2022 Cannes Directors Fortnight lineup: ‘Men,’ women directors and French favorites

The 54th Directors’ Fortnight selection selection of the Cannes Film Festival has been announced, featuring French favorites, female-fronted films and several first time films. The lineup will be the last one for outgoing artistic director Paolo Moretti.

Pietro Marcello’s L’envol (Scarlet) will open the sidebar on May 18. The musical film takes place somewhere in the North of France, Juliette grows up alone with her father, Raphaël, a soldier who survived the First World War. Passionate about singing and music, the solitary young girl meets a magician one summer who promises her that scarlet sails will come one day to take her away from her village. 

A24 will have two films represented in the sidebar this year, Alex Garland’s horror film Men, with Academy Award nominee Jessie Buckley, which will play in the Special Screening section, and God’s Creatures, a psychological thriller directed by Saela Davis and Anna Rose Holmer, the filmmaking duo who made their feature debut with the Sundance film The Fits. Their new film is set in an Irish fishing village and stars Aisling Franciosi, Emily Watson and Paul Mescal.

Many French female director who were expected to feature in the Official Selection will have their movies world premiere in Directors’ Fortnight instead, including Lea Mysius (The Five Devils), Mia Hansen-Love (One Fine Morning), Alice Winocour (Paris Memories).

One Fine Morning stars Lea Seydoux (also in the comp title Crimes of the Future), Melvil Poupaud and Nicole Garcia. The film revolves around a young single mother who is looking after her ill father and starts an affair with a friend despite the fact that he’s already in a relationship.

Paris Memories stars Virginie Efira (of last year’s Benedetta and this year’s Cannes Film Festival’s emcee) as a survivor of the Paris attacks of November 2015 who embarks on a quest to find happiness again. Benoît Magimel (Living) also stars.

Moretti said during the press conference held in Paris on Tuesday that one Asian film – one Chinese movie — will be added at a latter stage.

In talking about the high presence of female directors in the lineup, Moretti said the sidebar “aspires to represent the diversity of world cinema.” He also mentioned that the lineup showcased many French movies due to the fact that so many were submitted.

“French cinema is very present because it’s the major country that submit films so we’ll celebrate this vitality,” added Moretti.

Kelly Reichardt will be awarded the Carrosse d’Or on May 18, 2022 in Cannes, during the Directors’ Fortnight’s opening ceremony. Reichardt will appear in the main competition for the first time ever this year, with her film Showing Up, starring Michelle Williams and Hong Chau.

Directors’ Fortnight, aka Quinzane des réalisateurs, will showcase films by 11 female directors and eight feature debuts. By comparison, Cannes Film Festival’s 19 competition titles currently has only three films directed by women.

The last title of the selection will be announced soon, as well as the selection of short and medium-length films.

L’ENVOL (Scarlet) 

by Pietro Marcello 

Opening film

1976 

by Manuela Martelli 

First feature film

THE DAM (Al-Sadd, السّد , Le Barrage) 

by Ali Cherri 

First feature film

LES ANNÉES SUPER 8 (The Super 8 Years) 

by Annie Ernaux & David Ernaux-Briot 

First feature film

ASHKAL 

by Youssef Chebbi 

First feature film

LES CINQ DIABLES (The Five Devils) 

by Léa Mysius 

DE HUMANI CORPORIS FABRICA

by Véréna Paravel & Lucien Castaing-Taylor

LA DÉRIVE DES CONTINENTS (AU SUD) (Continental Drift (South)) 

by Lionel Baier 

EL AGUA (The Water) 

by Elena López Riera 

First feature film

ENYS MEN  

by Mark Jenkin

FALCON LAKE 

by Charlotte Le Bon 

First feature film

FOGO-FÁTUO (Will-o’-the-Wisp, Feu follet) 

by João Pedro Rodrigues

FUNNY PAGES  

by Owen Kline 

First feature film

GOD’S CREATURES 

by Anna Rose Holmer & Saela Davis 

LES HARKIS (Harkis) 

by Philippe Faucon 

MEN 

by Alex Garland 

Special screnning

LA MONTAGNE (The Mountain) 

by Thomas Salvador 

PAMFIR 

by Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk

First feature film

REVOIR PARIS (Paris Memories) 

by Alice Winocour 

TAHT ALSHAJRA  (تحت الشجرة , Under the Fig Trees, Sous les figues) 

by Erige Sehiri 

UN BEAU MATIN (One Fine Morning) 

by Mia Hansen-Løve 

UN VARÓN (A Male) 

by Fabian Hernández 

First feature film

LE PARFUM VERT (The Green Perfume) 

by Nicolas Pariser 

Closing film