CANNES Predictions and Possibilities

     Next week the films that will be showing at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival will be announced. The premiere film festival in the world and where the celebrities love to show off, there is also an strong emphasis on high quality films from high caliber filmmakers. Films from all over the world. You will have your regulars, the Dardenne Brothers, Ken Loach, David Cronenberg, and a few youngsters and new filmmakers, the Sundance hit Hellion from Kat Candler is suppose to be shown as well. Olivier Dahan's Grace of Monaco will kick off the festival on May 14th and the festival will run until May 25th. Grace of Monaco stars Nicole Kidman as Grace Kelly, and follows the former Hollywood star as her husband Prince Rainier III (Tim Roth) clashes with French President Charles de Gaulle (André Penvern). 

     The great thing about this film festival is that it focuses on cinema. There will be some Sundance films present, but which ones? At least that festival, like Cannes, is all about film. I do love the film part of SXSW, but the overall experience is turning into a corporate shindig focused way too highly on how many celebrities can visit Austin, Texas. Sorry, but its true. After this, there is nothing significant until the end of August when the Venice and Telluride Film Festivals begin and then the expansive Toronto Film Festival in September. That is when it gets interesting, but Cannes will really let us know what is great, good, mediocre and bad. Jane Campion is this years Jury President.
     Well, here is a list of predictions, hopefuls and maybes for the upcoming festival on the French Riviera:

The Regulars:

Birdman   d. Alejandro González Iñárritu
Jimmy's Hall   d. Ken Loach
Winter Sleep   d. Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Clouds of Sils Maria   d. Olivier Assayas
Two Days, One Night   d. The Dardenne Brothers
The Assassin   d. Hou Hsiao-Hsien
Everything Will Be Fine   d. Wim Wenders
The Search   d. Michel Hazavanicius
Still the Water   d. Naomi Kawase
Mr. Turner   d. Mike Leigh
A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence   d. Roy Andersson
The Cut   d. Fatih Akin
Over Your Dead Body   d. Takashi Miike
Mommy   d. Xavier Dolan
Maps to the Stars   d. David Cronenberg
Knight of Cups   d. Terrence Malick
Coming Home   d. Zhang Yimou

High Probablilty& Most Likely:

Foxcatcher   d. Bennett Miller
Magic in the Moonlight   d. Woody Allen
Three Hearts   d. Benoît Jacquot
Bird People   d. Pascale Ferran
Far From the Madding Crowd   d. Thomas Vinterberg
The Rover   d. David Michod
Suite Francasise   d. Saul Dibb
The Homesman   d. Tommy Lee Jones
Welcome to New York   d. Abel Ferrara
La chambre bleue   d. Mathieu Amalric
Leviafan   d.  Andrey Zvyagintsev
Eden   d. Mia Hansen-Løve
The Normal Heart   d. Ryan Murphy
La rançon de la gloire   d. Xavier Beauvois

The Rest of the Maybes:

Inherent Vice   d. Paul Thomas Anderson
Boyhood   d. Richard Linklater
Maleficent   d. Robert Stromberg
Serena   d. Susanne Bier
While We're Young   d. Noah Baumbach
Big Eyes   d. Tim Burton
A Most Violent Year   d. J.C. Chandor
How to Catch a Monster   d. Ryan Gosling
Rosewater   d. Jon Stewart

     Last year, Abdellatif Kechiche's Blue Is the Warmest Color won the Palme d'Or. I have to say, I really hope Birdman, Inherent Vice (doubtful), Foxcatcher, Maps to the Stars and A Most Violent Year show and we get to find out the quality of these films. Especially these films. I am keen to see how Birdman turns out, as this is González Iñárritu's first venture into comedy. We shall see next week when the films are announced.

Photo credit by IMDB.