Cannes 2022: 20 Potential Contenders for a Palme d’Or Competition Slot

The much-anticipated Cannes 2022 lineup will be revealed this Thursday, April 14, promising a wealth of international films from established and new voices. As always, speculation is high as to which films will end up making the cut – and which ones will end up moving to the fall festival season.

AwardsWatch will once again have coverage on the ground at the festival this year, with daily reviews posted from the Croisette – but the fun always starts much earlier as cinephiles speculate the films that Thierry Fremaux and co will end up selecting. The French lineup is always up in the air until the very last minute, but other non-French films should be more or less locked by now.

Here’s a rundown of the strongest candidates for a competition slot we expect this year to have around 20 films competing for the Palme d’Or:

1. Decision to Leave by Park Chan-wook

A sure bet to play in competition this year, this film marks the return of the celebrated South Korean filmmaker five years after his acclaimed epic The Handmaiden (2016). The film focuses on a detective investigating a man’s death in the mountains who meets the dead man’s mysterious wife in the course of his dogged sleuthing.

2. Triangle of Sadness by Ruben Östlund

Another sure bet is Sweden’s Ruben Ostlund’s much anticipated return to Cannes following his 2017 Palme d’or winner The Square. An English language production, the film is about a pair of models who find themselves at a crossroads in their careers.

3. Tori et Lokita by Luc Dardenne, Jean-Pierre Dardenne

Cannes regulars Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne are expected to be back with this new film which chronicles the friendship between two young refugees from Africa who become exiled in Belgium. They were last seen on the Croisette with their Best Director-winning film Young Ahmed in 2019.

4. Crimes of the Future by David Cronenberg

Also a Cannes regular, David Cronenberg’s latest is described as a ‘a deep dive into the not-so-distant future in which humankind is learning to adapt to its synthetic surroundings.’ A sci-fi/horror mashup, the film stars Léa Seydoux, Viggo Mortensen and recent first-time Oscar nominee Kristen Stewart.

5. Broker by Hirokazu Kore-eda

Hirokazu Kore-eda is sure to make a return with Broker, which focuses on a number of characters who cross paths in a world where boxes are left out for people to anonymously drop off their unwanted babies in what seems like a follow-up to the director’s Palme d’Or winner Shoplifters which explored similar themes.

6. Showing Up by Kelly Reichardt

Starring Michelle Williams, this A24 film is said to be funny portrait of an artist on the verge of a career-changing exhibition. As she navigates family, friends, and colleagues in the lead up to her show, the chaos of life becomes the inspiration for great art.

7. The Eternal Daughter by Joanna Hogg

Another female filmmaker expected to land a Competition slot is Hogg whose latest film stars Tilda Swinton and focuses on a middle-aged daughter and her elderly mother who must confront long-buried secrets when they return to their former family home, a once-grand manor that has become a nearly vacant hotel brimming with mystery.

8. Scarlet by Pietro Marcello

Starring Louis Garrel, Marcello’s latest film could be a contender. The film narrates the emancipation of a woman over twenty years, between 1919 and 1939, a time of great inventions and great dreams.

9. Chronique d’une liaison passagère by Emmanuel Mouret

Buzz is strong on Mouret’s latest which tells a deceptively simple story of a single mother and a married man who enter into an affair with the understanding that their relationship is purely sexual. Though they agree the relationship has no future, they find themselves increasingly drawn into each other’s company.

10. Les cinq diables (The Five Devils) by Léa Mysius

Another female filmmaker who could show up is Mysius whose latest film stars Adèle Exarchopoulos. Focusing on Vickey who lives with her mother Joanne and father Jimmie, a man struggling to find his place, the film takes a dramatic turn when Vicky’s aunt Julia arrives after being released from prison. Her presence brings back the past in a violent, magical way.

11. Close by Lukas Dhont

Dhont’s follow-up to his Un Certain Regard winning film Girl is an intimate portrayal of two 13-year-old boys who have always been incredibly close but drift apart after their relationship is questioned by schoolmates. When tragedy strikes, one is forced to confront why he distanced himself from his closest friend.

12. École de l’air by Robin Campillo

A strong French entry, Campillo made a splash with 120 BPM and is back with a much-anticipated film – a period drama about Thomas, a young boy, who lives under French colonialism in Madagascar during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

13. Holy Spider by Ali Abassi

Abassi’s latest may not be high on predictions lists but we expect the film to show up in competition or in UCR but the film’s themes may push it over the line for a coveted comp slot. This crime/thriller drama follows family man Saeed as he embarks on his own religious quest – to “cleanse” the holy Iranian city of Mashhad of immoral and corrupt street prostitutes. After murdering several women, he grows ever more desperate about the lack of public interest in his divine mission.

14. Three Thousand Years of Longing by George Miller

Another Tilda Swinton starrer, George Miller’s latest is a hotly anticipated film is a departure from Mad Max: Fury Road but still carries some fantasy elements. A scholar, content with life, encounters a Djinn who offers her three wishes in exchange for his freedom. Their conversation, in a hotel room in Istanbul, leads to consequences neither would have expected.

15. Boy From Heaven by Tarik Saleh

Another under-the-radar film, Swedish-Egyptian director Tarik Saleh made a splash on the international scene with The Nile Hilton Incident. His latest could mark his Cannes debut – a film that takes place at a Koranic school following the collapse of a grand imam which marks the start of a ruthless battle for influence. boxes are left out for people to anonymously drop off their unwanted babies.

16. Revoir Paris by Alice Winocour

Winocour could hit the Croisette with her latest drama that centers on an American writer and journalist who finds herself entangled in a terrorist attack at the Crazy Horse club while writing an article about the dancers.

17. R.M.N by Cristian Mungiu

Another Cannes regular and a very likely Palme d’or entry, Mungiu’s latest is certain to be one of the most talked about films of the festival thanks to the director’s profile. Plot details are unknown at the moment.

18. Don Juan by Serge Bozon

Starring Tahar Rahim, this French drama focuses on Laurent who is jilted on his wedding day and subsequently embarks upon a wild quest. The film can be one of the French players in comp this year.

19. Les enfants des autres (Other People’s Children) by Rebecca Zlotowski

Zlotowski was previously seen at Cannes with her Camera d’or winner An Easy Girl. She could be promoted to competition this time around with her latest drama which tells the story of a childless woman who forms a deep bond with her boyfriend’s young daughter.

20. Untitled David Lynch film

Rumors are strong that David Lynch is back with a film that has been well kept under wraps. Not much is known about the film except that it likely stars Laura Dern in a leading or supporting role.

Stay tuned to find out the films that made the cut on Thursday.