Cannes film season begins, promising selection surprises

PARIS (AFP) ― Cannes season kicks off this week as the film festival unveils its pick of Hollywood giants and arthouse newcomers to compete for the coveted Palme d’Or at the glitzy event on the French Riviera next month.

Organisers will announce the 20-odd films in the official competition at a press conference in Paris Thursday, ending film buff speculation about who will make the cut for the world’s top movie showcase on May 16-27.

Cannes’ general delegate Thierry Fremaux selects the line-up each year from among some 2,000 productions, from the biggest names in film right down to first-time directors from North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America or Africa.

He was left fuming early this month when a bogus Cannes selection was posted online in an April Fool’s prank.

The fake list notably named hotly-awaited films from U.S. directors Terrence Malick and David Cronenberg as well as Wes Anderson’s “Moonrise Kingdom,” a 1960s teen love story already announced as Cannes’ opening movie.

“There are always rumors about the films at Cannes ― and it always gets on directors’ nerves,” Gilles Jacob, the festival’s 81-year-old current chairman and longtime general delegate, told AFP this week.

“It’s pretty easy to take a list of all the great films in production around the world, to look at the great directors, the release dates,” he said.

“Of course, in the mix some of the films are bound to be in Cannes. But a selection is more than just that: There are the discoveries, first films, people who have never come before.”

This year’s jury is headed up by Italian director Nanni Moretti, who scooped a Palme d’Or for “La stanza del figlio” (“The Son’s Room”) in 2001, and who is the first non-American in the role since 2009.

Moretti told AFP earlier this month he would be “looking for films that are still able to surprise me, not the kind of film I’ve already seen 5,000 times.”

Organisers will also Thursday announce the line-up for the parallel section for up-and-coming talent, Un Certain Regard, whose jury is to be chaired by the British actor and director Tim Roth.

Despite the promise of surprises, several dozen big-name movies currently in post-production are strongly tipped for a slot at the festival.