Festival de Cannes: What Are We Waiting For in 2020?

“We want to be present in the autumn in order to play our part in the huge construction effort of rebuilding cinema.” says the Cannes Film Festival General Delegate, Thierry Frémaux, in a film festival pickle as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to bring everything to a halt. “This profession, like others, is facing the risk of becoming a wasteland. We must all demonstrate our energy and our unity. The Festival de Cannes wants to play its part in that.”

Say what you will about the French figure that is Frémaux, but he is not giving up the fight as he scrambles between a rock and a hard place. How can we be talking about eating croissants on the Croisette after the summer? Can the Festival de Cannes actually take place at all? How essential are those red carpets and the attendance of international journalists? What becomes of all the films and artists that can springboard from the festival?

And What of the Film Selections?

“We have conceded it is impossible to hold Cannes in July. We considered it – it’s not obstinacy, it’s not for the festival itself, but for the things it serves: the works, the artists, the industry professionals, the theatres, the audience.” The pressure continues to build for Frémaux and the Cannes Film Festival organisers. The event was to reveal this year’s Official Selection on 16th April, and then go on to the 73rd Edition through 12th – 23rd May.

“We are sent wonderful films from everywhere and it is our duty – and our wish – to help them to exist and to find an audience. Because the Selection never stopped. The films are there, we will watch them right up to the end of June!” But as we know, even that seems unlikely as a time for the festival to take place. The Cannes Film Festival is, for now, put on hold.

So which films and filmmakers from across the world were we eager to see at the 2020 Cannes Film Festival? As we continue to speculate extensively, many of the popular crowd have already had their release dates pushed back well into the autumn – making a premier on the Croisette pretty unlikely as things stand.

The Now Not So Certains

Wes Anderson and his new film, The French Dispatch, would probably be top of the Google search in this case. And with a cast including Tilda Swinton, Timothée Chalamet, Saoirse Ronan, Léa Seydoux, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman and Jeffrey Wright – well, that’s pretty enticing. Searchlight have since changed the U.S. release date from July to October.

And what of Soul, the upcoming Pixar movie with voice performances from Jamie Foxx and Tina Fey? Disney have now pushed that back from June to November. The Top Gun: Maverick sequel also heads for a December release date following the initial June date. If the autumn festival season is unaffected then Toronto may be the venue for such features.

There is also the effort from Aaron Sorkin, directing again, with The Trial of the Chicago Seven (Paramount set domestic release for October). Edgar Wright’s Last Night In Soho with Thomasin McKenzie and Anya Taylor-Joy (Focus Features state September). The Woman in the Window, directed by Joe Wright, with Amy Adams (release date jumped from October to May so that’s up in the air). And the 17th July release for Christopher Nolan’s Tenet look rather tentative.

Best Director winner at Cannes a few years back, Sofia Coppola looks to be heading for Venice for the launch of her new movie, On the Rocks. Could her sister, Gia Coppola, venture the red carpet instead with Mainstream?

The Ladies are Lining Up

There are some heavyweight leading ladies behind the camera that might well have been heading to the south of France next month. Andrea Arnold’s documentary, Cow, follows three consecutive Jury Prize wins at Cannes with Red Road, Fish Tank and American Honey. Chloe Zhao follows up her 2017 Directors’ Fortnight selection, The Rider, with Nomadland.

Hungarian filmmaker, Ildiko Enyedi (On Body and Soul), was a contender for selection with The Story Of My Wife – it has been an incredible 30 years since Enyedi won the Caméra d’Or for My 20th Century. A much more recent Cannes regular is Maïwenn, with DNA. The French actress / director won the Jury Prize for Polisse in 2011, and was last in Cannes with My King in 2015.

Fresh off the success as the help girl in Portrait of a Lady on Fire, actress Luàna Bajrami, turns to directing with The Hill Where Lionesses Roar. Céline Sciamma’s film was a raving success, winning the Screenplay prize at Cannes last year. Bajrami’s first feature film behind the camera has been getting some buzz for this year’s event.

Meanwhile, rumoured to be appearing at the festival last year, Mia Hansen-Love was a strong bet to attend this time around with Bergman Island. Also a potential return for the Tunisian director, Kaouther Ben Hania, with The Man Who Sold His Skin – her 2017 film, Beauty And The Dogs, premiered in the Un Certain Regard section.

Other female filmmakers that could have been packing their summer attire include Ana Lily Amirpour (Mona Lisa And The Blood Moon), Clio Barnard (Ali and Ava), Heidi Ewing (I Carry You With Me), and Mona Fastvold (The World To Come). Caroline Vignal also returns to Cannes with My Donkey, My Lover, and I, after featuring in the Critics Week back in 2000 with her first feature, Girlfriends.

Could These Also Be Contenders?

Speaking of the Cannes Critics Week, the Palestinian filmmaking brothers, Arab and Tarzan Nasser, might well be ready to return with Apollo, following their debut feature, Degradé, which premiered in 2015. Santiago Mitre, who also appeared in 2015’s Critics’ Week with Paulina, and The Summit at 2017’s Un Certain Regard, has Petite Fleur this year. Also, João Paulo Miranda Maria’s Memory House was produced through the support of The Next Step initiative of Cannes Critics’ Week, the Cannes Cinéfondation residency in Paris and the Paris Coproduction Village, after success on the Croisette with his short films.

As per usual, an array of filmmaking talent looked set to venture out to Cannes this year should they be selected. Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Wife Of A Spy), Im Sang-soo (Haengbok-eui Nararo), Nabil Ayouch (Casablanca Beats), Mohamed Diab (Out of Egypt), as well as Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige (Les Cahiers) all stepped on French soil in the last decade.

Some of Those Regular Rollers

Japanese filmmaker, Naomi Kawase, might be the most prolific Cannes regular, was perhaps hoping to bring True Mothers to this year’s festival. Then there’s Nanni Moretti, the Italian’s new film, Tre piani, would only add to a fine collection of Cannes visits over the decades – including the Palme d’Or win for The Son’s Room in 2001.

So what other household names were rumoured to be coming to the Festival de Cannes in 2020? Well, there’s Apichatpong Weerasethakul, with Memoria, who won the Palme d’Or in 2010 for Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives. Also the recipient of the Golden Palm in 2008 for The Class, Laurent Cantet could return with Arthur Rambo.

There’s a Leos Carax (Holy Motors) musical, Annette, starring Adam Driver Marion Cotillard. Francis Lee (God’s Own Country) has Ammonite, with Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan. Another Round sees Danjsh filmmaker Thomas Vinterberg back on the scene – a Jury Prize winner for The Celebration in 1998, and Mads Mikkelsen winning Best Actor for The Hunt in 2012.

And let’s not forget the French, of course. Word around the Cannes campfire is that several native directors have been mentioned. Paul Verhoeven (Elle) has Benedetta; Stephane Brizé (The Measure of a Man) teams up with Vincent Lindon again in For Better Or Fo r Worse; and François Ozon (Swimming Pool, Double Lover) has Summer Of 85.

Elsewhere, Kirill Serebrennikov’s new film, Petrov’s Flu, has been muttered here and there. Michel Franco, with The Dreams Of A Few, has a decent history at Cannes, winning Best Screenplay with Chronic in 2015. South Korean, Yeon Sang-ho, returns to his Train to Busan universe with the eagerly anticipated Peninsula.

A Bunch of Others Worth Looking Out For

Whether the 2020 Cannes Film Festival goes ahead or is postponed even further, so many of these pending releases are appetising. Update your watchlists accordingly irregardless.