Eye For Film >> Festivals >> Cannes >> 2016 >> Official Competition
Films vying for the coveted Palme d'Or
View other Cannes Film Festival Films by strand: Cannes Classics, Critics' Week, Directors' Fortnight, Midnight Screenings, Special Screenings, Un Certain Regard
Elle and Staying Vertical
Aquarius
(Country: Brazil; Year: 2016; Director: Kleber Mendonça Filho; Writer: Kleber Mendonça Filho; Stars: Sonia Braga, Jeff Rosick, Irandhir Santos, Maeve Jinkings, Julia Bernat, Carla Ribas, Fernando Teixeira, Rubens Santos, Humberto Carrão, Bárbara Colen)
A retired music critic is the last resident of a building targeted by developers - she becomes engaged in a cold war of sorts with the company.
World premiere.
American Honey
(Country: UK, US; Year: 2016; Director: Andrea Arnold; Writer: Andrea Arnold; Stars: Sasha Lane, Shia LaBeouf, McCaul Lombardi, Arielle Holmes, Crystal Ice, Veronica Ezell, Chad Cox, Garry Howell, Kenneth Kory Tucker, Raymond Coalson, Isaiah Stone, Dakota Powers, Shawna Rae Moseley, Chris Wright, Riley Keough)
A teenager joins a travelling magazine sales crew and gets swept up in hard partying and young love.
World premiere.
The BFG
(Country: UK, Canada, US; Year: 2016; Director: Steven Spielberg; Writer: Melissa Mathison, Christopher Abbott, based on the novel by Roald Dahl; Stars: Rebecca Hall, Mark Rylance, Bill Hader, Jemaine Clement, Matt Frewer, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Penelope Wilton, Adam Godley, Ruby Barnhill, Michael Adamthwaite, Julia Torrance, Haig Sutherland, Marilyn Norry, Callum Seagram Airlie, John Emmet Tracy)
A little girl befriends a giant.
World premiere. Out of competition.
Café Society
(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Woody Allen; Writer: Woody Allen; Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Blake Lively, Kristen Stewart, Kelly Rohrbach, Steve Carell, Corey Stoll, Anna Camp, Parker Posey, Judy Davis, Paul Schneider, Don Stark, Tony Sirico, Ken Stott, Liz Celeste, Kaili Vernoff)
A man comes to Hollywood with aspirations of working in film, only to fall in love.
World premiere. Out of competition. Opening night film
Elle
(Country: France, Germany, Belgium; Year: 2016; Director: Paul Verhoeven; Writer: David Birke, based on the book by Philippe Djian; Stars: Isabelle Huppert, Alice Isaaz, Christian Berkel, Virginie Efira, Anne Consigny, Laurent Lafitte, Jonas Bloquet, Charles Berling, Vimala Pons, Raphaël Lenglet, Olivia Gotanègre, Lucas Prisor, Judith Magre, Arthur Mazet, Stéphane Bak)
A successful video game boss aims to track down her attacker after a home invasion.
World premiere.
Julieta and Aquarius
From The Land Of The Moon (Mal de pierres)
(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2016; Director: Nicole Garcia; Writer: Nicole Garcia and Jacques Fieschi, based on the book by Milena Agus; Stars: Marion Cotillard, Louis Garrel, Àlex Brendemühl, Brigitte Roüan, Gwendoline Fiquet, Victoire Du Bois, Aloïse Sauvage, Inès Grunenwald, Victor Quilichini, Caroline Megglé)
Twenty-year story of the loves of a passionate, free-spirited woman.
World premiere.
Graduation (Bacalaureat, Family Photos)
(Country: Romania, France, Belgium; Year: 2016; Director: Cristian Mungiu; Writer: Cristian Mungiu; Stars: Vlad Ivanov, Maria-Victoria Dragus, Ioachim Ciobanu, Adrian Titieni, Gheorghe Ifrim, Emanuel Parvu, Valeriu Andriuta, Claudia Susanu, Adrian Vancica, Liliana Mocanu, Lia Bugnar, Tudor Smoleanu, Andrei Morariu, Rares Andrici, Constantin Cojocaru)
Story of a small town doctor who is faced with a stark choice after his daughter is assaulted.
World premiere.
The Handmaiden (Agassi)
(Country: South Korea; Year: 2016; Director: Park Chan-wook; Writer: Based on Sarah Waters' Fingersmith; Stars: Ha Jung-woo, Kim Min-hee, Jo Jin-woong, Kim Tae Ri)
A handmaiden sets out to swindle an heiress but things don't go to plan.
World premiere.
I, Daniel Blake
(Country: UK, France; Year: 2016; Director: Ken Loach; Writer: Paul Laverty; Stars: Hayley Squires, Natalie Ann Jamieson, Dave Johns, Micky McGregor, Colin Coombs, Bryn Jones, Mick Laffey, Dylan McKiernan, John Sumner, Briana Shann, Rob Kirtley)
A carpenter suffering from ill health and a young single mum find themselves facing a wall of welfare bureacracy.
World premiere.
It's Only The End Of The World (Juste la fin du monde)
(Country: Canada, France; Year: 2016; Director: Xavier Dolan; Writer: Xavier Dolan, Jean-Luc Lagarce; Stars: Léa Seydoux, Marion Cotillard, Vincent Cassel, Gaspard Ulliel, Nathalie Baye)
A writer returns home after a long absence to tell his family he is terminally ill.
World premiere.
It's Only The End Of The World and The BFG
Julieta
(Country: Spain; Year: 2016; Director: Pedro Almodóvar; Writer: Pedro Almodóvar, based on short stories by Alice Munro; Stars: Adriana Ugarte, Michelle Jenner, Rossy de Palma, Inma Cuesta, Emma Suárez, Darío Grandinetti, Daniel Grao, Nathalie Poza, Agustín Almodóvar, Mariam Bachir, Susi Sánchez, Pilar Castro, Priscilla Delgado, Bimba Bosé, Joaquín Notario)
A mother and daughter struggle to come to terms with grief.
World premiere.
The Last Face
(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Sean Penn; Writer: Erin Dignam; Stars: Charlize Theron, Javier Bardem, Sibo Mlambo, Jean Reno, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Jared Harris, Ebby Weyime, Hopper Penn, Bronwyn Reed, Irina Miccoli, Dominika Jablonska, Christopher Stein, Justin Miccoli, Oscar Best, Sarah Muhoho)
World premiere.
Aid workers find romance against the backdrop of revolution in Liberia.
Loving
(Country: US, UK; Year: 2016; Director: Jeff Nichols; Writer: Jeff Nichols; Stars: Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Marton Csokas, Ruth Negga, Alano Miller, Nick Kroll, Jon Bass, Bill Camp, David Jensen, Quinn McPherson, Michael Abbott Jr., Sharon Blackwood, Terri Abney, Christopher Mann, Coley Campany)
Story of an interracial couple in 1950s Virginia who face the wrath of the law for getting married.
World premiere.
Ma’ Rosa
(Year: 2016; Director: Brillante Mendoza)
World premiere.
A husband and wife who sell narcotics to help make ends meet. After Rosa is arrested, her family are willing to do anything to buy her freedom from the corrupt police.
Money Monster
(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Jodie Foster; Writer: Jamie Linden, Alan DiFiore, Jim Kouf, Alan DiFiore, Jim Kouf; Stars: Caitriona Balfe, Julia Roberts, George Clooney, Giancarlo Esposito, Jack O'Connell, Dominic West, Condola Rashad, Greta Lee, Dennis Boutsikaris, Chris Bauer, Emily Meade, Grant Rosenmeyer, Aly Mang, Olivia Luccardi, Dante Briggins)
A financial TV host and his producer are put in an extreme situation when an irate investor who has lost everything forcefully takes over their studio.
World premiere. Out of competition.
Café Society and The Neon Demon
The Neon Demon
(Country: France, US, Denmark; Year: 2016; Director: Nicolas Winding Refn; Writer: Nicolas Winding Refn; Stars: Elle Fanning, Jena Malone, Bella Heathcote, Abbey Lee, Karl Glusman, Keanu Reeves, Christina Hendricks, Desmond Harrington, Alessandro Nivola), Trailer
A young model faces jealous rivals in LA.
World premiere.
The Nice Guys
(Country: UK, US; Year: 2016; Director: Shane Black; Writer: Shane Black, Anthony Bagarozzi; Stars: Starring: Ryan Gosling, Russell Crowe, Matt Bomer, Kim Basinger, Angourie Rice, Margaret Qualley, Lance Valentine Butler, Jack Kilmer, Maddie Compton, Ty Simpkins, Murielle Telio)
An unlikely duo of detectives searches for a missing girl in 1977 Los Angeles.
World premiere. Out of competition.
Paterson
(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Jim Jarmusch; Writer: Jim Jarmusch; Stars: Adam Driver, Golshifteh Farahani, Kara Hayward, Sterling Jerins, Jared Gilman, Luis Da Silva Jr., Frank Harts, Rizwan Manji, Jorge Vega, William Jackson Harper, Masatoshi Nagase, Jaden Michael, Trevor Parham, Brian McCarthy, Troy T. Parham)
Story of a bus driver and a poet and a maker of cup cakes and a dog walker and a week in New Jersey where small things happen
World premiere.
Personal Shopper
(Country: France; Year: 2016; Director: Olivier Assayas; Writer: Olivier Assayas; Stars: Kristen Stewart, Lars Eidinger, Nora von Waldstätten, Anders Danielsen Lie, Pamela Betsy Cooper, David Bowles, Sigrid Bouaziz, Ty Olwin, Fabrice Reeves, Benoit Peverelli, Abigail Millar)
Ghost story set against the backdrop of the Paris fashion world.
World premiere.
The Salesman (Forushande)
(Country: France, Iran; Year: 2016; Director: Asghar Farhadi; Writer: Asghar Farhadi; Stars: Shahab Hosseini, Taraneh Alidoosti)
Forced out of their apartment, Emad and Rana move into a new flat. An incident linked to the previous tenant will dramatically change the young couple’s life.
World premiere.
The Salesman and The Handmaiden
Sieranevada
(Country: Romania, France, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Republic of Macedonia; Year: 2016; Director: Cristi Puiu; Writer: Cristi Puiu; Stars: Mimi Branescu, Bogdan Dumitrache)
World premiere.
Drama set at a family reunion to commemorate the anniversary of the death of the family patriarch.
Slack Bay (Ma Loute)
(Country: Germany, France; Year: 2016; Director: Bruno Dumont; Writer: Bruno Dumont; Stars: Fabrice Luchini, Juliette Binoche, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Thierry Lavieville, Jean-Luc Vincent, Didier Desprès, Raph, Laura Dupré, Brandon Lavieville, Cyril Rigaux, Angélique Vergara)
Period comedy, set in 1910, about the investigation into disappearances from beaches in France.
World premiere.
Staying Vertical (Rester Vertical)
(Country: France; Year: 2016; Director: Alain Guiraudie; Writer: Alain Guiraudie; Stars: Laure Calamy, Damien Bonnard, India Hair, Christian Bouillette, Raphaël Thierry)
A man is seduced by a free-spirited shepherdess and finds himself left holding the baby.
World premiere.
Toni Erdmann
(Country: Germany, Austria; Year: 2016; Director: Maren Ade; Writer: Maren Ade; Stars: Peter Simonischek, Sandra Hüller, Lucy Russell, Trystan Pütter, Hadewych Minis, Vlad Ivanov, Ingrid Bisu, John Keogh, Ingo Wimmer, Cosmin Padureanu, Anna Maria Bergold, Radu Banzaru, Alexandru Papadopol, Sava Lolov, Jürg Löw)
A father drops in on his daughter and poses as a stranger to her friends.
World premiere.
The Unknown Girl (La Fille Inconnue)
(Country: Belgium; Year: 2016; Director: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne; Writer: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne; Stars: Adèle Haenel, Jérémie Renier, Olivier Gourmet, Fabrizio Rongione, Thomas Doret, Christelle Cornil)
World premiere.
A doctor tries to discover the identity of a patient who died after she refused to treat her.
Toni Erdmann and The Wailing
The Wailing (Goksung, The Strangers)
(Country: South Korea; Year: 2016; Director: Na Hong-jin; Writer: Na Hong-jin ; Stars: Chun Woo-hee, Jo Han-Chul, Hwang Jeong-min, Jang So-yeon, JoHan-Cheol, Won Kwak Do )
When a stranger arrives in a village, a sickness begins to spread.
World premiere. Out of competition.
59th New York Film Festival early bird highlights Futura, Jane By Charlotte, James Baldwin: From Another Place and The Velvet Underground
Eye For Film continues to support festivals both locally and across the world. At the moment, we're covering:
French Film Festival
The UK's longest running celebration of Francophone cinema
Leeds International Film Festival
Thessaloniki International Film Festival
International showcase
Cannes Film Festival
Archive of festival coverage.
Sundance Film Festival
Daily diary and reviews from 2005-2018.
Berlin Film Festival
Coverage of the lynchpin German festival.
Search Movie Database
Browse our full archive
Browse our short film archive
Browse our media archive
