Cannes Film Festival: Official Selection revealed, Greta Gerwig chosen as President of the Jury

cannes film festival

The Official Selection for the 2024 Cannes Film Festival has been announced, and the line-up features an eclectic mix of big Hollywood names and exciting international talent. 

Set to take place between Tuesday 14th and Saturday 25th May, the 77th edition of the fabled Cannes Film Festival is shaping up to be, as ever, one of the biggest and most anticipated events of the year.  

WORLD PREMIERES 

The Festival’s opening film is the latest creation by French filmmaker and DJ Quentin Dupieux: The Second Act. The film doesn’t feature in the list of In Competition films, but is likely up to be one of the year’s big French language comedy hits. It stars Léa Seydoux and Vincent Lindon.  

Another world premiere attracting huge attention is Ali Abbasi’s The Apprentice, a not-so-flattering fictionalised biopic on Donald Trump’s real estate career in the 1970s and 1980s. Sebastian Stan plays the man himself and Jeremy Strong will feature in the role of Trump’s unscrupulous lawyer and fixer Roy Cohn. The film is part of the official In Competition selection.

IN COMPETITION 

Among the other titles In Competition are: Magnus von Horn’s The Girl with the Needle; Karim Aïnouz’s Motel Destino; Jia Zhang-Ke’s Caught by the Tides; Bird by Andrea Arnold; Emilia Perez by Jacques Audiard; Sean Baker’s Anora; Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis; The Shrouds from David Cronenberg; The Substance from Coralie Fargeat; Miguel Gomes’ Grand Tour; Marcello Mio from Christophe Honoré; All We Imagine as Light by Payal Kapadia; Kinds of Kindness from Yórgos Lánthimos; L’Amour Ouf by Gilles Lellouche; Agathe Riedinger’s Wild Diamond; Paul Schrader’s Oh Canada; Kirill Serebrennikov’s Limonov – The Ballad; and Parthenope from Paolo Sorrentino.  

UN CERTAIN REGARD 

15 films have been shortlisted for the Un Certain Regard category, including six films that are their directors’ first-ever feature length productions. These include: Julien Colonna’s Le Royaume; Louise Courvoisier’s Vingt Deux !; Dog on Trial from Laetitia Dosch; Mo Harawe’s The Village Next to Paradise; September Says by Ariane Labed; and Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel’s Armand.  

FAMILIAR FACES 

This year, there will be some familiar faces at the event, including the return of actor-director Kevin Costner, who will be showcasing his latest film, a western called Horizon: An American Saga. The cast includes the likes of Costner himself, Sienna Miller, Abby Lee and Jamie Campbell.  

“I couldn’t dream of a better place than the Cannes Film Festival to reveal to the world the result of such a beautiful adventure,” says Costner. 

The Mad Max franchise will also be present, with George Miller set to present his latest movie, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, which stars Chris Hemsworth, Tom Burke and Anya Taylor-Joy.  

GRETA GERWIG AS PRESIDENT OF THE JURY 

The 2024 edition will be memorable for electing the first American woman as President of the Jury. 40-year-old Barbie director Greta Gerwig is also one of the youngest jury presidents in the history of the prestigious event. Not since 1966, when a 31-year-old Sophia Loren was at the helm, has anyone so youthful taken on this role.  

79-year-old mega-director George Lucas, the man behind the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises, has been announced as the recipient of an honorary Palme d’Or, which will be presented as part of the Festival’s closing ceremonies on Saturday 25th May. 

For more information on the films in and out of competition, click here.

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Photo credit: Mathile Gardel / Festival de Cannes