Cannes Film Festival buzz goes online with official 2020 selection

Cannes Film Festival organisers have announced the 56 films in the official 2020 selection. Despite missing the excitement of the event due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the new line-up of feature-length films from around the globe will carry the festival logo in a promotional boost when they are released in cinemas later this year.

Thierry Frémaux, Cannes film festival director (L), and Pierre Lescure, Festival president, at the presentation of the 2020 Official Selection, 3 June 2020. © Serge ARNAL / STARFACE / AFP

As with many other international cultural events, the coronavirus crisis prompted the cancellation of the 73rd edition of the Cannes Film Festival on the French Riviera.

Originally scheduled for 12-23 May, the jury was to be headed by American director Spike Lee (Grand Prize at Cannes 2018 for BlacKkKlansman), who has said he'll come back in 2021.

Over 2,000 entries

Although there will be no awards ceremony, Cannes Festival director Thierry Frémaux insists the films in this year's lineup will receive full promotional support from festival organisers when they are released in cinemas in the coming months.

Frémaux says the selection committee watched 2,067 films – the first time there has been over 2,000 entries in the festival's long history.

Among the lineup, several familiar names including Wes Anderson, Steve McQueen – with two films, François Ozon, and Naomi Kawasi (see full list below).

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

Frémaux pointed out that 909 films had been entered in the "Newcomers" (first film) category – an increase compared to previous years. Fifteen of them have been selected in this year's crop compared to ten in 2019.

International marketplace online

"We've never seen so many debut filmmakers' works selected before," he went on, adding that 532 female directors entered a film in the competition, sixteen of whom were chosen for the final lineup.

The professional side of the festival, known as the Marché du Film, will go ahead online from 22-26 June, providing an interactive platform where producers and directors from around the world can discuss their projects.

Frémaux and the festival team are also looking at future collaborative projects with other film festivals around the world, such as Toronto, Deauville, Angoulême, San Sebastian, New York, Busan, Lyon and even Venice.

Raising funds to fight coronavirus

Until 7 June, cinema enthusiasts can share the magic of Cannes, and other major events with the We Are One: a global festival, set up to raise funds for the World Health Organization to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

Organised in conjunction with Berlin and Venice film festivals, it features long and short films, documentaries, music, virtual round-tables, accessible for free on Youtube.

Complete list of the 2020 Cannes Film Festival selection:

THE FAITHFUL (14)

(selected at least once before)

• The French Dispatch by Wes Anderson (USA) - 1h43
• Ete 85 by François Ozon (France) - 1h40
• Asa Ga Kuru (True Mothers) by Naomi Kawase (Japan) - 2h20
• Lovers Rock by Steve McQueen (United Kingdom) - 1h08
• Mangrove by Steve McQueen (United Kingdom) - 2h04
• Druk (Another Round) by Thomas Vinterberg - (Denmark) - 1h55
• ADN (DNA) by Maïwenn (France / Algeria) - 1h30 
• Last Words by Jonathan Nossiter (USA) - 2h06
• Heaven : To the land of Happiness by IM Sang-Soo (South Korea) - 1h40
• El Olvido que Seremos (Forgotten we'll be) by Fernando Trueba (Spain) - 2h16
• Peninsula by YEON Sang-Ho (South Korea) - 1h54
• In the Dusk (Au crépuscule) by Sharunas BARTAS (Lituania) - 2h06
• Des Hommes (Home Front) by Lucas BELVAUX - (Belgium) - 1h40
• The Real Thing by Kôji Fukada (Japan) - 3h48

THE NEWCOMERS (14)

• Passion Simple by Danielle Arbid (Lebanon) - 1h36
• A Good Man by Marie Castille Mention-Schaar (France) - 1h47
• Les Choses qu'on dit, les choses qu'on fait by Emmanuel Mouret (France) - 2h
• Souad by Ayten Amin (Egypt) - 1h30
• Limbo by Ben Sharrock (United Kingdom) - 1h53
• Rouge (Red Soil) by Farid Bentoumi (France) - 1h26
• Sweat by Magnus Von Horn (Sweden) - 1h40
• Teddy by Ludovic et Zoran Boukherma (France) - 1h28
• February (Février) by Kamen Kalev (Bulgaria) - 2h05
• Ammonite by Francis Lee (United Kingdom) - 2h
• Un Médecin de Nuit by Elie Wajeman (France) - 1h40 
• Enfant Terrible by Oskar Roehler (Germany) - 2h14
• Nadia, Butterfly by Pascal Plante (Canada) - 1h46
• Here we Are by Nir Bergman (Israel) - 1h34

AN OMNIBUS FILM

• Septet : The Story of Hong Kong by Ann Hui, Johnnie TO, Tsui Hark, Sammo Hung, Yuen Woo-Ping et Patrick Tam - 1h53

THE FIRST FEATURES (16)

• Falling by Viggo Mortensen (USA) - 1h52
• Pleasure by Ninja Thyberg (Sweden) - 1h45
• Slalom by Charlène Favier (France) - 1h32
• Casa de Antiguidades (Memory House) by Joao Paulo Miranda Maria (Brazil) - 1h27
• Broken Keys (Fausse note) by Jimmy Keyrouz (Lebanon) - 1h30
• Ibrahim by Samir Guesmi (France) - 1h20
• Beginning (Au commencement) by Déa Kulumbegashvili (Georgia) - 2h10
• Gagarine by Fanny Liatard et Jérémy Trouilh (France) - 1h35
• 16 Printemps by Suzanne Lindon (France) - 1h13
• Vaurien by Peter Dourountzis (France) - 1h35
• Garçon Chiffon by Nicolas Maury (France) - 1h48
• Si le Vent tombe (Should the Wind Fall) by Nora Martirosyan (Armenia) - 1h40
• John and the Hole by Pascual Sisto (USA) - 1h38
• Striding into the Wind (Courir au gré du vent) by WEI Shujun (China) - 2h36
• The Death of Cinema and my Father too (La Mort du cinéma et de mon père aussi) by Dani Rosenberg (Israel) - 1h40

3 DOCUMENTARY FILMS

• En Route pour le Milliard (The Billion Road) by Dieudo Hamadi - (Democratic Republic of Congo) - 1h30
• The Truffle Hunters by Michael Dweck et Gregory Kershaw (USA) - 1h24
• 9 Jours à Raqqa by Xavier de Lauzanne - (France) - 1h30

5 COMEDY FILMS

• Antoinette dans les Cévènnes by Caroline Vignal (France) - 1h35 
• Les Deux Alfred by Bruno Podalydès (France) - 1h30
• Un Triomphe (The big hit) by Emmanuel Courcol (France) - 1h40
• L'Origine du Monde by Laurent Lafitte (France) - 1st film
• Le Discours by Laurent Tirard (France) - 1h27

4 ANIMATED FILMS

• Aya To Majo (Earwig and the Witch) by Gorô Miyazaki (Japan) - 1h22
• Flee by Jonas Poher Rasmussen (Denmark) - 1h30
• Josep by Aurel (France) - 1h20 - 1st film
• Soul by Pete Docter (USA) - 1h30