Festival de Cannes releases film lineup
The Festival de Cannes, one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world, recently released its lineup of films.
The film festival will open on May 16 with a screening of Moonrise Kingdom, Wes Anderson’s first live action film since 2007. The film stars Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton and Jason Schwartzman.
This particular year marks the return of a number of well-respected filmmakers, who have previously won prizes at the film festival. The filmmakers and their respective films include Jacques Audiard (Rust and Bone), David Cronenberg (Cosmopolis), Matteo Garrone (Reality), Michael Haneke (Love), Abbas Kiarostami (Like Someone in Love), Ken Loach (The Angels’ Share) and Cristian Mungiu (Beyond the Hills).
The film festival will also welcome the premieres of Andrew Dominik’s Killing Them Softly and John Hillcoat’s Lawless. Killing Them Softly boasts an impressive cast that includes Brad Pitt, James Gandolfini and Ray Liotta. The filmmaker previously directed Brad Pitt in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Lawless, which stars Shia LeBeouf, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Guy Pearce, Jessica Chastain and Mia Wasikowska recently premiered its trailer.
Jeff Nichols’ Mud will also screen in competition, as will On the Road, the much-anticipated adaptation of the Jack Kerouac novel. Alain Resnais’ film, You Haven’t Seen Anything Yet, which is reported to be his last feature film, will also participate in the film festival.
In the Un Certain Regard section, Cannes welcomes 23-year-old prodigy, Xavier Dolan. This marks the young filmmaker’s third film and third appearance at the festival. The filmmaker’s previous films (I Killed My Mother and Heartbeats) both walked away with prizes.
The several omissions in the lineup include Derek Cianfrance’s The Place Beyond the Pines and Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master. Derek Cianfrance’s Blue Valentine premiered in Cannes in 2010.
Terrence Malick’s upcoming film was missing from the lineup, undoubtedly because of post-production. The filmmaker was in Cannes just last year and walked away with the Palme d’Or for his film, The Tree of Life. Wong Kar-Wai’s The Grandmasters, which many hoped would be ready for the festival, has also faced post-production delays.
The closing film for the festival will be Claude Miller’s Thérèse Desqueyroux, which the French filmmaker was working on at the time of his passing.
The 65th annual Festival de Cannes will run from May 16 until May 27, 2012.