The role of the Cannes Film Festival as a launching pad for theatrically successful arthouse films is becoming increasingly important.including some movies autumn anatomy, zone of interest, Murderers of the Flower Moon and perfect days The 2023 competition's entries alone continued to dominate awards and cultural headlines for the next nine months.
More importantly, all of these films can loosely be called “broad arthouse” and have penetrated mainstream movie audiences around the world.
This year's selection suggests that Cannes accepts this description, with the obvious caveat that no one has actually seen all the films yet. When announcing the selections in April, At-Large Representative Thierry Frémaux and President Iris Knobloch focused on the success of the Class of 2023. “Streamers are a great way to reach a wider audience and preserve movies, but the magic of widescreen remains,” Knobloch said. “More than ever, movie theaters are where movies and their stories meet, and where cinematic legends are born.
“Filmmakers, directors, artists and experts all agree that there is no substitute for the cultural event represented by a theatrical film release.”
The focus on theater comes at a crucial time, especially in France, where arthouse distributors are struggling to find audiences. France's Urban Distribution and Reso Films were both forced to shut down in the first few months of this year. Although moviegoing in France has recovered to near pre-pandemic levels, Urban Group founder Frédéric Corbes lamented that “cinemas have not regained their audiences.”
Greta Gerwig, this year's president of the jury, began her career in independent films before breaking box office records. Barbie, According to Knobloch, it “embodies the spirit of the Cannes Film Festival.” Like the festival itself, “Gerwig embraces all genres and addresses audiences from the independent scene to Hollywood,” enthuses Knobloch.
2024 movies
Yorgos Lanthimos Poor thing, One of last year's biggest “broad arthouse” films, it opened in Venice and won the Golden Lion after Cannes reportedly rejected the award. Now, Lanthimos is back on the Cannes stage. types of kindness, Films shot by Lanthimos poor thing It was in the post.
While movie theaters are hoping Lanthimos can deliver more of the same; types of kindness, Fremuax and his team have selected a competition lineup that also returns many of the regulars, but with some unusual twists. Several directors who often explore the dark side of the human soul will appear on the Croisette with films that have a deceptively light tone.
Jacques Audiard's Emilia Perez ” is a musical comedy starring Selena Gomez and Zoe Saldana about a Mexican cartel boss who sets out to realize his dream of becoming a woman.
Brought to you by David Cronenberg shroud, While it has been described as a more personal and emotion-driven story than some of his other films, Ali Abbasi's last film holy spider A poignant and challenging portrait of violence against women in Iran returns this year. apprentice.
Sebastian Stan plays a young Donald Trump, making the film, at least on the surface, more relatable to audiences. And French director Gilles Lelouche is entering the competition category for the first time, although his popular films are often excluded from competition. A beating heart, Starring Adele Exarkopoulos, the production is described as an epic romance.
Genre titles, stellar casts, and quirky, feel-good comedies abound throughout the official selection.At the midnight screening, Noémie Merlant's Balconets Comedy and horror combine in a story about roommates in Marseille. “Un Certain Regard” has Letitia Dosch's dog on trial, An irreverent story of an idealistic lawyer dedicated to a lost cause who agrees to defend a dog.meanwhile rumor, The special screening features Guy Maddin, Evan and Galen Johnson's dark political comedy about world leaders who get lost in the woods while trying to write a statement. Starring Cate Blanchett and Alicia Vikander.
“Our goal is to help them find their audience.”
Even Directors' Week and Critics' Week, both conceived as art-focused and experimental alternatives to the festival's official selections, are filled with commercially appealing titles.
“We don't want radical films or chic and profane films,” says the week's artistic director, Julian Regill. “We try to strike a balance between specificity and audience appeal.”
The sidebar ends with a comedy by Jean-Christophe Meurice plastic gun. “We wanted to end with something completely quirky that would make everyone laugh and end the festival on a brighter, more joyful note,” Rezil said.
Critics Weekly lineup includes Alexis Langlois' queer musical drama queens A story of a young pop idol and a punk icon overcoming rivalry and passion.
“There is more and more space in Cannes to show more 'popular' films,” said Eva Kaen, artistic director of Critics Weekly. “We were the first to see these his first and his second films, but we're not the only ones who want to see them. Our goal is to make sure they find an audience. That's what I want to support you.''