MEETING UP AGAIN IN CANNES

Alice Rohrwacher, Marco Bellocchio, Nanni Moretti in competition at the 76th edition of the International Film Festival from May 16 to 27

“We will be breathing an air of cinema like the art of prototypes inside the Auditorium Luis Lumiere of the Palais des Festivals”, said the general delegate, Thierry Fremaux, presenting the program of the 76th Cannes Film Festival, in line with “back to the future”, the expression with which the new president, Iris Knobloch (the first woman to take on this role in the history of the festival), has defined the 2023 edition.

In fact, Cannes 2023 appears to be a shrewd blend of old and new, being able to boast six female directors in competition for the Palme d’Or (another first): Justine Triet, Catherine Breillat, Jessica Hausner, Kaouther Ben Hania, RamataToulaye Sy and Alice Rohrwacher. Particular attention has been paid to the “representativeness” of the selection, with titles also participating from Mongolia, Senegal, Iran, Asia and North Africa.

However, it is highly probable that this edition will be remembered for the “big returns”, five of which involve directors who have already won the Palme. There will be Ken Loach (Palme d’Or in 2006 and 2019) with The Old Oak, Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Palme d’Or 2014, twice Grand Prix winner and once best director) with Les Herbes sèches, Wim Wenders (Palme d’Or 1984) with Tokyo Toilet (the German director also returns with the documentary Anselm in Séances Spéciales), Hirokazu Kore-eda (Palme d’Or in 2018 and Jury Award in 2013) with Monster, Nanni Moretti (Palme d’Or in 2001 and best director in 1994) with Il sol dell’avvenire

As if that were not enough, also meeting again on the Croisette are Wes Anderson with Asteroid City (and a stellar cast: Margot Robbie, Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson, Bryan Cranston, Hong Chau, Tilda Swinton, Willem Dafoe, Edward Norton), Steve McQueen with Occupied City, Todd Haynes with May December (starring Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore), and Aki Kaurismaki with Dead leaves.

There is a lot of interest in the short western Strange Way of Life by Pedro Almodóvar, the long-awaited fifth chapter of the Indiana Jones saga, Indiana Jones and the dial of destiny and, above all, Killers of the Flower Moon by Martin Scorsese with Leonardo Di Caprio and Robert de Niro.

Expectations are also high for the TV series The Idol, directed by Sam Levinson (son of the already famous Barry), with Lily-Rose Depp (daughter of Johnny).

There is a powerful Italian presence in which Moretti, the Italian director most loved by the French, is in good company, in competition with another two “veterans” of our cinema at Cannes: Marco Bellocchio and Alice Rohrwacher.

Alice Rohrwacher directs La Chimera starring Josh O’Connor as a young British archaeologist who finds himself involved with a group of tomb robbers in 1980s Italy. The cast also includes Alba Rorhwacher and Isabella Rossellini.

In Kidnapped, Marco Bellocchio tells the true story of Edgardo Mortara, a Jewish boy who, in 1858, was taken away from his family and kidnapped in order to be raised as a Cath-