A magnificent portrait of contemporary French cinema will be shown in Competition at the 2021 edition of the Festival de Cannes, with six established filmmakers vying for the Palme d'Or. But France, land of cinema, cradle of many international coproductions, will also be present in Competition with four other major films, directed by four foreign directors.
Never before has the Official Selection of the Festival de Cannes hoisted the French colors so high as it has done this year, with six French filmmakers presenting their latest films in Competition, in the ideal respect of gender equality: Jacques Audiard, Catherine Corsini, Julia Ducournau, Bruno Dumont, Mia Hansen-Løve, and François Ozon.
Four other French-majority productions will be presented in this section: Ahed's Knee by Nadav Lapid (Les Films du Bal) for Israel, Benedetta by Paul Verhoeven (SBS Productions) for The Netherlands, Casablanca Beats by Nabil Ayouch (Les Films du Nouveau Monde and Unité) for Morocco, and Lingui - The Sacred Bonds by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun (Pili Films) for Chad. And six other minority coproduction titles complete the French presence in Competition..
Annette, the opening film, a majority-French coproduction, marks, ten years after Holy Motors, the return of Leos Carax, one of the most emblematic French filmmakers for over thirty years.
It should be noted that the closing film is yet to be announced.
The other Cannes selections (Semaine de la Critique, Quinzaine des Réalisateurs, ACID Cannes) are available on this link.
French films in Official Selection of the 74th Festival de Cannes*
Opening film
Competition
- Benedetta by Paul Verhoeven (for The Netherlands)
- Bergman Island by Mia Hansen-Løve
- The Divide by Catherine Corsini
- France by Bruno Dumont
- Ahed's Knee by Nadav Lapid (for Israel)
- Casablanca Beats by Nabil Ayouch (for Morocco)
- Lingui - The Sacred Bonds by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun (for Chad)
- Paris, 13th District by Jacques Audiard
- Titane by Julia Ducournau
- Everything Went Fine by François Ozon
- The Worst Person in the World by Joachim Trier (minority-French production)
- A Hero by Asghar Farhadi (French coproduction share not specified)
- The Story of My Wife by Ildiko Enyedi (French coproduction share not specified)
- The Restless by Joachim Lafosse (minority-French production)
- Petrov's Flu by Kirill Serebrennikov (French coproduction share not specified)
- Memoria, by Apichatpong Weerasethakul (French coproduction share not specified)
- Tre piani, by Nanni Moretti (French coproduction share not specified)
Out of Competition
- The Stronghold by Cédric Jimenez
- Peaceful by Emmanuelle Bercot
- Aline, the Voice of Love by Valérie Lemercier
Special screening
- H6 by Ye Ye
- Mariner of the Mountains by Karim Aïnouz (French coproduction share not specified)
La Dernière Séance
Un Certain Regard
- 10,000 Nights in the Jungle, by Arthur Harari (opening film)
- Good Mother by Hafsia Herzi
- Freda by Gessica Geneus
- Women Do Cry by Mina Mileva and Vesela Kazakova (minority-French production)
- Let It Be Morning by Eran Kolirin (minority-French production)
- Moneyboys by C.B. Yi (minority-French production)
- The Innocents by Eskil Vogt (French coproduction share not specified)
Midnight screening
Cannes Première
- Jane by Charlotte by Charlotte Gainsbourg
- Love Song for Tough Guys by Samuel Benchetrit
- Hold Me Tight by Mathieu Amalric
- Deception by Arnaud Desplechin
Short films - Official selection
Short films - Cinéfondation
Cinéma de la plage
* French films or French-majority and -minority coproductions, with or without CNC support
--> Click here for the complete official selection
