The Cannes film festival has announced a line-up covering the refugee crisis, climate change, mental health and animal exploitation, reinforcing its status as the hub of politically charged cinema
Tilda Swinton
Tilda Swinton in Okja, which was labelled by Cannes director Thierry Fremaux as "a very political movie"
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The Cannes film festival has announced a line-up covering the refugee crisis, climate change, mental health and animal exploitation, reinforcing its status as the hub of politically charged cinema.
Announcing the 70th edition's line-up, festival president Pierre Lescure maintained the political theme, saying that "since we have a new surprise every day from Donald Trump, I hope Syria and North Korea will not cause a shadow on the festival."
Besides, concessions have been made to the increasing influence of streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon, as well as growing tentacles of television, with a screening of David Lynch's Twin Peaks follow-up.
There will be special screenings of An Inconvenient Sequel, Al Gore's continuation of his climate-change documentary An Inconvenient Truth, and a directorial debut for Vanessa Redgrave with Sea Sorrow, a documentary on the history of migrant crisis as well as its current status. Shoah director Claude Lanzmann returns to the festival with Napalm, a documentary about North Korea, and Raymond Depardon debuts 12 Jours, a docu filmed in a psychiatric hospital.
Films competing for the Palme d'Or include Hungarian director Kornél Mundruczó's refugee drama Jupiter's Moon, Robin Campillo's 120 Battements par Minute, about AIDS. Bong Joon-Ho's Okja, a Netflix-funded fantasy film starring Tilda Swinton, which was labelled by Cannes director Thierry Frémaux as "a very political movie" about "the way we exploit animals".
The French Riviera annual event also won't have a single Hollywood studio film, but instead, launch star-driven new work by American directors Sofia Coppola (The Beguiled), Noah Baumbach (The Meyerowitz Stories), and Todd Haynes (Wonderstruck), which is expected to have celebs like Nicole Kidman, Adam Sandler, and Julianne Moore walking the red carpet. The Cannes Film Festival runs from May 17 to May 28.
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