Cannes Film Festival 2024
Premieres & Screenings
Monday the 20th
The Apprentice
Image Source: Getty
The second week of the official competition this year kicked off in politically provocative style as daring Iranian-Danish director Ali Abbasi returned to the Riviera with his eye focused on American politics and possibly stirring the upcoming US election pot, turning his artistic eye to a controversial former and potentially future president to tell the tale of the makings of Donald Trump with the premiere of ‘The Apprentice’.
A pulsating period biopic, meditation on American capitalism and portrait of a magnate turned cult figure and unlikely world leader, charting the rise of a young Trump through 1970s and ’80s New York real estate, as his personality and life ethos is shaped by his close relationship with a questionable mentor—US government lawyer turned New York political “fixer” and attorney to the mob Roy Cohn. Abbasi was in attendance alongside his stars Martin Donovan, Sebastian Stan and Maria Bakalova plus his producers, ‘The Apprentice’ has no confirmed dates yet.
The Apprentice press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
The Shrouds
Image Source: Getty
The day’s second official competition screening brought a return to the festival for another modern screen great and cult film legend when Canadian body horror king David Cronenberg walked the Cannes red carpet alongside his stars Vincent Cassel, Diane Kruger, Sandrine Holt, Guy Pearce and Elizabeth Saunders for the premiere of their afterlife horror/thriller ‘The Shrouds’.
The tale of a successful and innovative but grieving businessman reeling from the death of his beloved wife, who develops groundbreaking but troubling technology to monitor our dear departed beyond the grave in their shrouds, only for things to take a dark turn when his wife’s grave along with several others are mysteriously desecrated, as he turns sleuth to unravel the disturbing truth behind it. ‘The Shrouds’ is out on the 25th of September in France, with no UK or US dates yet.
The Shrouds press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Veteran 2 (I, the Executioner)
Image Source: Getty
Monday’s big out-of-competition screening was a South Korean cinema affair which brought writer/director Ryoo Seung-wan back to Cannes alongside his stars Hwang Jung-Min, Jung Hae-In, Oh Dal-Soo, Oh Dae Whan, Jang Yoonju and Kim Sihoo for the premiere of their modern crime action/thriller ‘Veteran 2’. A tale of panic and fear in South Korea when a ruthless and elusive serial killer picks off victims and taunts the public and authorities, leading the Major Crime Investigation team to solve the complex and twisting case by turning to an idealistic rookie officer who ends up defining the investigation. ‘Veteran 2’ has no confirmed dates yet.
Veteran 2 (I, the Executioner) red carpet (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Tuesday the 21st
Anora
Image Source: Getty
The second Tuesday this year proved another busy day for the official competition with three contenders on show, the first of which brought American indie filmmaker and Cannes regular Sean Baker back to the Riviera as his commitment to focusing his lens on sex workers and those on the margins of modern working-class USA continues (with ultimate Palme d’Or winning results), giving us the premiere of his unorthodox Cinderella story and ‘Pretty Woman’ inspired comedy/drama ‘Anora’.
The tale of a New York working girl who finds a fairytale way out of the sex industry when she meets a wild and wealthy young Russian whom she swiftly marries, only for his oligarch father and disapproving mother to find out and travel to the US to put an end to this ill-advised impromptu marriage. Baker was joined on the red carpet by his producer Samantha Quan plus stars Mark Eydelshteyn and Mikey Madison, ‘Anora’ has no confirmed dates yet.
Anora press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Parthenope
Image Source: Getty
Italian cinema also got its time in the Cannes official competition sun on Tuesday when visionary writer/director and Cannes regular Paolo Sorrentino returned to the festival with another cinematic ode to his native Naples, flanked by his stars Dario Aita, Daniele Rienzo, Isabella Ferrari, Celeste Dalla Porta, Stefania Sandrelli, Gary Oldman and Luisa Ranieri for the premiere of their reflective, era-spanning realist fantasy ‘Parthenope’.
The chronicle of a beguiling woman who bears the ancient Greek name and accompanying myth of her enthralling but exasperating Southern Italian city, charting the course of her life from the 1950s to the present day and all the various relationships between herself and the Napoli locals drawn into her irresistible orbit, as they question whether she’s a mythical siren or a just a personification of their city’s enchanting but frustrating nature. ‘Parthenope’ has no confirmed dates yet.
Parthenope press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Marcello Mio
Image Source: Getty
Tuesday’s third official competition screening was a quirky French comedy affair which brought writer/director Christophe Honoré back to the festival with his droll self-referential and self-aware ode to an Italian screen giant and his superstar family, treating the Cannes faithful to the premiere of ‘Marcello Mio’.
The story of Chiara Mastroianni (playing herself), who in the midst of an existential crisis begins to dress, act, and sound exactly like her late father the legendary Marcello Mastroianni, as her behaviour starts to confound but then convince those around her that she is him, including her legendary mother Catherine Deneuve. Honoré was flanked on the red carpet by his stars Fabrice Luchini, Chiara Mastroianni, Catherine Deneuve, Benjamin Biolay, Nicole Garcia, Melvil Poupaud and Hugh Skinner, ‘Marcello Mio’ is out now in France, with no UK or US dates yet.
Marcello Mio press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Wednesday the 22nd
Motel Destino
Image Source: Getty
The second Wednesday at Cannes this year signalled the return of Brazilian cinema and writer/director Karim Aïnouz in Palme d’Or contention, as he was joined by his stars Fabio Assunção, Nataly Rocha and Iago Xavier plus producers Fabiano Gullane, Caio Gullane and Janaina Bernardes for the official competition premiere of his latest character drama chronicle of Brazilian crime and passion ‘Motel Destino’.
A twisting erotic drama/thriller with criminal undertones set in a roadside sex motel on the picturesque coast of northeast Brazil, where the lives of its quick-tempered owner and his beguiling younger wife are turned upside down by the arrival of a young man on the run from the law, as relationships and loyalties are tested while they head towards a seemingly inescapable destiny. ‘Motel Destino’ has no confirmed UK or US dates yet.
Motel Destino press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Grand Tour
Image Source: Getty
The day’s second official competition premiere was a Portuguese cinema affair by way of early 20th century colonial south-east Asia, as Portuguese writer/director Miguel Gomes returned to the Riviera alongside his stars Lang Khê Tran, Crista Alfaiate and Gonçalo Waddington plus co-writers Maureen Fazendeiro, Telmo Churro and Mariana Ricardo for the screening of their wandering and moody monochromatic period drama ‘Grand Tour’.
Set in colonial Burma of 1917 where a cowardly British civil servant flees his nuptials and abandons his would-be wife on the day she arrives to get married, only to develop further self-doubt and melancholic regret on his impromptu pan-Asian travels, while his amused long-waiting fiancee sets off on his trail to find him. ‘Grand Tour’ has no confirmed dates yet.
Grand Tour press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
The Count of Monte-Cristo (Le Comte de Monte-Cristo)
Image Source: Getty
Wednesday’s big out-of-competition premiere was a historical homegrown affair and signalled another recent big French blockbuster adaptation of the work of Alexandre Dumas, as writers turned directors Alexandre de La Patellière and Matthieu Delaporte treated the Cannes faithful to their modern big screen treatment of the legendary author’s other masterpiece ‘The Count of Monte-Cristo’.
The classic early 19th century adventure tale of obsession and revenge, centred around a young sailor wrongly imprisoned for a high crime over many years, who escapes his prison fortress and assumes different identities to get close to the high society conspirators who wronged him and get his long-brewing vengeance . . . at a great cost. The writer/directors were joined on the red carpet by their producers plus the film’s stars Marie Narbonne, Anamaria Vartolomei, Patrick Mille, Adele Simphal, Vassili Schneider, Anais Demoustier, Pierre Niney, Pierfrancesco Favino, Laurent Lafitte, Julie de Bona and Julien de Saint Jean, ‘The Count of Monte-Cristo’ is out on the 28th of June in France, with no UK dates yet.
The Count of Monte-Cristo press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Thursday the 23rd
Beating Hearts (L’Amour Ouf)
Image Source: Getty
Thursday’s official competition brought two Palme d’Or contenders to the red carpet, the first of which was a local affair which brought actor and filmmaker Gilles Lellouche back to the Riviera, flanked by his stars Anthony Bajon, Karim Laklou, François Civil, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Alain Attal and Élodie Bouchez for the premiere of their darkly comedic crime forbidden romance ‘Beating Hearts’.
A 1980s small town French tale and unlikely love story about two people from the same school but different sides of the track—she a responsible young woman from a well-to-do family and he a working class troublemaker who ends up on the wrong side of the law—whose unlikely bond proves unbreakable when they re-connect after a long absence, and despite life trying to keep them apart. ‘Beating Hearts’ is out on the 16th of October in France, with no UK or US dates yet.
Beating Hearts press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
All We Imagine as Light
Image Source: Getty
The day’s other official competition screening brought Indian cinema back to Palme d’Or contention for the first time in decades, and writer/director Payal Kapadia back to the festival making her feature drama debut alongside her stars Hridhu Haroon, Chhaya Kadam, Hridhu Haroon, Kani Kusruti and Divya Prabha for the premiere of their contemporary Indian drama ‘All We Imagine as Light’. The story of a Mumbai nurse whose life is upended by a gift from her estranged husband, and by her younger roommate’s determination to find a place of her own to indulge in her desires with her boyfriend. ‘All We Imagine as Light’ has no confirmed dates yet.
All We Imagine as Light press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Niki
Image Source: Getty
The pick of Thursday’s Un Certain Regard competition screenings was a French affair with an American flavour and a period biographical leaning, as actress turned filmmaker Céline Sallette made her feature directorial debut and brought along her star Charlotte Le Bon among others for the premiere of her portrait of an Artist ‘Niki’.
A big screen dramatisation of the life and times of self-styled French-American sculptor and experimental artist Niki de Saint Phalle, centred on her time during the 1950s when she returns to Paris after years growing up and living in New York city, as she struggles to cope with new motherhood and keeping her family life together while haunted by the ghosts of an abusive past, turning to her art to find emancipation as she begins a new and defining European chapter of her life and career. ‘Niki’ has no confirmed dates yet.
Niki photocall (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Friday the 24th
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Image Source: Getty
The final day of screenings at Cannes this year brought real drama when Iranian writer/director Mohammad Rasoulof unveiled his cinematic meditation on his country’s oppressive system, an act which got him a prison sentence from the Iranian regime and a demand to withdraw the film, which he defied by fleeing to Europe and attending the festival alongside his stars Setareh Maleki and Mahsa Rostami among others for the premiere of ‘The Seed of the Sacred Fig’.
The tale of a ruthless investigator for the Islamic Revolutionary Court, whose ambitions to climb the government ladder and become a judge become complicated when his daughters begin to reject his authority and become involved in the “Women, Life, Freedom” uprisings which started in 2022. ‘The Seed of the Sacred Fig’ has no confirmed dates yet.
The Seed of the Sacred Fig press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
The Most Precious of Cargoes (La Plus Précieuse des Marchandises)
Image Source: Getty
The second of the final day’s Palme d’Or contenders was a rare homegrown animated affair which brought Oscar-winning French writer/director Michel Hazanavicius back to the Riviera alongside his composer Alexandre Desplat, producer Florence Gastaud, and voice stars Dominique Blanc, Gregory Gadebois and Jean-Louis Trintignant for the premiere of their reflective human nature human drama animation ‘The Most Precious of Cargoes‘.
The rural tale of a very special baby girl thrown from a train passing through a cold forest, found by a local woodcutter and his wife whose lives are transformed by this little bundle of joy, as are the many people whose paths are lucky enough to cross with a young girl who will bring out the best and worst of humanity. ‘The Most Precious of Cargoes’ is out on the 20th of November in France, with not UK or US dates yet.
The Most Precious of Cargoes press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
She’s Got No Name
Image Source: Getty
The final out-of-competition screening of the festival brought Chinese cinema and a bit of unresolved mid-20th century history mystery to the Riviera, as director Peter Ho-Sun Chan brought along his stars CiSha, Jiayin Lei, Da Peng, Ziyi Zhang, Xian Li, Ting Mei and Jackson Yee for the premiere of their cinematic meditation on crime, colonialism, and public perception ‘She’s Got No Name’.
Based on the notorious unsolved real case of Zhan-Zhou, a young wife in occupied Shanghai of the 1940s who is charged with the unlikely brutal and gruesome murder of her husband, as she’s forced to face the legal consequences and the court of public opinion in a country about to undergo revolutionary change. ‘She’s Got No Name’ has no confirmed dates.
She’s Got No Name press conference (courtesy of Festival de Cannes)
Cannes 2024 Awards (Next Page)–>
Comments
Soundtrack of the Month
Mad Max: Fury Road
Films by Rating
