Coppola, Haynes and Safdies in competition

Cannes unveils lineup

LOS ANGELES, April 13, (RTRS): The Cannes Film Festival turns 70 this year, and for its anniversary edition, the world-famous event will launch star-driven new work from American directors (“The Beguiled”), Noah Baumbach (“The Meyerowitz Stories”), and Todd Haynes (“Wonderstruck”) — which should see such celebs as Nicole Kidman, Adam Sandler, and Julianne Moore walking the red carpet — but not a single Hollywood studio film.

The lineup also includes fresh features from such world-renowned filmmakers as Michael Haneke (“Happy End”), Andrey Zvyagintsev (“Loveless”) and two films from Hong Sangsoo (“The Day After” and “Clair’s Camera”), plus English-language movies from Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos (who follows up his Cannes-launched “The Lobster” with “The Killing of a … Deer”) and South Korean auteur Bong Joon-ho, whose “Okja” stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Tilda Swinton.

At Thursday’s press conference, festival president Pierre Lescure and general delegate Thierry Fremaux announced 49 films from 29 countries, including 12 women directors and nine feature debuts. Among the surprises was the inclusion of a virtual reality project from Alejandro G. Inarritu entitled “Carne y arena,” as well as two television projects, David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks” revival and season two of Jane Campion’s “Top of the Lake.”

The festival will open with French director Arnaud Desplechin’s “Ismael’s Ghosts,” which stars Charlotte Gainsbourg and Marion Cotillard, two years after Fremaux was strongly criticized for letting the Directors’ Fortnight steal away Desplechin’s “My Golden Years.”

“There are two new players that have appeared in the last few years: Amazon and Netflix,” Fremaux said, acknowledging the unique situation the festival finds itself in these days, considering “films” that may never be released on cinema screens. Both “Okja” and “The Meyerowitz Stories” are Netflix original productions (though Fremaux described the latter as a Scott Rudin production), while “Wonderstruck” and Scottish director Lynne Ramsay’s “You Were Never Really Here” were backed by Amazon Studios.

“The Cannes film festival is a lab,” he said. “Even series are using the classical art of cinema and the classical narration . ... David Lynch and Jane Campion are filmmakers and friends of the Cannes film festival, and we are showing their films.” The Cannes Film Festival runs May 17-28.

2016 Cannes Film Festival Lineup

Coppola

Opener

“Ismael’s Ghosts” (Arnaud Desplechin).

Competition

“120 Beats per Minute” (Robin Campillo). “The Beguiled” (Sofia Coppola). “The Day After” (Hong Sangsoo). “A Gentle Creature” (Sergei Loznitsa). “Good Time” (Benny Safdie & Josh Safdie). “Happy End” (Michael Haneke). “In the Fade” (Fatih Akin). “Jupiter’s Moon” (Kornel Mundruczo). “The Killing of a … Deer” (Yorgos Lanthimos). “L’amant double” (Francois Ozon). “Le redoubtable” (Michel Hazanvicius). “Loveless” (Andrey Zvyagintsev). “The Meyerowitz Stories” (Noah Baumbach). “Okja” (Bong Joon-Ho). “Radiance” (Naomi Kawase). “Rodin” (Jacques Doillon). “Wonderstruck” (Todd Haynes). “You Were Never Really Here” (Lynne Ramsay).

“Barbara” (Mathieu Amalric). Opener “After the War” (Annarita Zambrano). “April’s Daughter” (Michel Franco). “Beauty and the Dogs” (Kaouther Ben Hania). “Before We Vanish” (Kiyoshi Kurosawa). “Closeness” (Kantemir Balagov). “The Desert Bride” (Cecilia Atan & Valeria Pivato). “Directions” (Stephan Komandarev). “Dregs” (Mohammad Rasoulof). “Jeune femme” (Leonor Serraille). “L’Atelier” (Laurent Cantet). “Lucky” (Sergio Castellitto). “The Nature of Time” (Karim Moussaoui). “Out” (Gyorgy Kristof). “Western” (Valeska Grisebach). “Wind River” (Taylor Sheridan).

“Blade of the Immortal” (Takashi Miike). “How to Talk to Girls at Parties” (John Cameron Mitchell). “Visages, Villages” (Agnes Varda & JR). Midnight Screeenings “Prayer Before Dawn” (Jean-Stephane Sauvaire). “The Merciless” (Byun Sung-Hyun). “The Villainess” (Jung Byung-Gil).

Special Screeenings

“12 Jours” (Raymond Depardon). “An Inconvenient Sequel” (Bonni Cohen & Jon Shenk). “Clair’s Camera” (Hong Sangsoo). “Demons in Paradise” (Jude Ratman). “Napalm” (Claude Lanzmann). “Promised Land” (Eugene Jarecki). “Sea Sorrow” (Vanessa Redgrave). “They” (Anahita Ghazvinizadeh).

“24 Frames” (Abbas Kiarostami). “Come Swim” (Kristen Stewart). “Top of the Lake” (Jane Campion). “Twin Peaks” (David Lynch).

Virtual Reality

“Carne y arena” (Alejandro G. Inarritu).