‘Armageddon Time’ has no confirmed dates yet.
Armageddon Time press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
EO
Image Source: Getty Images
Polish cinema also made its mark on the official competition on Wednesday when actor/writer/director and Cannes regular Jerzy Skolimowski returned to the festival alongside his stars Sandra Drzymalska, Saverio Fabbri and Mateusz Kosciukiewicz for a premiere of their pan-European animal’s eye view of the modern world ‘EO’. A story which follows the fortunes of a captivating grey donkey on a voyage which sees him cross paths with humans who run the gamut of morality, as he experiences the full spectrum of life which ranges from despair to joy along the way. ‘EO’ has no confirmed dates.
EO press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Hunt (Hong-teu)
Image Source: Getty Images
The day’s big out-of-competition premiere brought Korean cinema back to the Riviera as ‘Squid Game’ superstar Lee Jung-jae made his directorial debut with the premiere of his 1980’s spy thriller ‘Hunt’. A Korean espionage tale centred on two operators from different units tasked with uncovering a mole in their South Korean agencies after a high-ranking North Korean official defects south, only for suspicion and paranoia to force them to turn their attentions on each other when the hunted double-agent eludes them and national security is threatened at the highest level. Lee was on hand with his stars Heo Sung-tae and Jung Woo-sung, ‘Hunt’ has no confirmed dates yet.
Hunt photocall (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Friday the 20th
Brother and Sister (Frère et Soeur)
Image Source: AFP
The first weekend this year saw a return of French writer/director and Cannes veteran Arnaud Desplechin to the festival in official competition mode, along with his stars Marion Cotillard, Melvil Poupaud, Benjamin Siksou, Max Baissette de Malglaive and Cosmina Stratan among others for the premiere of their reflective French family drama ‘Brother and Sister’. The tale of two estranged forty-something siblings—one an actress the other a teacher/poet—who are begrudgingly brought back together by the deaths of their parents, forcing them to face the ghosts of the past and what drove them apart. ‘Brother and Sister’ has no confirmed dates yet.
Brother and Sister red carpet (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Boy from Heaven (Walad Min Al Janna)
Image Source: Getty Images
The second of the day’s official competition entries was a Scandinavian affair by way of Egypt which saw writer/director Tarik Saleh make his Cannes debut with ‘Boy from Heaven’. A story set in a prestigious Cairo university, where a working-class young man is given the opportunity to study only to get caught up in a web of political and religious ambition when the university’s Grand Imam unexpectedly dies. Saleh was joined by his stars Tawfeek Barhom and Fares Fares among others, ‘Boy from Heaven’ is out on the 30th of September in Sweden, with no other dates yet.
Boy from Heaven press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Three Thousand Years of Longing
Image Source: AP
Friday’s big out-of-competition premiere was an Aussie-led global affair which saw groundbreaking writer/director George Miller change direction from post-apocalyptic action/thriller towards a quirky mystical journey of love and discovery through time and desire with the screening of ‘Three Thousand Years of Longing’. The story of a logical lecturer and academic whose life is changed on a trip to Istanbul where she meets a Djinn who offers her three wishes and a journey through time in exchange for his freedom, forcing her to challenge her beliefs and his abilities when she asks for something unexpected and unlikely.
Miller was joined on the red carpet by his stars Tilda Swinton and Idris Elba, ‘Three Thousand Years of Longing’ is out on the 31st of August in the US, with no UK date yet.
Three Thousand Years of Longing press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Saturday the 21st
Triangle of Sadness
Image Source: Getty Images
After the ultimate triumph of winning the 2017 Palme d’Or with his socially challenging feature ‘The Square’, Swedish writer/director Ruben Östlund returned to the official competition with his latest daring reflection of society, gracing the Cannes crowd with a premiere of his Instagram generation’s ‘Gilligan’s Island’-gone-wrong meditation on class systems and excess with ‘Triangle of Sadness’.
A story set in the lap of luxury and paradise on a swanky cruise, where a young model couple find themselves trapped with an array of morally questionable mega rich passengers when disaster strikes, as cliques and hierarchies are turned upside down when they’re plunged into desert island survival. Östlund was joined in the Riviera by his stars Harris Dickinson, Henrik Dorsin, Vicki Berlin, Charlbi Dean, Woody Harrelson, Dolly De Leon and Sunnyi Melles among others, ‘Triangle of Sadness’ is out on the 7th of October in Sweden, with no other dates yet.
Triangle of Sadness press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
R.M.N.
Image Source: Getty Images
Both Romanian cinema and Cannes regular Cristian Mungiu returned to the festival on the first Saturday this year when the writer/director brought along his stars Maria Drăguș, Marin Grigore, Macrina Bârlădeanu, Judith State and Orsolya Moldovan for an in-competition premiere of ‘R.M.N.’. A modern meditation on the human condition centred around a father who returns to his Transylvanian village after leaving his life in Germany, focusing on reconnecting with his family and guiding his anxious son through his growing pains, only for the relative peace of the town to be shattered by the fears and resentments which boil to the surface when the local factory brings in outsider workers. ‘R.M.N.’ is out on the 3rd of June in Romania, with no other confirmed dates yet.
R.M.N. press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
War Pony
Image Source: Getty Images
Saturday also brought some interest in the Un Certain Regard competition when young American indie stalwart star Riley Keough stepped behind the camera for the first time and teamed up with fellow debutante co-director Gina Gammell to bring a premiere of ‘War Pony’ to the Riviera.
A contemporary coming-of-age drama from a rare native American perspective, following the fates of a twenty-something hustler and a tween boy both from the Lakota people, whose lives on the Pine Ridge Reservation intersect through a shared struggle for belonging and becoming men in their very particular and changing world. Keough and Gammell were joined on the red carpet by their stars Woodrow Lone Elk, Ashley Shelton and Robert Stover among others, ‘War Pony’ has no confirmed dates yet.
War Pony photocall (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Sunday the 22nd
Forever Young (Les Amandiers)
Image Source: Getty Images
The first Sunday at Cannes this year brought further French participation to the official competition as French star-turned-director Valeria Bruni Tedeschi brought her latest feature and its stars Nadia Tereszkiewicz, Sofiane Bennace, Louis Garrel, Eva Danino and Micha Lescot among others to the Riviera for the premiere of ‘Forever Young’.
A tribute to the theatre and coming-of-age human drama set in Paris of the late 1980s and following a group of young performers after they’re admitted to a prestigious theatre school, as they struggle with the rigours of the curriculum and the whims of their instructors while learning about life and figuring out their place in the world. ‘Forever Young’ has no confirmed dates yet.
Forever Young press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Holy Spider
Image Source: Getty Images
The day’s second official competition entry was a Scandinavian affair by way of Iran which saw writer/director Ali Abbasi return to Cannes for the premiere of ‘Holy Spider’. A tense neo-noir crime thriller set in the streets of the Iranian holy city of Mashhad, where a journalist plunges into the dark underbelly of society to track down an illusive serial killer preying on the city’s sex workers and sinners. Abbasi was joined by his stars Zar Amir-Ebrahimi, Sara Fazilat, Forouzan Jamshidnejad and Mehdi Bajestani among others, ‘Holy Spider’ is out on the 13th of July in France, with no UK date yet.
Holy Spider press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
November (Novembre)
Image Source: AFP
Sunday’s big out-of-competition premiere was another French affair in the form of a ensemble crime drama from director Cédric Jimenez, as his stars Stéphane Bak, Sami Outalbali, Sandrine Kiberlain, Jean Dujardin and Anaïs Demoustier among others assembled for a screening of ‘November’. The story of an investigation by French anti-terrorism agents hunting suspects following the series of Islamic extremist attacks in and around Paris in 2015. ‘November’ is out on the 5th of October in France, with no other dates yet.
November press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Week 2 (Next Page)–>
Comments
Soundtrack of the Month
Mad Max: Fury Road
Films by Rating
