Thursday, May 11, 2023 / 11:59 a.m
The organizers of the Cannes Film Festival, one of the largest cinema forums in the world, revealed the details of its 76th session, which is expected to be held next Tuesday, on May 16, and its activities will continue until the 27th of the same month, in the French city of Cannes, where the world’s attention is directed to it in general, and cinema lovers. The Seventh Art, in particular, amid a record attendance of women’s films this year.
8 members of the main competition jury were chosen, and they are the British writer and director Rongano Nyoni, the American actress and producer Brie Larson, the American actor and director Paul Dano, the French actor Denis Menouche, the Argentine director and writer Damien Zifron, the French director Julia Docorno, and the Afghan writer and director Atiq Rahimi, and Moroccan director Maryam Al-Tawazili, and the position of chair of the committee is occupied by the famous Swedish director Robin Ostlund, thus becoming the first Swede to head a jury at the Cannes Festival in nearly 50 years, and the winner of the Palme d’Or for the second time last year with his movie “Triangle of Sadness”.
What Look Committee
American actor John C. Reilly chairs the jury for the “Un Certain Regard” category, in which 20 films compete, including 8 films that constitute the first directorial experience of their directors, while 21 films compete for the Palme d’Or.
For the first time, this session witnesses the competition of 7 female directors for the Palme d’Or, after reaching 5 in 2022, and among those qualified female directors for the official competition, the French-Senegalese Ramata Tolay Si, who is participating in her first feature film “Panel a Adama”, and the French director Maywen, with a movie “Jean du Barry”, with which the festival opens, on May 16th, in which Johnny Depp returns strongly to the big screen, also the Tunisian director Kawthar Ben Hania in her first participation in the Cannes Festival, and her movie “Banat Affah” starring the Tunisian star Hind Sabri, a joint production between Tunisia, France, Germany and Saudi Arabia, with which Tunisia returns to the festival after more than 50 years.
A prominent Arab presence
In addition to the Tunisian film, there is also a prominent Arab presence at the Cannes Festival, through the participation of Sudanese cinema for the first time with the movie “Goodbye Julia” in the “Un Certain Regard” competition, as well as two Moroccan films, “White Lies” by Moroccan director Asmaa Al-Moudair, and “Les Meutes”. Moroccan director Kamal Lazraq.
The Egyptian actor, Amir Al-Masry, is also participating in the movie “Club Zero”, one of the films participating in the official competition of the Cannes Festival. The film is an Austrian, German, British and French production and is scheduled to be released in the spring of 2023.
A number of directors are seeking to get the Palme d’Or for the second time, including the Italian Nani Moretti, the Turkish Nuri Bilge Ceylan, the Japanese Hirokazu Kore-Ida, and the German Wim Wenders, while the 86-year-old Briton Ken Loach hopes to grab a third to achieve a historic achievement.
The festival awards the honorary Palme d’Or to Hollywood star Michael Douglas, in recognition of his rich artistic career and contributions to the world of cinema. Among his most famous films are (The China Syndrome), (Basic Instinct), (Falling Down), and ( Behind the Candelabra) “Behind the Candelabra” all premiered at Cannes.
The festival program includes a large presence of American cinema and Hollywood stars, including director Martin Scorsese with his feature film “Killers of the Flower Moon”, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Pedro Pascal, star of the series “The Last of Us”. In addition to honoring the American star Harrison Ford, the hero of the “Indiana Jones” series.
