The lineup for the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, the 69th iteration of the prestigious festival, was announced early Thursday morning in Paris today. Chief Thierry Frémaux and President Pierre Lescure were on hand for the announcement. Twenty films have been confirmed to be a part of the official competition line-up including many new works from many of the most prolific auteurs currently working. New films from the likes of Andrea Arnold (who is premiering her Shia LeBeouf-headlined American Honey), Paul Verhoeven (who is premiering Elle starring Isabelle Huppert), Xavier Dolan (It’s Only the End of the World starring Marion Cotillard), Jim Jarmusch (whose Paterson stars Adam Driver) and Pedro Almodóvar (with Julieta) will be on hand to compete for the prestigious Palme d’Or, the top prize of the festival.
On the American front, director Jeff Nichols will premiere Loving, his fact-based new film based on an inter-raccial couple (Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga) in 1950s Virginia; Nichols previously premiered Take Shelter and Mud in Cannes and his current release Midnight Special is now in theaters. Sean Penn will debut his latest film The Last Face, a drama starring Charlize Theron, Javier Bardem and Blue is the Warmest Color‘s Adéle Exarchopoulos. Steven Spielberg’s The BFG, Jodie Foster’s Money Monster (starring George Clooney and Julia Roberts) and Shane Black’s The Nice Guys (starring Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling) will premiere out of competition. It was previously announced that Woody Allen’s latest – Café Society starring Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart and Steve Carrell – would open the festival.
For a change this year, no closing night title will premiere, instead Cannes will showcase the Palme d’Or winner to close out the festival. George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road) will head the jury this year. The Cannes Film Festival will run from May 11th-22nd. Check out this year’s line-up below:
OPENING NIGHT FILM:
- Café Society – directed by Woody Allen
COMPETITION:
- American Honey – directed by Andrea Arnold
- Aquarius – directed by Kleber Mendonca Filho
- Elle – directed by Paul Verhoeven
- From the Land of the Moon – directed by Nicole Garcia
- Graduation – directed by Cristian Mungiu
- The Handmaiden – directed by Park Chan-wook
- I, Daniel Blake – directed by Ken Loach
- It’s Only the End of the World – directed by Xavier Dolan
- Julieta – directed by Pedro Almodóvar
- The Last Face – directed by Sean Penn
- Loving – directed by Jeff Nichols
- Ma Loute – directed by Bruno Dumont
- Ma’Rosa – directed by Brillante Mendoza
- The Neon Demon – directed by Nicholas Winding Refn
- Paterson – directed by Jim Jarmusch
- Personal Shopper – directed by Olivier Assayas
- Rester Vertical – directed by Alain Guiraudie
- Sieranevada – directed by Cristi Puiu
- Toni Erdmann – directed by Maren Ade
- The Unknown Girl – directed by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne
OUT OF COMPETITION
- The BFG – directed by Steven Spielberg
- Gok Sung – directed by Na Hong-Jin
- The Nice Guys – directed by Shane Black
- Money Monster – directed by Jodie Foster
UN CERTAIN REGARD
- After the Storm – directed by Kore-EdaHirokazu
- Apprentice – directed by Boo Junfeng
- Caini – directed by Bogdan Mirica
- Captain Fantastic – directed by Matt Ross
- Clash – directed by Mohamed Diab
- Fuchi Bi Tatsu – directed by Fukado Koji
- Hymyileva Mies – directed by Juho Kuosmanen
- La Danseuse – directed by Stephanie DiGiusto
- La Tortue Rogue – directed by Michael Dubok de Wit
- Le Large Noche de Francisco Sanctis – directed by Francisco Marquez and Andrea Testa
- Me’Ever Laharim Vehagvaot – directed by Eran Kolirin
- Omar Shakhsiya – directed by Maha Haj
- Piricle Il Nero – directed by Stefano Mordini
- The Transfiguration – directed by Michael O’Shea
- Uchenik – directed by Kirill Serebrennikov
- Varoonegi – directed by Behnam Behzadi
- Voir Du Pays – directed by Delphine and Muriel Coulin
MIDNIGHT SCREENINGS
- A Chad Tragedy – directed by Mahamat-Saleh Aroun
- The Death of Louis XIV – directed by Albert Serra
- Exile – directed by Panh Rithy
- Gimme Danger – directed by Jim Jarmusch
- Le Cancre – directed by Paul Vecchiali
- L’Ultima Spiaggia – directed by Thanos Anastopolous and Davide Del Degan
- The Train to Busan – directed by Yeon Sang-Ho