Cannes Film Festival 2023 Lineup: Wim Wenders, Steve McQueen, The Weeknd and a Record Number of Female Directors

The Cannes Film Festival unveiled the lineup for its 76th edition on Thursday, spotlighting a collection of new works from such mega-watt auteurs as Martin Scorsese, Wes Anderson, Catherine Breillat, Wim Wenders, Kore-eda Hirokazu and Todd Haynes. These filmmakers will premiere films both in and out of competition, meaning only a select few will have a chance at capturing the Palme dOr, the festivals highest honor. All of the directors are a familiar presence on the Croisette, having screened movies there before.

A sense of dj vu is a familiar occurrence when it comes to Cannes, which has been faulted for being overly clubby and not as eager to highlight the changing face of cinema as other major festivals. This year, however, it did make strides in terms of representation. After being criticized for failing to highlight more women in its lineup, Cannes will break its own record with six films from female directors. They include Alice RohrwachersLa Chimera, Jessica HausnersClub Zero, BreillatsLast Summer, Justine Triets Anatomie dune chute, Ramata-Toulaye Sys Banel et Adama, and Kaouther Ben Hanias documentarys Four Daughters. Out of these, only Sy and Ben Hania are competition newcomers.

The competition will have an Italian flavor with the latest films from Nanni Moretti (The Sun of the Future), Marco Bellocchio (Rapito) and Rohrwacher, who was in competition before with The Wonders and Happy as Lazzaro, which won the Jury Prize and the screenplay award, respectively.

Besides Four Daughters, the competition includes another politically-minded documentary, Jeunesse by Chinese director Wang Bing, who was previously at Cannes with Dead Souls. The helmer also has Man in Black in Special Screenings. Wenders, a Palme dOr-winner for Paris, Texas, is back in the hunt with Perfect Days, one of two films he will screen at Cannes.

Fremaux noted the rare presence of two documentary features in competition. Documentaries have also won top prizes at recent festivals, such as the latest editions of the Berlinale (Nicolas Philiberts On the Adamant) and Venice (Laura Poitras All The Beauty and the Bloodshed). Cannes has its own history with documentaries. For instance, Michael Moores Fahrenheit 911 went on to win the Palme dOr from Quentin Tarantinos jury in 2004.

Outside of the core competition, Cannes Un Certain Regard will showcase a wide range of emerging and up-and-coming directors from around the world, including a large delegation of films from the African continent, and a first film from Mongolia with Zoljargal Purevdashs If Only I Could Hibernate. Un Certain Regard will kick off with the French film Le Rgne Animal by Thomas Cailley, whose feature debut Les Combattants won a few Cesar Awards.

Over the course of its eight decades, Cannes has become the most famous celebration of moviemaking in the world. Its star-studded red carpets, glitzy parties, haute couture, Mediterranean vistas all mixed in with a generous dash of sunshine are virtually synonymous with the glamorous side of the film business. But that industry is changing, with studios increasingly focused on promoting their streaming services, while facing cutbacks and layoffs along with the prospect of a possible recession. Although the lineup had a number of films from major studios, just as 2022s edition featured the premieres of Top Gun: Maverick and Elvis, its unclear how celebratory people will be feeling and how freely they will be spending on parties and movies that are available to buy.

For its part, Cannes has been operating as if nothing, not even an economic downturn, can stop the ros from flowing. In recent weeks, the festival has been teasing cinephiles with splashy announcements about Scorsese returning to the Croisette with Killers of the Flower Moon, 38 years after winning best director with After Hours, as well as Disneys Indiana Jonesand the Dial of Destiny, and Pedro Almodvars short film, Strange Way of Life.

Steve McQueen will be back at the festival with Occupied City, a film about Amsterdam during its occupation by the Nazis. McQueen previously won the Golden Camera at Cannes with Hunger. Other revered directors slated for Special Screenings include Wenders, again, with Le Bruit du Temps and Kleber Mendonca Filhowith Pictures of Ghosts.

Thierry Frmaux, the festivals director, hosted the opening press conference in the shadow of the Champs-lysesalongside Cannes new president Iris Knobloch, a former WarnerMedia executive.

We saw more than 2,000 films. These numbers are extravagant and, at the same time, reflect the health of world cinema and the aspiration to make films everywhere, said Fremaux at the jam-packed conference. He also applauded the wider international scope of the competition which appears to have fewer French movies. Among the French competition entries are The Passion of Dodin Bouffant, a period romance directed by Tran Anh Hung, and starring Juliette Binoche and Benoit Magimel.

Fremaux said the Official Selection is not locked, with more films expected to be unveiled in the coming days. Some movies rumored to potentially pop up at the festival include Ladj Lys follow up to Les Miserables, as well as Yorgos Lanthimoss Poor Things.

Fremaux noted that there was a strong contingent of Hollywood talent expected to touch down in the South of France. These emissaries include Anderson with Asteroid City, starring an ensemble cast that includes Tom Hanks, Margot Robbie, Scarlett Johansson and Tilda Swinton; Haynes with May December with Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore; and HBOs The Idol,the Weeknd-led series from Euphoria creator Sam Levinson. Other notable projects include Karim Anouzs Henry VIII drama Firebrandwith Alicia Vikander and Jude Law, as well as Jonathan Glazers The Zone of Interest, an adaptation of Martin Amis Auschwitz-set novel. Ken Loach, arguably the most successful director in the history of Cannes, having premiered more than a dozen films there and winning the Palme dOr twice, is back in the Palais with The Old Oak. He will have a chance to win the top prize a third time.

But he wont face off against Scorsese. Killers of the Flower Moon,a nearly-$200 million historical drama that examines the serial murders of members of the oil-wealthy Osage Nation, will play out of competition. Frmaux said he tried and failed to convince Scorsese to vie for the Palme dOr but hasnt given up on hopes. The premiere will be among the most A-list heavy, as the film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Jesse Plemons, and Brendan Fraser, along with newcomer Lily Gladstone.

As previously announced, the festival will open with Maiwenns period drama Jeanne du Barry starring Johnny Depp. Ruben stlund, the Swedish director who won the Palme dOr twice for The Square and Triangle of Sadness, will preside over the competition jury. The 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival will run May 16-27.

Asteroid City Courtesy of Pop. 87 Productions/ COMPETITION Club Zero, Jessica Hausner

Asteroid City, Wes Anderson

The Zone of Interest, Jonathan Glazer

Fallen Leaves, Aki Kaurismaki

Les Filles DOlfa (Four Daughters), Kaouther Ben Hania

Anatomie Dune Chute, Justine Triet

Monster, Kore-eda Hirokazu

Il Sol DellAvvenire, Nanni Moretti

La Chimera, Alice Rohrwacher

About Dry Grasses, Nuri Bilge Ceylan

LEte Dernier, Catherine Breillat

The Passion of Dodin Bouffant, Tran Anh Hung

Rapito, Marco Bellocchio

May December, Todd Haynes

Firebrand, Karim Ainouz

The Old Oak, Ken Loach

Perfect Days, Wim Wenders

Banel Et Adama, Ramata-Toulaye Sy

Jeunesse, Wang Bing

UN CERTAIN REGARD Los Delincuentes (The Deliquents), Rodrigo Moreno

How to Have Sex, Molly Manning Walker

Goodbye Julia, Mohamed Kordofani

Crowra (The Burti Flower), Joo Salaviza Rene Nader Messora

Simple Comme Sylvain, Monia Chokri

Kadib Abyad (The Mother of All Lies), Asmae EL Moudir

Los Colonos (The Settlers), Felipe Galvez

Augure (Omen), Baloji Tshiani

The Breaking Ice, Anthony Chen

Rosalie, Stphanie Di Giusto

The New Boy, Warwick Thornton

If Only I Could Hibernate, Zoljargal Purevdash

Hopeless, Kim Chang-hoon

Terrestrial Verses, Ali Asfari Alireza Khatami

Rien a Perdre, Delphine Deloget

Les Meutes, Kamal Lazraq

Le Regne Animal, Thomas Cailley

The Idol HBO OUT OF COMPETITION Killers of the Flower Moon, Martin Scorsese

The Idol, Sam Levinson

Cobweb, Kim Jee-woon

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, James Mangold

Jeanne du Barry, Maiwenn

MIDNIGHT SCREENINGS Omar la Fraise, Elias Belkeddar

Kennedy, Anurag Kashyap

Acide, Just Philippot

SPECIAL SCREENINGS Retratos Fantasmas, (Pictures of Ghosts), Kleber Mendonca Filho

Anselm, Wim Wenders

Occupied City, Steve McQueen

Man in Black, Wang Bing

CANNES PREMIERE Le Temps DAimer, Katell Quillevere

Cerrar Los Ojos, Victor Erice

Bonnard, Pierre et Marthe, Martin Provost

Kubi, Takeshi Kitano