Twenty-four French films (not including minority coproductions) feature among the fifty-six films in the Cannes Film Festival's Official Selection in this highly unusual festival year. The event's artistic director Thierry Frémaux described this selection as a "reward for quality" as well as a political gesture, with "France setting an example of a combative movie industry that defends its vision, producing its own films while raising the profile of films from other countries."
The films representing France this year include Cannes veterans (Maïwenn, François Ozon, Lucas Belvaux), newcomers to the Official Selection (Danielle Arbid, Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar, Emmanuel Mouret, Farid Bentoumi, brothers Ludovic and Zoran Boukherma, Elie Wajeman).
Seven debut films will be presented (directed by Charlène Favier, Samir Guesmi, the duo Fanny Liatard/Jérémy Trouilh, Suzanne Lindon, Peter Dourountzis, Nicolas Maury, Nora Martirosyan), as well as two documentaries (by Dieudo Hamadi and Xavier De Lauzanne) and five comedies (Caroline Vignal, Bruno Podalydès, Emmanuel Courcol, Laurent Lafitte, Laurent Tirard).
Eight of these films were directed by women.
There will be no competition this year, replaced by a "Cannes Label" selection which will undoubtedly provide a boost to the productions at the time of their theatrical release and increase their chances of gaining international circulation. This year more than ever, the French lineup highlights the vigor and vitality of French cinema, which is only enhanced by the inclusion of minority-French coproductions with countries such as Lithuania, Brazil, Sweden, Denmark, Bulgaria, and Italy.
Critics' Week has also announced the five feature films and ten short films that will carry the 2020 Critics' Week Label, which include four French features (all of which are debut or second films) and two French shorts.
And finally, the ACID program will showcase a Cannes 2020 "Off-Site" selection of films that includes five dramas and four documentaries, seven of which were produced or coproduced by France.
Official Selection: Cannes 2020 Label
- A Good Man by Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar
- DNA by Maïwenn
- My Donkey, My Lover & I by Caroline Vignal
- Home Front by Lucas Belvaux
- Downstream to Kinshasa by Dieudo Hamadi
- Summer of 85 by François Ozon
- Gagarine by Fanny Liatard, Jérémy Trouilh
- My Best Part by Nicolas Maury
- Ibrahim by Samir Guesmi
- Josep by Aurel
- Dear Mother by Laurent Lafitte
- The Speech by Laurent Tirard
- Love Affair(s) by Emmanuel Mouret
- French Tech by Bruno Podalydès
- 9 Days in Raqqa by Xavier De Lauzanne
- Simple Passion by Danielle Arbid
- Red Soil by Farid Bentoumi
- Spring Blossom by Suzanne Lindon
- Should the Wind Drop by Nora Martirosyan
- Slalom by Charlène Favier
- Teddy by Ludovic Boukherma by Zoran Boukherma
- The Night Doctor by Elie Wajeman
- The Big Hit by Emmanuel Courcol
- Rascal by Peter Dourountzis
- Flee by Jonas Poher Rasmussen (minority-French coproduction)
- Memory House by João Paulo Miranda Maria (minority coproduction)
- February by Kamen Kalev (minority coproduction)
- In the Dusk, by Sharunas Bartas (minority coproduction)
- Last Words by Jonathan Nossiter (minority coproduction)
- Pleasure by Ninja Thyberg (minority coproduction)
View the complete selection for the 2020 Cannes Film Festival
Films with the 2020 Critics' Week Label
Feature films
- Gold For Dogs by Anna Cazenave Cambet
- The Swarm by Just Philippot
- Skies of Lebanon by Chloé Mazlo
- Beasts by Naël Marandin
Short films
View the complete selection for 2020 Critics' Week
ACID Cannes: 2020 Off-Site program
- Should the Wind Drop by Nora Martirosyan
- Far From You I Grew by Marie Dumora
- The Seeds We Sow by Nathan Nicholovitch
- Coalesce by Jessé Miceli
- The Last Hillbilly by Diane Sara Bouzgarrou, Thomas Jenkoe
- Walden by Bojena Horackova
- Tightrope Walkers by Ilan Klipper
View the complete selection for the 2020 Cannes ACID program
