The 79th ceremony of the Cannes Film Festival is nearly upon us. From 12th to 26th May, it’ll be time to hide out in the most exclusive cinemas possible in France, featuring global premieres from renowned directors. Thierry Frémaux, the festival’s director, has revealed that this year’s Cannes, which will take place at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, received 2,541 feature-length entries from 141 countries, and to pick the Palme d’Or winner will be a jury headed by South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook.
From Hirokazu Kore-eda’s “Sheep in the Box” to Ira Sachs’ “The Man I Love”, below, we list some of the films we’re most excited to see from this year’s line-up.
“Hope” by Na Hong-jin
“Hope” is a sci-fi action thriller set in the remote village of Hope Harbor, near the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). When a tiger is suspected to have appeared and local police chief Bum-seok (Hwang Jung-min) is alerted, it throws the community into chaos. But what begins as a local emergency soon spirals into a deeper, more terrifying mystery, one that forces the town’s residents to confront the unknown.
“Bitter Christmas” by Pedro Almodóvar
“Bitter Christmas” follows Elsa (Bárbara Lennie), an advertising director whose mother dies during a long December holiday. She works non-stop and, without realizing, doesn’t give herself time to mourn her mother’s absence. After a crisis, she decides to travel to the island of Lanzarote, accompanied by her friend Patricia, who also needs to get away from the city. The story of these characters run parallel to that of a screenwriter and film director, exploring how life and fiction are inseparably linked, sometimes painfully so.
“Sheep in the Box” by Hirokazu Kore-eda
“Sheep in the Box” centres on a grieving couple played by Haruka Ayase and Daigo Yamamoto, who welcome an infant humanoid robot (Rimu Kuwaki) into their home following the death of their son. What begins as an act of emotional survival quickly becomes a quiet test of identity, attachment, and what it means to rebuild family after loss.
“Parallel Stories” by Asghar Farhadi
“Parallel Stories” follows Sylvie (Isabelle Huppert), a famous author spying on neighbours for inspiration, whose life is overturned when she hires a mysterious young assistant, Adam (Adam Bessa). The story delves into dangerous obsession and blurring lines between fiction and reality.
“The Man I Love” by Ira Sachs
Set in the vibrant era of late ’80s New York, “The Man I Love” tells the story of Jimmy George (Rami Malek) an actor dying of AIDS, who takes on what may be his last great role. Filled with music, colour and passion, the film paints a picture of a group of artists and friends for whom creativity has become a form of survival.
“All of A Sudden” by Ryusuke Hamaguchi
“All of A Sudden” revolves around the bond between two women, Mari Morisaki, a Japanese theatre director (Okamoto) and Marie-Lou Fontaine, a French nurse (Efria). Their unexpected connection, sparked by the coincidence of their similarly sounding names, marks the beginning of their intimate and transformative relationship. The plot follows Mari’s sudden illness as they navigate the complexities of life and death together.
“Gentle Monster” by Marie Kreutzer
“Gentle Monster” follows Lucy (Léa Seydoux), Philip (Laurence Rupp), and their son, a happy family who have just moved to the countryside near Munich. One morning, their world is upended when the police arrive at their door to arrest Philip and seize his computers. Traumatized, Lucy sets out to uncover the truth about her husband.
