Source: AFP
Legendary director Francis Ford Coppola will return to the Cannes Film Festival with his long-awaited epic “Megalopolis,” organizers said Thursday, announcing a line-up that includes some of the biggest names in world cinema.
The 77th edition of the festival on the French Cote d’Azur, considered the most prestigious in the film industry, will run from May 14 to 25.
This year’s competition for the top prize, the Palme d’Or, features another team-up between Emma Stone and Greek director Giorgos Lanthimos — “Kinds of Kindness” — just weeks after Stone’s Oscar for their Frankenstein-esque satire ” Poor Things.”
“The Apprentice,” a biopic about the early years of Donald Trump from Iranian-born director Ali Abbasi, is expected to garner a lot of attention.
And Canadian horror maestro David Cronenberg returns with his most personal film yet, “The Shrouds,” starring Vincent Cassel.
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But all eyes are likely to be on Coppola’s Megalopolis, which marks the return of the ‘Godfather’ director to the Cannes Croisette at the age of 85.
He’s won the Palme d’Or twice — for “The Conversation” (1974) and, controversially, for “Apocalypse Now” (1979), which wasn’t even finished when it premiered at the festival.
He has self-financed “Megalopolis,” said to be a Roman political drama set in modern-day New York, starring Adam Driver, Forest Whitaker and a host of other stars.
“Emmanuel” returns
This year’s jury is headed by “Barbie” director Greta Gerwig, who “perfectly embodies the soul of the festival,” said Cannes president Iris Knobloch.
Among the more interesting entries Gerwig will judge is “Emilia Perez,” a musical comedy about a Mexican cartel boss who undergoes gender reassignment surgery, starring pop star Selena Gomez in a supporting role — the latest unlikely creation from the French woman awarded with the Palme. director Jacques Audiard.
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It was already known that “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” the latest installment in the post-apocalyptic franchise, will make its world premiere at the festival, playing out of competition.
So will Kevin Costner’s new project, “Horizon, An American Saga,” in which the veteran star stars opposite Sienna Miller in the first of a planned series about the American West.
Meanwhile, George Lucas — the man behind “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” — will receive the prestigious Palme d’Or at the closing ceremony.
A film about women’s rights in China will also play out of competition. “She Has No Name” stars two of the country’s biggest stars, Lei Jiayin and Zhang Ziyi.
Two highly topical films will have special screenings.
“La Belle de Gaza” follows transgender Palestinians who move to Israel, and Sergei Loznitsa’s “Invasion” focuses on the war in his native Ukraine.
Success at Cannes can give a big boost to art films like last year’s winner “Anatomy of a Fall,” which won an avalanche of awards, including an Oscar.
Source: AFP