Jarmusch, Loach, Malick Among Those In Competition At Cannes Film Fest
This May 16, 2016 file photo shows director Jim Jarmusch at the 69th international film festival, Cannes, southern France. Jarmusch’s zombie film “The Dead Don’t Die” will open the 72nd annual Cannes Film Festival on May 14. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau, File)
  • PARIS (AP)
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Cannes Film Festival organizers announced its 2019 lineup Thursday, pitting leading names in world cinema including Ken Loach and Pedro Almodóvar against each other in competition for the top prize, the Palme d'Or.

Festival veterans Loach and Almodóvar, as well as the Dardenne Brothers, Jim Jarmusch, Terrence Malick and Xavier Dolan — all of whom have previously won accolades at the French Riviera festival — will return for the May 14-25 event.

Four female directors were among the 19 nominated in the main category. They are Jessica Hausner for "Little Joe," Mati Diop for "Atlantiques," Celine Schiamma for "Portrait of a Young Lady on Fire" and Justine Triet for "Sibyl."

The last time four women were also nominated at Cannes was in 2011, when that number set a record for the festival. Last year, organizers pledged to raise the prominence of female filmmakers at festivals. A total of 13 women were included in the official selection this year — although male artists still dominate.

Jarmusch's "The Dead Don't Die," a zombie comedy starring Adam Driver, Bill Murray and Chloe Sevigny as police officers protecting a small town, will open the festival on a starry and surreal note.

This is not the first time Jarmusch has competed for the Palme at Cannes using the undead — his 2013 "Only Lovers Left Alive" featured erudite vampires.

Jarmusch is in the running along with other Americans including Malick, who returns after "Tree of Life" won the Palme d'Or in 2011 with the long-awaited "A Hidden Life," about an Austrian anti-Nazi conscientious objector who was executed in 1943. Memphis-born Ira Sachs will present "Frankie" starring Isabelle Huppert.

There was dismay that Quentin Tarantino missed out from being included with the highly anticipated "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie. Cannes Artistic Director Thierry Fremaux lamented to critics during the press conference that the movie was still in editing — explaining that Tarantino's insistence on using laborious 35mm will delay its completion.

Spanish director Almodovar will be back on the festival's red carpeted steps with the new film "Pain and Glory" — a self-referential movie about an aging filmmaker played by Antonio Banderas, alongside longtime muse Penelope Cruz. It's been compared to Italian filmmaker Fellini's masterpiece "8 1?2."

Oscar-winning director Alejandro Inarritu will be jury president although the jury members have not yet been announced.

Other highlights of the festival will include a biopic of singer Elton John called "Rocketman," which will be screened out of competition and was directed by Dexter Fletcher. The aging rocker will bring his own inimitable brand of star power to the festival when he attends the screening.
 

In Competition

Opening film
Jim JARMUSCH
THE DEAD DON’T DIE

Pedro ALMODÓVAR
DOLOR Y GLORIA
(PAIN AND GLORY)

Marco BELLOCCHIO
IL TRADITORE
(THE TRAITOR)

BONG Joon Ho
GISAENGCHUNG
(PARASITE)

Jean-Pierre DARDENNE
Luc DARDENNE
LE JEUNE AHMED
(YOUNG AHMED)

Arnaud DESPLECHIN
ROUBAIX, UNE LUMIÈRE
(OH MERCY!)

DIAO Yinan
NAN FANG CHE ZHAN DE JU HU
(THE WILD GOOSE LAKE)

Mati DIOP
ATLANTIQUE

Xavier DOLAN
MATTHIAS ET MAXIME
(MATTHIAS AND MAXIME)

Jessica HAUSNER
LITTLE JOE

Ken LOACH
SORRY WE MISSED YOU

Ladj LY
LES MISÉRABLES

Terrence MALICK
A HIDDEN LIFE

Kleber MENDONÇA FILHO
Juliano DORNELLES
BACURAU

Corneliu PORUMBOIU
THE WHISTLERS

Ira SACHS
FRANKIE

Céline SCIAMMA
PORTRAIT DE LA JEUNE FILLE EN FEU

Elia SULEIMAN
IT MUST BE HEAVEN

Justine TRIET
SIBYL

 

Un Certain Regard

Karim AÏNOUZ
A VIDA INVISÍVEL DE EURÍDICE GUSMÃO
(THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF EURÍDICE GUSMÃO)

Nariman ALIEV
EVGE

Kantemir BALAGOV
DYLDA
(BEANPOLE)

Zabou BREITMAN
Eléa GOBBÉ-MÉVELLEC
THE SWALLOWS OF KABUL

Monia CHOKRI
A BROTHER’S LOVE

Michael COVINO
THE CLIMB

Bruno DUMONT
JOAN OF ARC

Christophe HONORÉ
CHAMBRE 212

Oliver LAXE
O QUE ARDE
(A SUN THAT NEVER SETS)

Danielle LESSOVITZ
PORT AUTHORITY

Mounia MEDDOUR
PAPICHA

Midi Z
ZHUO REN MI MI

Albert SERRA
LIBERTÉ

Annie SILVERSTEIN
BULL

Maryam TOUZANI
ADAM

ZU Feng
LIU YU TIAN
(SUMMER OF CHANGSHA)

 

Out of Competition

Nicolas BEDOS
LA BELLE ÉPOQUE

Dexter FLETCHER
ROCKETMAN

Asif KAPADIA
DIEGO MARADONA

Claude LELOUCH
THE BEST YEARS OF A LIFE

Nicolas WINDING REFN
TOO OLD TO DIE YOUNG - NORTH OF HOLLYWOOD, WEST OF HELL

 

Midnight Screenings

LEE Won-Tae
THE GANGSTER, THE COP, THE DEVIL

 

Special Screenings

Waad Al KATEAB
Edward WATTS
FOR SAMA

Pippa BIANCO
SHARE

Alain CAVALIER
ÊTRE VIVANT ET LE SAVOIR

Abel FERRARA
TOMMASO

Werner HERZOG
FAMILY ROMANCE, LLC. 

Juan SOLANAS
QUE SEA LEY

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