Director Woody Allen and the stars of his new movie Café Society opened the wheeling and dealing among Hollywood’s power elite that continues until May 22.
The winner of the coveted Palme d’Or will be declared on the final night. This year’s jury is headed by Australia’s Mad Max director George Miller.
As usual, expectations are running high. Renowned directors like Pedro Almodóvar, Xavier Dolan, Jim Jarmush and Ken Loach will join the race for the cherished trophy.
French cinema is represented by four contributions. And US productions like Paterson by Jim Jarmusch and The Last Face by Sean Penn will add a few renowned Hollywood stars to the line-up.
Other countries with a strong filmmaking tradition, such as Iran, represented by Oscar-winning director Asghar Farhadi, and Romania – with two films – will be present.
But there’s a lot more to Cannes than the competition and the Palme d’Or.
Among the total of 1869 films submitted to the festival, 49 were selected for the official program, and a few others for other sections.
Renowed series such as Un Certain Regard and La Quinzaine des réalisateurs focus on outstanding directors as well as young directors and talents to be discovered.
There will also be special screenings of films by famous directors that did not make it into the competition. Among them is Steven Spielberg’s new ghost film The Big Friendly Giant, intended for a young audience.
Some of Australia’s most exciting talent also feature in international films: Joel Edgerton stars in Loving (in competition); Bella Heathcote and Abbey Lee Kershaw in The Neon Demon (in competition); Russell Crowe in The Nice Guys; and Mel Gibson in Blood Father.
