- Words Yazzi Gokcemen
Cannes Film Festival announced it's starry lineup yesterday, here's everything to know when the 77th edition kicks off next month.
With less than a month to go, Cannes Film Festival has now revealed the lineup of its 77th edition. Despite concerns about how the SAG-AFTRA strikes might effect the American film industry, there will be no shortage of exhilarating cinema, from the world’s top filmmakers, premiering in the French Riviera.
Competing for the highest prize, the Palme d’Or, are 19 films selected from 2000 submissions. Among them are Yorgos Lanthimos’ Kinds of Kindness, Andrea Arnold’s Bird (the British Director behind Fish Tank and American Honey), as well as The Apprentice, a timely film about Donald Trump’s early career, directed by Ali Abbasi.
The long-awaited epic from Francis Ford Coppola, Megalopolis, will also feature: a passion project which has been 20 years in the making. The Godfather director’s new film has sparked much speculation, due to the mixed but strongly opinionated reviews which emerged from its screening for potential buyers. Starring in the story, which spans ancient history and a dystopic future, are Aubrey Plaza, Adam Driver and Nathalie Emmanuel.
Hot on the heels of his Oscar-wins for Poor Things, Lanthimos’ new film, Kinds Of Kindness, will see Emma Stone and Willem Defoe return to his surrealistic world, with Hunter Schafer and Keke Palmer also joining the plot.
After Anatomy of a Fall became the third female-directed film to ever receive the Palme d’Or award, Cannes’ 2024 competition premieres only four films by women filmmakers. That said, Barbie creator Greta Gerwig will be heading the jury which decides who takes home the esteemed award.
One of these female filmmakers is Coralie Fargeat who has earned a spot with her debut feature film. Titled The Substance, it’s a body horror flick starring Margaret Qualley, Demi Moore and Ray Liotta. Meanwhile, David Cronenberg will serve up another load of scares as he premieres The Shrouds, featuring Lea Seydoux – a grieving widower attempting to connect with the dead.
The festival is set to be the starriest event of the season, with blockbusters drawing Chris Hemsworth and Anya Taylor Joy, cast in the Mad Max prequel Furiosa, as well as Sienna Miller, who’s in the new Western epic, Horizon, to the red carpet premieres.
Cannes Film Festival kicks off May 14 and runs until May 25. Tap into the showstopping fashion and fervent film discussions, which will no doubt generate some of 2024’s best pop-culture moments.