While yesterday saw the announcement that Asghar Farhadi’s “Everybody Knows” will open the upcoming Cannes Film Festival, everyone is now curious what other filmmakers will have entries in this year’s event. As of yet, we don’t have a full listing of which films will be screened, but according to a new report, we know some popular filmmakers that won’t be entering.
In a report from Cineuropa, there is a surprising list of names that won’t have a film ready in time for Cannes. Some of our favorites, like Xavier Dolan, Claire Denis, Barry Jenkins, Luca Guadagnino, Naomi Kawase, and Jacques Audiard are all said to not have films ready in time for the festival. According to the report, each is for a different reason.
Filmmaker Claire Denis is prepping to release her latest feature film,”High Life,” a sci-fi thriller featuring Robert Pattinson, Mia Goth, and Juliet Binoche. There hasn’t been much marketing released for the film yet, beyond one picture, and it sounds like it won’t be ready in time.
Here's Denis verbatim: "We are finished the editing and music, but we have to wait for the special effects to be ready. And they are not ready at all. I think we will miss Cannes because of that."
— ?Donald Clarke? (@DonaldClarke63) April 4, 2018
Barry Jenkins is coming off the massive success of his Oscar-winning film, “Moonlight.” Many fans were hoping that his upcoming movie, “If Beale Street Could Talk,” based on the James Baldwin novel would be ready in time to premiere at Cannes. Filming began last Fall, but we haven’t heard much about the project since.
Perhaps most disappointing are the absences of Xavier Dolan and Luca Guadagnino. Dolan’s latest film, “The Death and Life of John F. Donovan,” has finished production over a year ago, with recent news that edits were coming together, and actress Jessica Chastain’s role had been severely cut. Dolan is no stranger to Cannes, and many had assumed that his latest would premiere.
Guadagnino has been prepping the release of his upcoming “Suspiria” remake, and it looked like Cannes could be the perfect time for its premiere. With production finishing over a year ago, and Guaganino coming off the huge success of his film, “Call Me By Your Name,” it seemed like everything was coming together for a big Cannes appearance.
The report does mention some of the big names that will probably have projects entering the prestigious festival. “Under the Silver Lake” by David Robert Mitchell, “Domino” by Brian De Palma, and “Black Klansman” by Spike Lee are all titles that are getting thrown around as probably making an appearance. There are also exciting projects from Paolo Sorrentino, Lars von Trier, and Lee Chang-dong that are likely to show up.
Obviously, Cannes will again be a place to see some of the biggest names in filmmaking. It’s just a shame that some of our favorites, that we were hoping to see, won’t be in attendance.