Cannes 2021 lineup: Wes Anderson, Leos Carax, Sean Baker, Asghar Farhadi to compete for Palme d'Or

The Cannes Film Festival announced its official selection on Thursday. The 74th edition of the world’s leading film shindig, being held 6-17 July, promises to be one to remember, with beloved auteurs Wes Anderson (The French Dispatch), Leos Carax (Annette) and Paul Verhoeven (Benedetta) alongside many female filmmakers like directors like Ildikó Enyedi (The Story of My Wife) and Julia Ducournau (Titane). According to Variety, the lineup was declared by artistic director Thierry Frémaux and festival president Pierre Lescure. Frémaux said that he is yet to unveil the name of a major Hollywood film to be screened on the beach. Deadline notes that a new section Cannes Premières has also been created that will feature new projects by Andrea Arnold, Hong Sang-soo and Arnaud Désplechin. Meanwhile, the competition films will face a jury headed by US director Spike Lee, who was set to preside in 2020 before the festival was cancelled by the pandemic.

 The opening film is already known: Annette is the first in a decade from French arthouse darling Carax, and his first in English, starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard as a celebrity couple awaiting a mysterious child.

Verhoeven, meanwhile, promises a touch of scandal on the Croisette with his entry, Benedetta, about a lesbian nun in a 17th century Italian convent — solid ground for the Dutch filmmaker who has often married art and salaciousness with movies like Basic Instinct, Showgirls and Elle. It has been a particularly long wait for Anderson, who was due to present his latest quirky bauble, The French Dispatch, at last year’s festival. Filmed in Angouleme in southwest France, it was clearly worth waiting for a proper Gallic launch, and could bring a multitude of stars to the red carpet, with Anderson regulars such as Bill Murray and Adrien Brody joined by new additions including Timothee Chalamet, Benicio Del Toro and France’s own Lea Seydoux. The organiser had on Wednesday said that veteran Hollywood actor and filmmaker Jodie Foster will receive the honorary Palme d’Or at the event. Foster will be a special guest of the opening ceremony on 6 July to collect her award, which recognises artistic career achievement and a commitment to major issues. Here is this year’s lineup:  Opening Night Film Annette, Leos Carax (also in Competition) Competition Ahed’s Knee, Nadav Lapid Annette, Leos Carax Benedetta, Paul Verhoeven Bergman Island, Mia Hansen-Løve Casablanca Beats, Nabil Ayouch Compartment No 6, Juho Kuosmanen Drive My Car, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi Everything Went Fine, Francois Ozon The French Dispatch, Wes Anderson A Hero, Asghar Farhadi La fracture, Catherine Corsini Lingui, Mahamat-Saleh Haroun Memoria, Apichatpong Weerasethakul Nitram, Justin Kurzel Paris, 13th District, Jacques Audiard Par un Demi Clair Matin, Bruno Dumont Petrov’s Flu, Kirill Serebrennikov Red Rocket, Sean Baker The Restless, Joachim Lafosse The Story of My Wife, Ildikó Enyedi Three Floors, Nanni Moretti Titane, Julia Ducournau The Worst Person in the World, Joachim Trier Flag Day, Sean Penn Un Certain Regard After Yang, Kogonada Blue Bayou, Justin Chon Bonne Mère, Hafsia Herzi Commitment Hasan, Hasan Semih Freda, Gessica Généus House Arrest (Delo), Alexey German Jr The Innocents, Eskil Vogt Lamb, Valdimar Jóhansson Moneyboys, B.C Yi Noche de Fuego, Tatiana Huezo Un Monde, Laura Wandel Women Do Cry, Mina Mileva and Vesela Kazakova La Civil, Teodora Ana Mihai Unclenching the Fists, Kira Kovalenko Let Their Be Morning, Eran Kolirin Rehana Maryam Noor, Abdullah Mohammad Saad Cannes Premiere Evolution, Kornel Mundruczo Cow, Andrea Arnold Deception (Tromperie), Arnaud Desplechin Hold Me Tight, Mathieu Almaric In Front of Your Face, Hong Sang-soo Love Songs for Tough Guys, Samuel Benchetrit Mothering Sunday, Eva Husson Val, Ting Poo and Leo Scott Out of Competition Aline, the Voice of Love, Valerie Lemercier Babi Yar. Context, Sergei Loznitsa Bac Nord, Cédric Jimenez Emergency Declaration, Han Jae-Rim In His Lifetime (De son vivant), Emmanuelle Bercot Stillwater, Tom McCarthy The Velvet Underground, Todd Haynes Special Screenings Black Notebooks, Shlomi Elkabetz H6, Yé Yé Jane by Charlotte, Charlotte Gainsbourg JFK: Through the Looking Glass, Oliver Stone Mariner of the Mountains, Karim Aïnouz Baby Yar. Context, Sergei Loznitsa The Year of the Everlasting Storm, Jafar Panahi, Anthony Chen, Malik Vitthal, Laura Poitras, Dominga Sotomayar, David Lowery, and Apichatpong Weerasethakul Midnight Screenings Bloody Oranges, Jean-Christophe Meurisse (With inputs from Agence France-Presse)