Despite its cancellation this year due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Cannes Film Festival has awarded its seal of approval to 56 films.
In a statement released by the festival on Friday, the films that form part of its Official Selection, released on 3 June, will premiere at other festivals.
The films were chosen from a staggering total of 2,067 feature films received this year, compared to 1,845 in 2019, 1,916 in 2018, and 1,885 in 2017.
It is the first time that the number of films submitted to the Cannes has exceeded 2,000, the festival organisers said. The crisis and slowdown in post-production processes have clearly had no impact on the number of films sent for selection.
“We must look for this increase from among the first films, of which 909 were submitted to the selection, more than any previous years,” the festival said in a statement. “Of these movies, 258 (28.4%) were directed by women, and 651(71.6%) by men.”
According to the press release, the 2020 official selection had 15 first films (26.7% of the total), compared to 10, or 17%, in 2019, also a festival first.
“It comes to prove the vitality of cinema, and it’s also proof of the festival’s commitment to the future of cinema,” the organisers added.
This year’s festival also highlights the constant geographic expansion of the countries of origin for films submitted. In 2020, submissions came from 147 countries, or an increase of 6.5% compared to the 138 submitted in 2019.
“Due to the global pandemic, the Cannes Film Festival will not take place this year under its usual conditions, nor on the dates it was scheduled: 12-23 May 2020,” Thierry Frémaux, the Festival’s General Delegate, said during a press conference in Paris.
The traditional press conference revealing the participating films is normally held at the UGC Normandie on the Champs Elysees. This year, however, it was empty of journalists in line with French government directives that will see theatres re-open on 22 June 22.
Frémaux unveiled the 2020’s Official Selection of 56 films that will be accompanied by the Festival for their release in cinemas and screenings at certain festivals worldwide.
The films selected include:
Films by directors previously participated at the Cannes
The French Dispatch by Wes Anderson (USA)
Été 85 by François Ozon (France)
Asa Ga Kuru (True Mothers) by Naomi Kawase (Japan)
Lovers Rock by Steve McQueen (UK)
Mangrove by Steve McQueen (UK)
Druk (Another Round) by Thomas Vinterberg (Denmark)
ADN (DNA) by Maïwenn (Algeria/France)
Last Words by Jonathan Nossiter (USA)
Heaven: To the Land of Happiness by IM Sang-Soo (South Korea)
El Olvido Que Seremos (Forgotten we’ll be) by Fernando Trueba (Spain)
Peninsula by YEON Sang-Ho (South Korea)
In the Dusk (Au crépuscule) by Sharunas BARTAS (Lithuania)
Des Hommes (Home Front) by Lucas BELVAUX (Belgium)
The Real Thing by Kôji Fukada (Japan)
Films by newcomers
Passion Simple by Danielle Arbid (Lebanon)
A Good Man by Marie Castille Mention-Schaar (France)
Les Choses Qu’on Dit, Les Choses Qu’on Fait by Emmanuel Mouret (France)
Souad by Ayten Amin (Egypt)
Limbo by Ben Sharrock (United Kingdom)
Rouge (Red Soil) by Farid Bentoumi (France)
Sweat by Magnus Von Horn (Sweden)
Teddy by Ludovic et Zoran Boukherma (France)
February (Février) by Kamen Kalev (Bulgaria)
Ammonite by Francis Lee (UK)
Un Medecin de Nuit by Elie Wajeman (France)
Enfant Terrible by Oskar Roehler (Germany)
Nadia, Butterfly by Pascal Plante (Canada)
Here We Are by Nir Bergman (Israel)
