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Iris Knobloch has been unanimously re-elected as president of the Cannes Film Festival. After taking over in 2022, her second three-year term will now take her through July 2028.

“I am profoundly honored to once again receive the trust of our Board of Directors. I take great pride in the success of the past two editions and I am excited to continue this journey alongside our General Delegate Thierry Frémaux and our dedicated teams in the years to come,” she said in a Wednesday statement. “Together, we will continue working hand in hand to nurture and enhance this magnificent Festival, a unique platform where all films, voices and talent find their place.”

The former WarnerMedia France and Germany head became the first female president of the Festival de Cannes when she replaced Pierre Lescure in July 2022.

“Safeguarding the Festival’s artistic excellence, championing creative freedom and upholding the Festival’s humanistic values...

The board of directors of the Cannes Film Festival has unanimously re-elected Iris Knobloch to serve a second term as festival president.

Knobloch, a former executive at Warner Bros. France, took over from Pierre Lescure as the first-ever female president of the Cannes festival in 2023. Her new mandate will run for three years, through the festival’s 2028 edition.

Announcing the decision, the board said it reflects “a renewed vote of confidence in [Knobloch’s] leadership, acknowledging her achievements, ensuring stability, and enabling the continuation of the Festival’s strategic initiatives.”

In a statement, Knobloch said she was “profoundly honored to once again receive the trust of our Board of Directors. I take great pride in the success of the past two editions and I am excited to continue this journey alongside our General Delegate Thierry Frémaux and our dedicated teams in the years to come. Together, we will continue working hand in...

Iris Knobloch has been re-elected as Cannes Film Festival President for a second term, running from July 2025 to 2027 inclusive.

The festival said in a statement that the reappointment had been agreed unanimously by the its board and that the decision reflected, “a renewed vote of confidence in her leadership”.

“I am profoundly honored to once again receive the trust of our Board of Directors. I take great pride in the success of the past two editions and I am excited to continue this journey alongside our General Delegate Thierry Frémaux and our dedicated teams in the years to come,” said Knobloch.

“Together, we will continue working hand in hand to nurture and enhance this magnificent Festival, a unique platform where all films, voices, and talent find their place.”

Former Warner exec Knobloch originally took up the role of Cannes President on a three-year mandate on July 1, 2022, succeeding Pierre Lescure who...

Iris Knobloch, the respected former boss of Warner Bros. France and Germany who became the first female president of the Cannes Film Festival in 2022, has been re-elected by the festival’s board for another three-year mandate.

The German-born, Paris-based executive will continue working alongside Cannes Film Festival’s longtime general delegate and artistic director Thierry Fremaux, who remains in charge of the official selection.

Knobloch was elected by the board of directors of the Association Française du Festival International du Film, which brings together public authorities and film industry professionals. She succeeded Pierre Lescure as Cannes president.

“I am profoundly honored to once again receive the trust of our Board of Directors. I take great pride in the success of the past two editions and I am excited to continue this journey alongside our General Delegate Thierry Frémaux and our dedicated teams in the years to come,” Knobloch said in a statement.

“The Big War,” one of Europe’s most ambitious feature projects brought to market at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, is heading the AFM with some incredible new graphics for its CG animal cast.

Inspired by the iconic two-part graphic novel “La Bête Est Morte,” written by Edmond-François Calvo during the Nazi occupation of France during World War II and published just after the liberation of Paris, “The Big War” is helmed by “La Haine” director Mathieu Kassovitz and produced by leading French producer Aton Soumache, whose recent credits include Annecy winner “Little Nicholas – Happy as Can Be” and Netflix’s mega-hit “Miraculous: Ladybug & Cat Noir, the Movie.”

Given that the original book has very little by way of narrative, longtime Tim Burton collaborator Caroline Thompson, the award-winning screenwriter of “Edward Scissorhands” and “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” was recruited to adapt the screenplay. Former Cannes Film Festival...

Kinology has boarded international sales to “The Big War,” an epic €30-million live action-cgi characters hybrid movie which will mark the directorial comeback of “La Haine” filmmaker Mathieu Kassovitz.

The ambitious feature is adapted from “La Bête Est Morte,” an iconic two-part graphic novel illustrated by Edmond Calvo during War World 2 in Nazi-Occupied France and published after the country was liberated.

Pitched as a “”Paddington” meets ‘Saving Private Ryan,'” “The Big War” is a true passion project for Kassovitz who bought rights to “La Bête est Morte” nearly two decades ago and has now joined forces with well-respected animation producer Aton Soumache, whose credits range from literary adaptations such as the Cesar-winning “The Little Prince” to the global smash-hit “Miraculous: Ladybug & Cat Noir, the Movie.”

Kassovitz and Soumache have assembled a dream team for “The Big War,” including Caroline Thompson, the award-winning screenwriter of “Edward Scissorhands” and “The Nightmare before Christmas,...

Cannes Film Festival President Iris Knobloch has said the event is paying close attention to the evolving #MeToo situation in France in an interview with celebrity magazine Paris Match.

The publication of the Q&a on Thursday came amid rising speculation within the French media and local film industry that a raft of #MeToo allegations is set to break in the lead up and during the upcoming 81st edition of the festival, running from May 14 to 25.

Quizzed on whether a film would be retained in Competition if its director were implicated in a sexual assault case, Knobloch replied the festival would make a decision on a case by case basis

“We’re extremely attentive to what is happening today, and we’re following the situation closely,” she said. “If the case of a person being implicated should arise, we will take care to make the right decision on a case-by-case basis,...

Amidst the daily glamor of the Cannes Film Festival red carpet, two faces are fixtures at the top of the staircase. Artistic director Thierry Fremaux has held his perch there for years, greeting filmmakers as they make their way into the Palais des Festivals. This year, however, he got some new company with festival president Iris Knobloch, who stepped into the role previously filled by Pierre Lescure. Fremaux’s new boss is a different kind of Cannes leader than her predecessors, and not only because she’s the first woman to occupy the position in the festival’s 78 years.

While Fremaux is a diehard cinephile who runs a film museum in Lyon, Knobloch is a seasoned industry executive with a law degree from NYU who served as the president of operations for WarnerMedia in France for nearly 15 years. Knobloch has attended Cannes for over 25 years, but her ascension to its...

For the most part, the opening ceremony of the 76th Cannes Film Festival was a tightly scripted affair. The show, which was broadcast live across the country from the Lumiere theater on the public television channel France 2, included an honorary Palme d’Or for Michael Douglas, who stumbled through a speech from a teleprompter at the back of the room and bungled a few words of gratitude in French. Catherine Deneuve came out and read a poem about Ukraine. Host Chiara Mastroianni offered the usual platitudes. “The cinema has never abandoned us,” she said. “We, in turn, must commit ourselves to it for the next 10 days.”

Yet when jury president and Swedish director Ruben Östlund took the stage after a generous montage of his acclaimed satiric work, he appeared to improvise a speech about the value of watching movies together. “Back in the day, we were gathering in front of the TV,...

Updated: The Official Selection lineup for the 76th Cannes Film Festival has been revealed, with 19 movies in Competition (see full lists below). Returning to the fray this year are such previous Palme d’Or winners as Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Nanni Moretti, Ken Loach, Wim Wenders and Hirokazu Kore-eda. Wenders also has a movie in Special Screenings while Kore-eda, with the Japanese drama Monster, is back-to-back in the mix after 2022’s Korean-language Broker.

Other familiar names who will launch new works in the Competition include Todd Haynes with May December starring Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore; Wes Anderson with the mega-ensemble Asteroid City; Jonathan Glazer and The Zone of Interest; and Aki Kaurismaki with Fallen Leaves.

Across the rest of the Official Selection, Steve McQueen’s Occupied City notably has a Special Screenings berth while Takeshi Kitano is in Cannes Premiere with Kubi. Anurag Kashyap nabbed a Midnight Screenings slot with...

A new French late show, fronted by popular actor, director and writer Alain Chabat launched on France’s TF1 amid much fanfare this week in the country’s latest attempt to crack the late-night talk show format.

Running Monday to Friday from 10.55 pm, Le Late Avec Alain Chabat kicked off on Monday (November 21), with the host joking in his opening spiel: “I nearly did this show in 2018, but it was during the World Cup in Russia, so it was a bit touchy. But now, it’s in Qatar, so tout va bien.”

The show was commissioned by TF1 Executive Vice President, Content Ara Aprikian to fill a late-night slot that opened up due to the timing of the Qatar World Cup soccer matches, earlier in the evening.

Chabat is no stranger to TV studio shows, having first found fame in the late 1980s as co-creator of popular Canal+ comedy sketch program Les Nuls,...

While announcing the film before its premiere in Cannes, Salle Debussy, Thierry Frémaux and Pierre Lescure reminded the audience that Chie Hayakawa’s debut feature “Plan 75” was the first Japanese film to be competing in this selection in a very long time. The first screening took place in a packed theatre, and in the presence of the filmmaker and her team, with high expectations from a movie which steps in the domain of unpleasant, and those were mostly met.

“Plan 75“ is screening at Thessaloniki International Film Festival

In her strong debut, Hayakawa sets the story in a near, dystopian future in which the Japanese government takes a concrete step to beat ‘the surplus of old citizens’. The propaganda machinery motivates them to enter the so called Plan 75 project, using embelished words for something that is simply supposed to end their lives. Painted as a well-meant act of euthanasia...

The Cannes Film Festival celebrated its 75th anniversary Tuesday evening with a group of no less than 120 stars and filmmakers from all over the world, including Jake Gyllenhaal, Paolo Sorrentino, Isabelle Huppert, Diane Kruger, Guillermo del Toro, Jacques Audiard, Melanie Laurent, Gael Garcia Bernal and Nicolas Winding Refn who made the trip for the event.

Some of them, notably del Toro, took part in a symposium earlier Tuesday to discuss the new challenges that cinema is facing today. The roster of talents on the ground at the gala ceremony also included the bevy of stars and filmmakers presenting films at this year’s festival, including Kristen Stewart, Lea Seydoux, Viggo Mortensen and David Cronenberg (“Crimes of the Future”), among many others.

Cannes general delegate Thierry Fremaux and president Pierre Lescure took turns calling each guest to join them on stage with a thunder of applause. The guests posed for a Cannes family portrait,...

To celebrate its 75th anniversary, the Cannes Film Festival gathered dozens upon dozens of previous laureates and special guests at the Palais des Festival this evening. Inside the Lumière Theatre, the fest’s artistic chief and general delegate, Thierry Frémaux, and outgoing Cannes President, Pierre Lescure, did a roll call of star actors and directors who left their seats and made their way to the stage .

The group included such filmmakers and talent as Guillermo del Toro, Michel Hazanavicius, Paolo Sorrentino, Isabelle Huppert, Mads Mikkelsen, Diane Kruger, Nicolas Winding Refn, Ethan Coen, David Cronenberg, Viggo Mortensen, Daniel Bruhl, the Dardenne brothers, Claude Lelouch, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, Jake Gyllenhaal. and many, many more.

Fremaux declared, “Cinema will never die.” He told the capacity audience that for the 75th celebration, “We don’t want to go to the past, but to look to the future… We have to fight to help...

“You’ve got to know when it’s time to leave,” Cannes Festival head Thierry Frémaux joked to laughter at a packed farewell cocktail on Monday to Jerôme Paillard. “Thanks to you all for being here, the old guard, getting older every year, including myself. And again, one word for you, Jérôme: Merci.”

Meanwhile Paillard, looking young for his 66 years, stood beside Frémaux and beamed. The complicity between Fremaux and Paillard was evident at the drinks party which was meant to be a farewell, but also served as a homage.

“He’s one of the fundamental builders of the Cannes Festival since without its economy and trade, neither cinematographic creation nor the trajectory of the Festival would have enjoyed the same reputation or impact,” Cannes Festival president Pierre Lescure

Many will share Lescure’s sentiment. For 27 years, Paillard has run the Cannes Marché du Film, overseeing and powering its extraordinary growth.

While announcing the film before its premiere in Cannes, Salle Debussy, Thierry Frémaux and Pierre Lescure reminded the audience that Chie Hayakawa’s debut feature “Plan 75” was the first Japanese film to be competing in this selection in a very long time. The first screening took place in a packed theatre, and in the presence of the filmmaker and her team, with high expectations from a movie which steps in the domain of unpleasant, and those were mostly met.

“Plan 75” screened at Cannes Film Festival

In her strong debut, Hayakawa sets the story in a near, dystopian future in which the Japanese government takes a concrete step to beat ‘the surplus of old citizens’. The propaganda machinery motivates them to enter the so called Plan 75 project, using embelished words for something that is simply supposed to end their lives. Painted as a well-meant act of euthanasia of...

Forest Whitaker receiving his honorary Palme from Cannes outgoing President Pierre Lescure Photo: Richard Mowe The surprise star of the opening night of the Cannes Film Festival - besides the honorary Palme recipient Forest Whitaker - was Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

He appeared live from Kyiv on the big screen in the giant Lumière theatre, issuing a heart-wrenching plea for his country.

His passion and conviction before a glammed up crowd of actors, celebrities, juries and directors will doubtless put to shame many of the performances to be seen over the next 15 days.

He referenced Charlie Chaplin’s Nazi satire The Great Dictator as an illustration of the power of cinema. The one-time TV actor from Servant of the People said: “The world needs a new Chaplin who will prove that cinema must not be silent. We need cinema to show that each time the ending will be on the side of freedom.

Every year, the Cannes Film Festival sets the tone with a single image. The festival’s official poster adorns every street lamp along the Croisette and stretches out across the vast canvas of the entrance to the Lumiere Theatre. Sometimes it salutes a filmmaker and sometimes it takes the wider approach. Whatever message it sends gets burned into the industry’s consciousness over 10 days as if the international cinema it celebrates was the true center of the universe.

This year, the poster acknowledges a strange new world. Borrowing a frame from the climax of “The Truman Show,” when Jim Carrey’s sheltered protagonist finally reaches the artificial boundaries of the world he’s taken for granted most of his life, the poster seems to acknowledge that the the next chapter of the movies is a wide-open question that even Cannes itself can’t resolve. “The future is wide open for cinema,...

Swedish director Ninja Thyberg is the winner of this year’s annual Women in Motion Young Talent Award, bestowed by the Kering Group and the Cannes Film Festival to a standout first-time female director.

Thyberg is being honored for directing several shorts and a feature all centered around the theme of “sexuality as a prism for viewing passion in society,” the award’s organizers said in a statement.

In 2013, Thyberg’s short “Pleasure” was presented in Cannes’ Critics’ Week section. The short was then expanded into her first feature by the same title which was chosen in the Cannes official selection in 2020 and then screened in 2021 at Sundance, and was also awarded the jury prize in 2021 at Deauville.

“‘Pleasure” jerks the skeevy, compulsive porn world out of the closet in a way that few movies have,” wrote Variety critic Owen Gleiberman in his review. “That’s a brave thing to,...

The traditional press conference in Paris on April 14 announced the Official Selection for its 75th edition. Meanwhile the Film Market is transitioning as Guillaume Esmiol is named Co-Executive Director of the Marché du Film and will work in tandem with Jérôme Paillard before Esmiol definitively replaces Paillard for 2023.

Jérôme Paillard and Guillaume Esmiol, Co-Executive Directors of the Marché du Film 2022

If you are interested in SydneysBuzz Reports, you may have a free look at the work in progress for the Cannes Film Festival titles and the satellite fests, Directors' Fortnight, Critics' Week and Acid here. Please drop me a line if you like it or have suggestions at Sydney@SydneysBuzz.com

As for the Marché, which Guillaume Esmiol joined in 2020 as Deputy Director in charge of development, clearly with the prospect of taking over new functions linked to the succession of Jérôme Paillard, they will work in tandem this year before Esmiol permanently replaces Paillard in 2023.

Guillaume Esmiol was formerly Innovation Director for TF1 Group and Marketing Director for the startup studio Wefound ― an experience that allowed him to bring his expertise in Digital, Media, and Innovation to the Marché.

Meanwhile, the managing team of the Marché will remain the same and is comprised of Maud Amson (Operations & Sales Director), Michèle Waterhouse (Administrative Director), Alice Kharoubi (Cinema Programming Director), Camille Rousselet (Head of Cinando), and Aleksandra Zakharchenko (Head of Programming).

Jérôme Paillard will conclusively step down from his functions in December 2022 during Ventana Sur, the co-production market that the Festival co-organizes with Incaa, each year in Buenos Aires.

The time chosen for this transmission is special. The Marché du Film 2022 will, hopefully, be the true post-pandemic market after the difficulties that the industry faced in 2020 and 2021. However, the Marché must look ahead, reinvent itself and reflect on the issues that are now at the forefront.

The Board of Directors, Pierre Lescure, (and the new incoming President, Iris Knobloch) and Thierry Frémaux, hold the highest regards for Jérôme Paillard and the work accomplished by the Marché du Film under his leadership. They would also like to extend their sincerest gratitude for his unfailing commitment, his talent, and his constant creativity. Jérôme brought the Marché du Film to where it is today ― in high standing, a position that’s necessary to maintain as we navigate this ever-changing future.

Viola Davis, the Oscar, Emmy and two-time Tony-award-winning actor and producer, is set to receive Kering’s Women in Motion Award at the Cannes Film Festival.

The award, which is presented by François-Henri Pinault, Kering’s chairman and CEO, along with the Cannes Film Festival’s executive director Thierry Fremaux and president Pierre Lescure, will pay tribute to Davis’s activism and

achievements during the glamorous Women In Motion gala dinner on May 22.

Since its launch in 2015, the Women in Motion program has been rewarding and highlighting women’s unique contribution to culture and the arts, and their role in helping to transform our vision of the world through their work.

Previous honorees include Jane Fonda in 2015, Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon in 2016, Isabelle Huppert in 2017, Patty Jenkins in 2018, Gong Li in 2019 and Salma Hayek in 2021.

Davis recently became the most-nominated Black actress in the history of the Academy Awards.

Actor and producer Viola Davis will be honored with the 2022 Women In Motion Award bestowed by Kering Group and the Cannes Film Festival.

Davis currently appears on screen in the Showtime series “The First Lady,” where she plays Michelle Obama. She recently published her autobiography, “Finding Me,” written during lockdown, that recounts her childhood experiences in an underprivileged environment in Saint Matthews, S.C. The book, which has rapidly become a bestseller, also highlights harassment and abuse faced by the most disadvantaged people in society.

Accordingly, Davis was praised by the award’s organizers both “for her acting roles and her commitment to the rights of women and minorities,” they said, calling her in a statement “one of the most influential American actresses and producers of her time.”

“Her talent, hard work, choice of roles and the way she interprets them have earned her the very highest recognitions in the film industry,...

More than three decades after he first attended the Cannes Film Festival, Forest Whitaker will receive the honorary Palme d’Or at the event’s 75th opening ceremony this month.

Academy Award winner Whitaker follows Jodie Foster in receiving the award, which is given out as a tribute to those figures whose artistic careers are matched by humanitarian commitments. Jeanne Moreau, Bernardo Bertolucci and Manoel de Oliveira are among the previous recipients.

“Thirty-four years ago, attending Cannes for the first time changed my life, and assured me that I’d made the right decision to devote myself to finding connectivity in humanity through film,” he said. “It’s always a privilege to return to this beautiful festival to both screen my own work, and to be inspired by many of the world’s greatest artists – and I feel incredibly honored to be celebrated as part of the Festival’s momentous 75th anniversary.

Forest Whitaker will receive the honorary Palme d’or at the opening ceremony of the 75th Cannes Film Festival, following the footsteps of Jodie Foster.

Previous Cannes Palme d’Or honorees include Jeanne Moreau, Bernardo Bertolucci, Manoel de Oliveira, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Agnès Varda, or Alain Delon. The award pays tribute to a “sparkling artistic journey, a rare personality as well as a discreet but strong humanitarian commitment to key topical issues,” said the festival.

As part of the tribute, Christophe Castagne and Thomas Sametin’s movie “For the Sake of Peace,” which Whitaker produced, will play in the Special Screening section on May 18.

“34 years ago, attending Cannes for the first time changed my life, and assured me that I’d made the right decision to devote myself to finding connectivity in humanity through film,” said Whitaker. “It’s always a privilege to return to this beautiful festival to both screen my own work,...

Italian director, actor and producer Valeria Golino will serve as the president of the jury for this year’s Un Certain Regard sidebar at the Cannes Film Festival. Golino follows in the footsteps of last year’s jury president Andrea Arnold. The additional jurors for this year’s Un Certain Regard are actor Édgar Ramírez (Venezuela), actor Joanna Kulig (Poland), director Debra Granik (United States), and singer-songwriter and actor Benjamin Biolay (France). The jury will select the winners of this section which “celebrates young, auteur and revelation films.”

“I have been to Cannes so many times, as an actress, as a director, in different selections,” Golino said in a statement. “It is the event of the month of May. It’s a party, where you reconnect with friends. But it’s also the occasion to reflect: What path did I take? What have others done? What does the cinema say that is universal,...

Updated, April 21: The Cannes Film Festival has added competition titles and additional screenings in the Midnight, Un Certain Regard, and Out of Competition sections. They are:

Competition

“The Eight Mountains,” Charlotte Vandermeersch, Felix Van Groeningen

“Un Petit Frère,” Leonor Serraille

“Tourment Sur Les Iles,” Albert Serra

Cannes Premiere

“Don Juan,” Serge Bozon

“La Nuit du 12,” Dominik Moll

“Chronicle of a Temporary Affair,” Emmanuel Mouret

Midnight Screenings

“Rebel,” Adil Arbi, Bilall Fallah

Un Certain Regard

“More Than Ever,” Emily Atef

“Mediterranean Fever,” Maha Haj

“The Blue Caftan,” Maryam Touzani

Out of Competition

“L’Innocent,” Louis Garrel

Special Screenings

“Mi Pais Imaginario,” Patricio Guzmán

“The Vagabonds,” Doroteya Droumeva

“Riposte Feministe,” Marie Perennes, Simon Depardon

“Restos do Vento,” Tiago Guedes

“Little Nicholas,” Amandine Fredon, Benjamin Massoubre

Earlier, April 14: The 2022 Cannes Film Festival is upon us and once again taking place in person this spring from May 17 through May 28. The lineup for...

The festival, running May 17-28, marks its 75th edition against the backdrop of two-year pandemic and war in Ukraine.

Cannes Film Festival delegate general Thierry Frémaux, accompanied by president Pierre Lescure as he embarks on his swansong edition, took to the stage of the Normandie Ugc cinema in Paris on Thursday (April 14) to unveil the Official Selection for the 75th edition.

Frémaux announced 47 titles and promised a handful of additions in the coming days, although he made it clear his aim is to rein in the line-up to under 60 films, after the bumper 83-title Official Selection of last year’s special July edition.

An intriguing Competition; the return of Hollywood; and familiar gender balance complaints.

Cannes Film Festival general delegate Thierry Frémaux and president Pierre Lescure announced the majority of the Official Selection for the 75th edition in Paris today (April 14).

Screen’s editorial team assesses some of the key talking points generated by this year’s line-up.

An intriguing, exciting Competition

Cannes is a big film festival that is actually, in terms of number of films, very small: official selection that is. The sidebars – Critics’ Week, Directors’ Fortnight – are separately run. With 47 films announced today, and more to come to make it...

The film festival announces itself back to normal, with a new TikTok partnership and a juicy competition list featuring David Cronenberg, Claire Denis, the Dardenne brothers and Kelly Reichardt

‘The red carpets will be sumptuous!” announced Cannes festival director Pierre Lescure bullishly, seated aside the beaming general delegate Thierry Frémaux. And the mood is pretty bold, now that the festival is returning to a post-Covid normality after cancellation and then disruption in 2020 and 2021.

The festival apparently isn’t giving us the new David Lynch movie that had been feverishly predicted – and the traditional patriotic pining for Brits continues, with none in competition this year. But Cannes is lining up new work from its established alpha auteurs: Claire Denis, David Cronenberg, George Miller, Kelly Reichardt, Park Chan-wook and James Gray, as well as the returns of Palme winners Ruben Östlund, the Dardenne brothers, Cristian Mungiu and Hirokazu Kore-eda.

The Cannes Film Festival is always down to the wire, but this year’s edition has been especially nerve-wracking for anyone eager to make the cut. As the industry scrambles for some semblance of normalcy, the cinephile destination was inundated with last-minute submissions, as indicated by this week’s announcement of 47 films from around the world with the promise of more to come.

More than any other festival on the planet, Cannes aims to project an air of exclusivity to its selection, the sense that it truly has assembled the best of the best. That goal is often informed by an array of other practical factors, including the choices made by various distributors and sales agents to make certain films available, the seniority of filmmakers deemed “worthy” of a venerated competition section, and the festival’s predilection for certain regions of the world over others.

Despite the impression of last-minute decision-making this year,...

Update: The lineup for the 75th Cannes Film Festival — as it stands so far, there are still additions to be made — has been revealed with 18 movies in Competition (see full lists below). Included in the running are such returning Palme d’Or winners as Hirokazu Kore-eda, Cristian Mungiu, Ruben Ostlund and the Dardenne brothers.

Other familiar names who will launch new works in the Competition include James Gray, Claire Denis, Park Chan-wook, Kelly Reichardt, Jerzy Skolimowski, and, as expected, David Cronenberg.

Across the rest of the Official Selection, George Miller’s Three Thousand Years Of Longing was confirmed for an Out of Competition berth while Ethan Coen turns up in Special Screenings with Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble In Mind.

In total, 49 movies were announced today, including Michel Hazanavicius’ Z (Comme Z) aka Final Cut, which will open the festival on May 17 out of competition. The Zombie comedy stars Bérénice Bejo and Romain Duris.

The line-up includes films by David Cronenberg, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Ruben Östlund, Kelly Reichardt, Park Chan-Wook and Claire Denis.

The Official Selection of the 2022 Cannes Film Festival has been announced.

Scroll down for the line-up

The selection includes films by David Cronenberg, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Ruben Östlund, Park Chan-Wook, Kelly Reichardt and Claire Denis. The 18-strong competition features three female directors (Reichardt, Denis and Valeria Bruni Tedeschi).

Michel Hazanavicius’ zombie comedy Z will open the festival out of competition.

47 titles were unveiled today (plus the previously announced Elvis and Top Gun: Maverick), significantly down on last year’s 83, though more titles will...

During the pandemic, no major film festival was all shook up more than Cannes, forced to cancel the 2019 event and shifting dates to mid-summer for an overstocked comeback event the following year. Now, this all-important showcase for global art cinema looks to be finding its feet again, thanks to a diverse lineup that includes everything from Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis” to the directorial debut of his granddaughter, Riley Keough, whose “Beast” (co-directed by Gina Gammell) is set on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

Sounding optimistic at the press conference on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, artistic director Thierry Frémaux announced new films from George Miller (“Three Thousand Years of Longing”), David Cronenberg (“Crimes of the Future”), Kelly Reichardt (”Showing Up”) and James Gray (“Armageddon Time”) in the official selection.

Accompanied by outgoing festival president Pierre Lescure, Frémaux announced the opening film, Michel Hazanvicius’ “Final Cut,” which had originally been selected for Sundance,...

The press conference will kick off in central Paris at 11:00am local time (10:00 BST).

The Cannes Film Festival will reveal the Official Selection for its 75th edition today (April 14).

General delegate Thierry Frémaux will present the titles alongside outgoing festival president Pierre Lescure at the Normandie Cinema on the Champs-Elysées in central Paris at 11:00am local time (10:00 BST).

This year’s edition is returning to a more traditional May 17-28 slot after being moved to July in 2021 due to the pandemic.

So far the only titles officially announced are Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis and Tom Cruise blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick.

Hello Insiders, Tom Grater here delivering a newsletter packed full of the week’s most important headlines from across the film and TV world.

Series Mania Delivers Optimism

Full of positivity: Series Mania is winding down today (although the prestigious International Competition winner is still to be announced) and it’s been a week full of optimism. European creatives and industry execs were out in droves for the first major festival that was almost entirely restriction-less. There was the odd teething problem (seeking press badges was akin to a joyless treasure hunt and patchy wi-fi was a constant talking point) but gone are the days of tests and masks and the delegates were loving it, with several well attended parties taking place when the sun went down.

Keeping it “local”: The message to take away from the forum sessions was loud and clear. The streamers and studios are in Europe and they want content,...

Iris Knobloch, the former boss of WarnerMedia France and Germany, has been selected by the Cannes Film Festival board as the event’s next president.

She will succeed Pierre Lescure who is stepping down after this year’s edition, the festival has confirmed. She will also become the festival’s first female President.

Knobloch departed WarnerMedia in 2021 after a 25-year run in different leadership roles. She led strategy and marketing activities in France, Benelux, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Oversight included theatrical distribution, local theatrical productions, content licensing, home entertainment and consumer products, and WarnerMedia channel ad sales and distribution.

Last year she also launched a €250 million ($300M) European Spac with Artemis, a holding company backed by François-Henri Pinault, the billionaire French businessman married to Salma Hayek. Named I2PO, the special-purpose acquisition company claims to be the first outfit of its kind in Europe dedicated to investing in entertainment and leisure companies.

Former WarnerMedia executive will take up the role at the beginning of 2023.

Former WarnerMedia top executive Iris Knobloch has been elected as Cannes Film Festival’s first-ever female president and will take up the role on July 1.

She will succeed Pierre Lescure, who was first elected to the role of festival president in 2014, replacing Gilles Jacob, and is now partway through a third three-year mandate running through to 2023.

Lescure has said previously he was open to stepping down early to accompany a transition period while a new president takes up the reins. He is not due to step down on June 30 of this year.

After several hours of heated debates, Iris Knobloch, the former boss of WarnerMedia France and Germany, has been chosen by the board of the Cannes Film Festival to become its first female president, as Variety has learned . Taking over on June 30, Knobloch will succeed Pierre Lescure, who was re-elected for a third term in June 2020 and is planning to step down after the upcoming edition.

The German-born, Paris-based executive was elected by the board of directors of the Association Française du Festival International du Film, which brings together public authorities and film industry professionals, amid much controversy in France.

Knobloch stepped down from WarnerMedia in June 2021 after a 25-year tenure in various leadership roles. Before leaving the company, she oversaw the strategy as well marketing activities for WarnerMedia France, Benelux, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Shortly after, she launched a $300-million European special purpose acquisition company with powerful backers, including the French billionaire businessman Francois-Henri Pinault,...

The movie calendar can’t seem to find its old rhythm: Oscar season intersects with SXSW and “The Batman” is soaring in a period that was once a box-office dumping ground. But one element is returning to the scene right on schedule and it’s more than welcome in this column: Cannes hype!

While Covid case counts in Europe may be cause for concern, the world’s most glamorous celebration of the art form remains on track for its 75th edition as it returns to its usual May slot. Although the festival won’t announce its selections until April 14, the buzz machine has already begun with Tom Cruise expected to grace the Croisette with his pandemic-delayed “Tom Gun: Maverick” (a full two years after it was originally expected to land there), Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis,” and George Miller’s “Three Thousand Years of Longing.” Meanwhile, festival programmers have been combing...

Marina Kuderchuk has written to festival presidents Pierre Lescure and Roberto Cicutto,

Marina Kuderchuk, the Kyiv-based head of the Ukrainian State Film Agency, has written to Pierre Lescure and Roberto Cicutto, the presidents of Cannes and Venice Film Festivals respectively, to call for a total ban on “all content created in Russia or co-productions with Russia” in their competition and non-competitive programmes.

In letters to both, Kuderchuk has responded to the festivals’ statements issued at the beginning of March that they would not be closing their doors to those who had defended free expression in Russia and protested against the invasion of Ukraine.

Set to celebrate its 75th anniversary this year, the Cannes Film Festival will likely be presided over by a female executive for the first time ever. Variety has confirmed that Iris Knobloch, the former boss of WarnerMedia France, Germany, Benelux, Austria and Switzerland, is well-positioned to succeed Pierre Lescure who was re-elected for a third term in June 2020 and is planning to step down after the upcoming edition.

Knobloch has yet to be elected by the board of directors of the Association Française du Festival International du Film, which brings together public authorities and film industry professionals, but the German-born, Paris-based executive is being pushed forward by high-profile figures within the French government. Those include culture minister Roselyne Bachelot and Dominique Boutonnat, the president of the National Film Board who is still under a formal investigation for an alleged sexual assault, according to the French news website Satellifacts. The vote...

Incumbent Cannes Film Festival president Pierre Lescure has said he could step down early from his current mandate running until 2023.

Former WarnerMedia top executive Iris Knobloch has been tipped as a potential candidate to succeed Pierre Lescure as Cannes Film Festival president, in a report by French satirical and political insider weekly Le Canard Enchainé on Wednesday (March 2).

Veteran journalist and television executive Lescure was first elected to the role of festival president in 2014, replacing Gilles Jacob, and is now partway through a third three-year mandate running through to 2023.

Lescure has said publicly that he could step down early to...

Cannes’ Marché du Film, the world’s biggest film market, is set to change leadership in 2023 with its long-time, charismatic executive director Jerome Paillard due to exit after this year’s edition.

Guillaume Esmiol has been named co-executive director for this edition and will fully take over in 2023. Esmiol joined the Marché du Film in 2020 to spearhead the development. The tech saavy executive helped transform the market into a hybrid event.

Esmiol was previously head of innovation at TF1 Group and head of marketing for the startup studio Wefound, where he acquired skills in digital and media.

Variety understands that Paillard is planning to retire and focus on his favorite hobby which is flying, and is expected to continue having a presence at festivals around the world, on juries for instance. An industry veteran, Paillard joined the Cannes Film Festival, a private institution, back in 1995 and has bolstered the global...

Guillaume Esmiol has been named the successor of Cannes Marché head Jérôme Paillard, who will step down from his role after this year’s edition. Esmiol will serve as co-exec director of the Marché this year, where he will work in tandem with Paillard, before taking on the role entirely from 2023.

Esmiol was formerly innovation director at TF1 Group and marketing director for the startup studio Wefound, which will see him bring expertise in digital, media and innovation to the new role.

Paillard, who has worked at the Cannes Marché for more than 26 years, will step down from his role officially in December 2022 during Ventana Sur, the co-production market that the festival co-organizes with the Incaa each year in Buenos Aires.

Cannes is hoping that the upcoming Marché du Film will be the first true post-pandemic market after two years of virtual and hybrid events throughout the international film festival calendar.

Mediawan Rights doc arm previously enjoyed festival success with Kubrick By Kubrick in 2020.

Mediawan Rights has acquired international rights to bio-doc Godard Cinema, exploring the life and work of iconic French-Swiss director Jean-Luc Godard, via its documentary arm which will launch sales on the title at the EFM running February 10-17.

It marks the first title in a slate of feature documentaries suitable for theatrical release being pulled together by Arianna Castoldi, head of documentary sales for all formats within Mediawan Rights, the sales arm of burgeoning Paris-based international film and TV group Mediawan.

“Unlike the TV catalogue, which is vast,...

Tennor Group, the diversified global investment house, has appointed Ron Meyer and Sophie Jordan to be CEO and Co-CEO of the indie film distribution and production services company Wild Bunch Ag. Wild Bunch CEO Vincent Grimond will stay on in an advisory capacity and work closely with Meyer and Jordan, the company said.

It becomes the latest stop for Meyer, the former Vice Chairman of NBCUniversal and CAA co-founder who most recently served in a consultant capacity with Qatar, proving guidance to its Doha Film Institute on motion picture investments.

Jordan is the former General Counsel and Special Advisor to the Chairman at beIN Media Group. Together they will help steer Wild Bunch, the pan-European company known for award-winning films and a growing distribution network, into the next era of expansion. The duo will utilize additional financial resources on strategic acquisitions of other businesses to help Wild Bunch expand its...

“The film festival has been a demonstration that we can and must organise events,” says David Lisnard.

City of Cannes mayor David Lisnard has set his sights set on holding a physical Mipcom in October, following this year’s successful edition of the Cannes Film Festival, which has unfolded July 6-17 against the backdrop of the pandemic.

“Mipcom will take place in October that is for certain. We recently caught up with [organisers] Reed Midem and there is already a good level of bookings,” Lisnard told Screen.

“For now, the Americans aren’t there for health reasons but there will be...

Cannes Film Festival delegates attending a dinner hosted by luxury goods firm Kering kept their eye on the ball during one of the annual bash’s most memorable editions to date.

The late-evening Women in Motion event on Sunday (July 11) at the impeccably decorated Le Place de la Castre coincided with the UEFA Euro Championship final between Italy and England, posing the ultimate “Sophie’s Choice”-style scenario for die-hard sports fans like director Spike Lee, the festival’s jury president, who was in attendance.

Guests began huddling around those who were stealthily watching the match on their smartphones, and eventually a big screen was set up for delegates. Who else but Lee positioned themselves up front, in a single chair with a glass of wine in hand, to watch Italy beat England in a penalty shootout. With a serene look on his face, the “Da 5 Bloods” director gazed up...

Cannes Film Festival’s general secretary Francois Desrousseaux squashed rumors swirling around the festival about skyrocketing coronavirus cases and told Variety Friday that four days into the festival, there is no Covid-19 cluster at Cannes.

“Out of several thousand people getting testing here on a daily basis, there are an average of three cases per day,” said Desrousseaux, who hammered out protocols with the festival’s organizers, producers and Cannes regional authorities. Salivary Rt-pcr tests have been carried on at a 300 square-meter lab tent adjacent to the Palais des Festivals.

All unvaccinated guests as well as attendees traveling from the U.S. and countries listed as orange such as the U.K. have had to take tests every two days in order to enter the perimeter of the Palais des Festivals where the Marché des Films and most screenings are taking place.

Desrousseaux said “Since the start of the festival on Tuesday,...

Exclusive: The Croisette may be ablaze with chatter about how likely a coronavirus outbreak is as we go deeper into the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, but at present the number of cases being recorded is reassuringly low.

Deadline has confirmed with the festival that it is averaging just three positive cases per day since it got underway, from the thousands of attendees who are being checked daily via the dedicated BioGroup testing center.

Non-vaccinated delegates have to be able to display a negative test result less than 48 hours old to access certain areas of the festival including the Palais. The testing requirement also applies to vaccinated people arriving from non-eu countries including the U.S. and the UK. Some drinks parties have been requiring people to show tests or fully-vaccinated status.

Anyone who tests positive here is mandated by the French government to self-isolate for 10 days, which would prove a major...