Sean Penn thriller joins the Cannes throng

Pace hots up as 14 new titles added to official line-up

by Richard Mowe

Catherine Corsini’s Le Retour added to Cannes Competition line-up
Catherine Corsini’s Le Retour added to Cannes Competition line-up Photo: UniFrance

The bumper edition of this year’s 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival is growing topsy-like with the addition of 14 further titles to the Official Selection as promised by artistic director Thierry Frémaux during the recent media launch.

Sean Penn was previously at Cannes with Flag Day in 2021
Sean Penn was previously at Cannes with Flag Day in 2021 Photo: Courtesy of Cannes Film Festival

The Competition will see premieres of Jean-Stépahne Sauvaire’s US thriller Black Flies with Sean Penn, Tye Sheridan, Katherine Waterston, Michael Pitt and Mike Tyson and Catherine Corsini’s Le Retour which brings the total number of Competition with female directors to seven. The Corsini film previously had been withdrawn over allegations of “inappropriate incidents” during the filming but the festival authorities investigated and have now deemed it suitable for inclusion.

Cannes Premier section has three new titles: Amat Escalante’s Lost In The Night, Valerie Donzelli’s Just The Two Of Us, co-written with Happening director Audrey Diwan; and Lisandro Alonso’s Eureka.

The Out of Competition strand will have the inclusion of Frederic Tellier’s L’Abbé Pierre, about a Second World War resistance fighter. Two new productions join Un Certain Regard: Wei Shujun’s Only The River Flows and closing choice Alex Lutz’s Une Nuit.

Midnight Strand has bows for Robert Rodriguez’s thriller Hypnotic starring Ben Affleck and Kim Tae-gon’s Project Silence.

Further bolstering the Special Screenings line-up are: Mona Achache’s Little Girl Blue, Sahra Mani’s Bread And Roses and Anna Novion’s Le Theoreme de Marguerite.

The festival starts on 15 May.

Share this with others on...
News

Expanding the possible Fernanda Salgado on fantasy, reality, Jan Švankmajer and Ana, En Passant

A burning thing Sneha Mehta and Teddy Stern on falling in love with Mumbai, and making Getar Hero

Nothing is impossible Paul Rowley on moving to New York, the Pulse massacre, and Gays Against Guns

‘The only thing that makes a story universal is emotions’ Warsaw’s Industry panel discuss reaching audiences abroad

The only thing worth saying Chuko and Arie Esiri on adapting Mrs Dalloway and making Clarissa

European Film Academy shortlist announced 68 features vie for nomination

More news and features

We're bringing you all the latest news and reviews from the London Film Festival and Newfest.



We're looking forward to the Belfast Film Festival, Halloween Frightfest, the Cheltenham International Film Festival and the Leeds International Film Festival.



We've recently brought you coverage of the New York Film Festival, Grimmfest, Beyond Fest, the San Sebastian International Film Festival, Fantastic Fest, the Toronto International Film Festival and the Venice Film Festival.



Read our full for more.


Visit our festivals section.

Interact

Don't forget that you can follow us on YouTube for trailers of festival films and more. You can also find us on Mastodon, Instagram and Bluesky.


It's a busy time for festivals and here's the latest:


London Winners announced


Tallinn Black Nights UK co-production joins Works In Progress


Warsaw What Belongs To Others takes top prize


Tallinn Baltic Competition, Rebels With A Cause and Critics' Picks titles announced


Dinard I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning named Best Film