Cannes 2024: Jacques Audiard, Andrea Arnold, Cronenberg, and More Contenders—Stars and Films Lined Up for the Prestigious Festival

One of the world’s most notable film festivals Cannes is around the corner. However, this time, Hollywood may have a much lighter presence at the 2024 edition as compared to last year. Last year, at the Cannes Film Festival, the event witnessed some iconic actors hitting the red carpet, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Harrison Ford, and Scarlett Johansson. Unfortunately, this time, the hype won’t be that great. It’s all the result of last year’s actors and writers‘ strikes, due to which many productions got delayed. It even affected the economy, leading studios to tighten the purse strings.

However, there is a lot in store for the upcoming event. 

What is to be expected from the Cannes 2024?

Yes, there will be a shortage of stars, but there will still be stars at the Cannes. After giving a blockbuster hit last year, “Barbie” director Greta Gerwig is all set to preside over the jury. The upcoming event will place a greater emphasis on European auteurs, along the lines of Justine Triet’s “Anatomy of a Fall” and Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest,” which were each nominated for five Oscars.

The registration deadline for feature-length films for Cannes’ Official Selection approaches this Friday. Several films are still awaiting screening by the Cannes selection committee before the press conference scheduled for April 11 in Paris. Moreover, Cannes chief Thierry Fremaux already made a trip to L.A. in January and is returning at the end of the week for the Oscars, hoping to secure a few more high-profile titles while in Hollywood.

Although very few movies have been formally invited by the festival, Variety has confirmed some of the highest-profile European films and independent movies are being submitted for Cannes 2024, including Jacques Audiard’s musical melodrama “Emilia Perez” starring Zoe Saldana and Selena Gomez, Kirill Serebrennikov’s “Limonov, The Ballad of Eddie” starring Ben Whishaw, Ali Abbasi’s Donald Trump movie “The Apprentice” starring Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong.

Paolo Sorrentino’s untitled film with Gary Oldman, David Cronenberg’s “The Shrouds” starring Vincent Cassel and Diane Kruger, Babak Anvari’s “Hallow Road” starring Rosamund Pike and Matthew Rhys, Audrey Diwan’s “Emmanuelle” starring Noemie Merlant and Noemie Watts, Gilles Lellouche’s “L’Amour Ouf” starring Adele Exarchopoulos and Francois Civil, and Nabil Ayouch’s “Everybody Loves Touda.” Except for Diwan, whose previous film “Happening” premiered at Venice (and won the Golden Lion), and Sorrentino, whose Netflix film “Hand of God” played at Venice, the other directors all saw their last films premiere in Cannes.

Cannes is also considering Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Kinds of Kindness.” The film is said to be a follow-up to “Poor Things,” which reunites him with Emma Stone and distributor Searchlight Pictures. Additionally, Andrea Arnold’s “Bird,” starring Barry Keoghan and Franz Rogowski, and Francis Ford Coppola‘s self-produced epic “Megalopolis” with Adam Driver and Forest Whitaker are also under Cannes’ radar. Megalopolis would mark a big return for Coppola, who debuted his 1979 masterpiece “Apocalypse Now” 45 years ago at Cannes.

The 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival will take place May 14-25.