68th Cannes Film Festival News

PRESIDENT(S)
Oscar-winning writers/producers/directors Joel and Ethan Coen will be presidents of the 68th edition of the festival. It’s the first time two people will head the jury.

JURY
Rossy de Palma (Actress – Spain)
Sophie Marceau (Actress, Director – France)
Sienna Miller (Actress – United Kingdom)
Rokia Traoré (Composer, Singer-songwriter – Mali)
Guillermo del Toro (Director, Writer, Producer – Mexico)
Xavier Dolan (Director, Writer, Producer, Actor – Canada)
Jake Gyllenhaal (Actor – United States)
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OPENING FILM
For only the second time in the history of the Festival de Cannes, a female director will open the Festival. La Tête haute, a film by Frenchwoman, Emmanuelle Bercot, will open the 68th edition of the Festival de Cannes on Wednesday 13 May.

La Tête haute tells the story of a juvenile delinquent, Malony, and his upbringing from childhood to adulthood, as a children’s judge and social worker try to save him. It was filmed in the Nord-Pas de Calais, Rhône-Alpes and Paris area regions, with the participation of Catherine Deneuve, Benoît Magimel, Sara Forestier and Rod Paradot, who plays the main character.

“The choice of this film may seem surprising, given the rules generally applied to the Festival de Cannes Opening Ceremony,” explains Thierry Frémaux, Event Director. “It is a clear reflection of our desire to see the Festival start with a different piece, which is both bold and moving.”

The world première of La Tête haute will be shown in the Grand Théâtre Lumière in the Palais des Festivals, and will be released in French cinemas the same day, on Wednesday 13 May.
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UN CERTAIN REGARD
The Italian-American actress and director Isabella Rossellini has kindly agreed to preside the Un Certain Regard Jury, the Official Selection of the Festival de Cannes made up of twenty films to be announced, along with the films In Competition, at the press conference on 16th April.

At the Festival de Cannes, Isabella Rossellini will take part in the tribute to her mother, Ingrid Bergman, by attending the screening of Ingrid Bergman, In Her Own Words‏, a documentary by Stig Björkman being shown as part of the Cannes Classics.
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CINEFONDATION
Abderrahmane Sissako (director of the Oscar-nominated Timbuktu) will preside over the Student, Short Film jury.
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DIRECTOR’S FORTNIGHT
Philippe Garrel’s In the Shadow of Women will open the Directors’ Fortnight sidebar on May 14th. Clotilde Courau, Stanislas Merhar and Lena Paugam star in this tale of romantic betrayal centered around two documentary filmmakers in modern-day Paris. The Directors’ Fortnight, now in its 47th year, was founded by the Société des Réalisateurs du Films as an independent alternative to the festival’s official selection.
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CRITIC’S WEEK

Feature Films in Competition
DÉGRADÉ Arab & Tarzan Nasser (Palestine, France, Qatar)
KRISHA Trey Edward Shults (USA)
MEDITERRANEA Jonas Carpignano (Italy, France, USA, Germany)
PAULINA Santiago Mitre (Argentina, Brazil, France)
SLEEPING GIANT Andrew Cividino (Canada)
LA TIERRA Y LA SOMBRA (LAND AND SHADE) Cesar Augusto Acevedo (Colombia, France, Netherlands, Chile, Brazil)
THE WAKHAN FRONT (NI LE CIEL NI LA TERRE) Clément Cogitore (France, Belgium)

Opening Night Film
LES ANARCHISTES Elie Wajeman (France)

Closing Night Film
LEARN BY HEART (LA VIE EN GRAND) Mathieu Vadepied (France)

Special Screening
COIN LOCKER GIRL HAN Jun-hee (South Korea)
LES DEUX AMIS Louis Garrel (France)

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OFFICIAL POSTER

For the full list of films at the festival go here.