Cannes 2020 Official Selection Announced: ‘French Dispatch,’ ‘Soul,’ ‘Ammonite’ among titles

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The 73rd edition of the Cannes Film Festival may not be happening but Cannes festival président Pierre Lescure and general delegate Thierry Frémaux are announcing the 56 films that made the cut for the 2020 Official Selection.

The festival was scheduled to run May 12-23 but was canceled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Academy Award-winning director Spike Lee was set to head the jury of the main in competition films. Lee was first person of the African diaspora to be named President of the Cannes jury in the festival’s 73 year history. There will be no Palme d’Or this year. These films will be branded with an official Cannes 2020 label that they can take to additional festivals later this year, the state of those festivals are still up in the air, and use when they open in theaters. French theaters are set to re-open June 22.

There is no traditional ‘Opening’ or ‘Closing’ Night Film. The list began with many of the usual or “traditional” filmmakers who have been at the festival before. No specific designation for in or out of competition films or their sections were made in the announcement. They were broken into sections: The Faithful (those directors who have had at least one film at Cannes before), The Newcomers, The First Features, Documentary, Comedy and Animated features.

Some notable names missing from today’s announcement were Annette by Leos Carax, an original musical starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard, On the Rocks from Oscar and Cannes winner Sofia Coppola and Memoria from previous Palme d’Or winner Apichatpong Weerasethakul. Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods, which goes directly to Netflix on June 12, was rumored to set for an out of competition slot but was not mentioned today. In fact, Fremaux made no mention of Lee at all.

Academy Award-winning director Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave) locked two slots with Lover’s Rock and Mangrove, the latter an episode of his BBC series Small Axe.

According to Fremaux, a record 2,067 features were up for consideration for the 2020 Cannes Film Festival, up from last year’s 1,845 films. There are 15 feature debuts (26.7 percent of the selection) and 16 films directed by women, two more than last year. Last year’s Palme d’Or winner Parasite, from Bong Joon Ho, went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, the first non-English language film to do so.

Films that are designated with the Cannes 2020 label will be invited to screen at festivals like Telluride, Toronto, Deauville, Pusan, Locarno, Morelia, New York, Lyon, Rome, Rio, Tokyo, Mumbai and more. A specific deal struck with San Sebastian director Jose-Luis Rebordinos will allow films from the Official Selection to compete at the San Sebastian Film Festival. The Venice Film Festival, which announced last week that it will go on live, is up in the air as to how it will treat Cannes 2020 designated films.

The 73rd Cannes Official Selection will be listed below as they are announced by Lescure and Frémaux’s in the video below.

THE FAITHFUL (or at least selected once before)

THE FRENCH DISPATCH by Wes Anderson (USA) 1h43
Production: INDIAN PAINTBRUSH PRODUCTIONS / AMERICAN EMPIRICAL PICTURES – International Sales: FOX SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES – French Distribution: THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY

ÉTÉ 85 by François Ozon (France) 1h40
Production: MANDARIN – International Sales: PLAYTIME – French Distribution: DIAPHANA

ASA GA KURU (True Mothers) by Naomi Kawase (Japan) 2h20
Production: KINO FILMS CO – Sales: PLAYTIME – French Distribution: HAUT ET COURT

LOVERS ROCK by Steve McQueen (United Kingdom) 1h08
Production: TURBINE STUDIOS LIMITED – International Sales: TURBINE STUDIOS LIMITED

MANGROVE by Steve McQueen (United Kingdom) 2h04
Production: TURBINE STUDIOS LIMITED – International Sales: TURBINE STUDIOS LIMITED

DRUK (Another Round) by Thomas Vinterberg (Denmark)1h55
Production: ZENTROPA – International Sales: TRUSTNORDISK – French Distribution: HAUT ET COURT

ADN (DNA) by Maïwenn (Algeria/France) 1h30 
Production: WHY NOT PRODUCTIONS – International Sales: WILD BUNCH INTERNATIONAL – French Distribution: WILD BUNCH INTERNATIONAL

LAST WORDS by Jonathan Nossiter (USA) 2h06
Production: STEMAL – International Sales: THE PARTY FILMS

HEAVEN: TO THE LAND OF HAPPINESS by IM Sang-Soo (South Korea) 1h40
Production: HIVE MEDIA CORP – International Sales: FINECUT

EL OLVIDO QUE SEREMOS (Forgotten we’ll be) by Fernando Trueba (Spain) 2h16
Production: CARACOL TELEVISION – International Sales: FILM FACTORY ENTERTAINMENT

PENINSULA by YEON Sang-Ho (South Korea) 1h54
Production: REDPETER FILMS – International Sales: CONTENTS PANDA – French Distribution: ARP SELECTION

IN THE DUSK (Au crépuscule) by Sharunas BARTAS (Lituania) 2h06
Production: KINOELEKTRON – International Sales: LUXBOX

DES HOMMES (Home Front) by Lucas BELVAUX (Belgium) 1h40
Production: SYNECDOCHE – International Sales: WILD BUNCH INTERNATIONAL – French Distribution: AD VITAM

THE REAL THING by Kôji Fukada (Japan) 3h48
Production: NAGOYA TV – International Sales: NAGOYA TV

THE NEWCOMERS

PASSION SIMPLE by Danielle Arbid (Lebanon) 1h36
Production: LES FILMS PELLÉAS – International Sales: PYRAMIDE INTERNATIONAL – French Distribution: PYRAMIDE DISTRIBUTION

A GOOD MAN by Marie Castille Mention-Schaar (France) 1h47
Production: WILLOW FILMS – International Sales: PYRAMIDE INTERNATIONAL – French Distribution: PYRAMIDE DISTRIBUTION

LES CHOSES QU’ON DIT, LES CHOSES QU’ON FAIT by Emmanuel Mouret (France) 2h
Production: MOBY DICK FILMS – International Sales: ELLE DRIVER – French Distribution: PYRAMIDE DISTRIBUTION

SOUAD by Ayten Amin (Egypt) 1h30
Production: VIVID REELS

LIMBO by Ben Sharrock (United Kingdom) 1h53
Production: CARAVAN CINEMA LTD – International Sales: PROTAGONIST PICTURES

ROUGE (Red Soil) by Farid Bentoumi (France) 1h26
Production: LES FILMS VELVET – International Sales: WTFILMS – French Distribution: AD VITAM

SWEAT by Magnus Von Horn (Sweden) 1h40
Production: LAVA FILMS – International Sales: NEW EUROPE FILM SALES

TEDDY by Ludovic et Zoran Boukherma (France) 1h28
Production: BAXTER FILMS – International Sales: WTFILMS – French Distribution: THE JOKERS FILMS

FEBRUARY (Février) by Kamen Kalev (Bulgaria) 2h05
Production: KORO FILMS – French Distribution: UFO DISTRIBUTION

AMMONITE by Francis Lee (United Kingdom) 2h
Production: SEE-SAW FILMS – International Sales: CROSS CITY FILMS – French Distribution: PYRAMIDE DISTRIBUTION

UN MÉDECIN DE NUIT by Elie Wajeman (France) 1h40
Production: PARTIZAN FILMS – International Sales: BE FOR FILMS – French Distribution: DIAPHANA DISTRIBUTION

ENFANT TERRIBLE by Oskar Roehler (Germany) 2h14
Production: BAVARIA FILMPRODUKTION – International Sales: BAVARIA FILMPRODUKTION

NADIA, BUTTERFLY by Pascal Plante (Canada) 1h46
Production: NEMESIS FILMS – International Sales: WAZABI FILMS

HERE WE ARE by Nir Bergman (Israel) 1h34
Production: SPIRO FILMS – International Sales: MK2 FILMS

AN OMNIBUS FILM

SEPTET: THE STORY OF HONG KONG by Ann Hui, Johnnie TO, Tsui Hark, Sammo Hung, Yuen Woo-Ping et Patrick Tam -1h53
Production: MILKYWAY IMAGE – International Sales: MEDIA ASIA DISTRIBUTION

THE FIRST FEATURES

FALLING by Viggo Mortensen (USA) 1h52
Production: PERCIVAL PICTURES – International Sales: HANWAY FILMS – French Distribution: METROPOLITAN FILMEXPORT

PLEASURE by Ninja Thyberg (Sweden) 1h45
Production: PLATTFORM PRODUKTION – International Sales: VERSATILE

SLALOM by Charlène Favier (France) 1h32
Production: MILLE ET UNE PRODUCTIONS – International Sales: THE PARTY FILM SALES – French Distribution: JOUR2FÊTE

CASA DE ANTIGUIDADES (Memory House) by Joao Paulo Miranda Maria (Brazil)1h27
Production: MANEKI FILMS

BROKEN KEYS (Fausse note) by Jimmy Keyrouz (Lebanon) 1h30
Production: EZEKIEL

IBRAHIM by Samir Guesmi (France) 1h20
Production: WHY NOT PRODUCTIONS – International Sales: WILD BUNCH INTERNATIONAL – French Distribution: WILD BUNCH INTERNATIONAL

BEGINNING (Au commencement) by Déa Kulumbegashvili (Georgia) 2h10
Production: FIRST PICTURE / O.F.A – International Sales: WILD BUNCH INTERNATIONAL

GAGARINE by Fanny Liatard et Jérémy Trouilh (France) 1h35
Production: HAUT ET COURT – International Sales: TOTEM FILMS – French Distribution: HAUT ET COURT

16 PRINTEMPS by Suzanne Lindon (France) 1h13
Production: AVENUE B PRODUCTIONS – International Sales: LUXBOX – French Distribution: PANAME DISTRIBUTION

VAURIEN by Peter Dourountzis (France) 1h35
Production: 10:15 PRODUCTIONS – International Sales: KINOLOGY – French Distribution: REZO FILMS

GARÇON CHIFFON by Nicolas Maury (France) 1h48
Production: CG CINEMA – International Sales: LES FILMS DU LOSANGE – French Distribution: LES FILMS DU LOSANGE

SI LE VENT TOMBE (Should the Wind Fall) by Nora Martirosyan (Armenia) 1h40
Production: SISTER PRODUCTIONS – International Sales: INDIE SALES – French Distribution: ROUGE DISTRIBUTION

JOHN AND THE HOLE by Pascual Sisto (USA) 1h38
Production: MUTRESSA MOVIES

STRIDING INTO THE WIND (Courir au gré du vent) by WEI Shujun (China) 2h36
Production: ALIBABA PICTURES

THE DEATH OF CINEMA AND MY FATHER TOO (La Mort du cinéma et de mon père aussi) by Dani Rosenberg (Israel) 1h40
Production: PARDES FILMS – International Sales: FILMS BOUTIQUE

3 DOCUMENTARIES FILMS

EN ROUTE POUR LE MILLIARD (The Billion Road) by Dieudo Hamadi (Democratic Republic of Congo) 1h30
Production: LES FILMS DE L’OEIL SAUVAGE – International Sales: ANDANA FILMS

THE TRUFFLE HUNTERS by Michael Dweck et Gregory Kershaw (USA) 1h24
Production: GO GIGI GO PRODUCTIONS LLC – International Sales: SONY PICTURES CLASSICS – French Distribution: SONY PICTURES CLASSICS

9 JOURS À RAQQAby Xavier de Lauzanne (France)
Production: ALOEST FILMS

5 COMEDY FILMS

ANTOINETTE DANS LES CÉVÈNNES by Caroline Vignal (France) 1h35
Production: CHAPKA FILMS – International Sales  PLAYTIME – French Distribution: DIAPHANA DISTRIBUTION

LES DEUX ALFRED by Bruno Podalydès (France) 1h30
Production: WHY NOT PRODUCTIONS – French Distribution: UGC DISTRIBUTION

UN TRIOMPHE (The big hit) by Emmanuel Courcol (France) 1h40
Production: AGAT FILMS & CIE – International Sales: MK2 FILMS – French Distribution: MEMENTO FILMS DISTRIBUTION

L’ORIGINE DU MONDE by Laurent Lafitte (France) 1st film 
Production: TRESOR FILMS – International Sales: STUDIO CANAL – French Distribution: STUDIO CANAL

LE DISCOURS by Laurent Tirard (France) 1h27 
Production: LES FILMS SUR MESURE – International Sales: CHARADES – French Distribution: LE PACTE

4 ANIMATED FILMS

AYA TO MAJO (Earwig and the Witch) by Gorô Miyazaki (Japan) 1h22
Production: NHK / NHK ENTERPRISES / STUDIO GHIBLI – International Sales: WILD BUNCH INTERNATIONAL – French Distribution: WILD BUNCH

FLEE by Jonas Poher Rasmussen (Denmark) 1h30
Production: FINAL CUT FOR REAL – International Sales: CINEPHIL

JOSEP by Aurel (France) 1h20 – 1st film 
Production: LES FILMS D’ICI – Sales: DOC & FILM INTERNATIONAL – French Distribution: SOPHIE DULAC DISTRIBUTION

SOUL by Pete Docter (USA) 1h30
Production: PIXAR ANIMATION STUDIOS – French Distribution: THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY