Many of the 2020 film festivals were either canceled, postponed, or moved online, and the Cannes Filme Festival is no different.
The live festival event was canceled in May due to the coronavirus pandemic, but that will not stop Cannes from moving on as planned.
The top names in competition at Cannes include directors Wes Anderson and Steve McQueen and actor Viggo Mortensen.
Wes Anderson at Cannes
If anyone has made a reputation as a festival darling, it is director Wes Anderson.
The 2020 Cannes Film Festival will honor Anderson, along with actor Viggo Mortensen and French filmmaker François Ozon this season.
In 2012, Anderson picked up a nomination for the Palme d’Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.
Anderson is bringing his new movie to Cannes with The French Dispatch. The movie has an ensemble cast, much like most of Anderson’s films.
The cast includes Benicio del Toro, Adrien Brody, Timothée Chalamet, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand, Bill Murray, and Owen Wilson.
The movie focuses on the French foreign bureau of a Kansas newspaper.
The Official Selection for the 73rd edition has been announced! Follow the selected films’ progress in cinemas and other film festivals using the hashtag #Cannes2020.
► See the list of 2020’s films ? : https://t.co/JTpo2RUHzO pic.twitter.com/f5iTYJPhrF— Festival de Cannes (@Festival_Cannes) June 3, 2020
Viggo Mortensen at Cannes
Everyone knows Viggo Mortensen from his role in films like the Lord of the Rings trilogy as well as critically acclaimed performances in A History of Violence. He is a three-time Oscar nominee.
Viggo Mortensen is coming to the Cannes Film Festival with his directorial debut, Falling. Mortensen also stars in the movie alongside Lance Henricksen and Laura Linney.
The film is about a gay man (Mortensen) whose homophobic father (Henricksen) starts to suffer from dementia.
Director David Cronenberg, who himself is a seven-time nominee at Cannes, winning once for Crash, appears in the film in an acting role.
Steve McQueen at Cannes
Steve McQueen picked up the Camera d’Or award at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival in 2008.
McQueen is looking for a second win this year when he brings two new movies to Cannes in Lover’s Rock and Mangrove.
These are surprise movies added to the lineup.
Both films addressed racism in the U.K., and McQueen has dedicated both films to George Floyd. They are from the British anthology series Small Axe.
François Ozon at Cannes
François Ozon is bringing Summer Of 85 to the Cannes Film Festival.
Previously, Ozon was nominated in 2003 for Swimming Pool, Time to Leave in 2005, and Young & Beautiful in 2013.
As for Summer Of 85, the film stars Félix Lefebvre. The film features a 16-year-old who capsized off the coast of Normandy. An 18-year-old saves him, and they developed a friendship in the summer of 85.
There will be no physical festival in 2020, and there are also no juries. Officials will not be handing out the Palme d’Or to the director of the best film.
The producers of all 56 movies selected will be able to tag their films with Festival de Cannes Official Selection.
Of the films chosen, 16 were directed by women – two more than last year’s record.