The 2016 Cannes Film Festival line-up was recently revealed, and it’s just as glitzy and star-studded as ever. With the world-renowned festival heading into its 69th edition, we look back on some of the Miami Film Festival’s esteemed alumni who are premiering films that are sure to make a splash at Cannes, taking place May 11-22.
Olivier Assayas (MiamiFF25 in 2008) Director: Boarding Gate
In Competition at Cannes 2016: Personal Shopper
Director of last year’s critically acclaimed drama Clouds of Sils Maria, Olivier Assayas returns to Cannes with Personal Shopper, once again reuniting him with actress Kristen Stewart. Written by Assayas, Personal Shopper is a ghost story set in the Paris’ fashion underworld.
Pedro Almodovar: (MiamiFF1 in 1984) Director: Entre Tinieblas (Dark Hideout); (MiamiFF2 in 1985) Director: What Have I Done to Deserve This; (MiamiFF4 in 1987) Director: La Ley Del Deseo (Law of Desire); (MiamiFF11 in 1994) Director: Kika
In Competition at Cannes 2016: Julieta
From one of Spain’s most revered directors, Julieta explores the life of the title character, focusing on two separate time periods: 1985 and 2015. Actresses Emma Suarez and Adriana Ugarte split the lead role.
Andrea Arnold: (MiamiFF24 in 2007) Director: Red Road; (MiamiFF29 in 2012) Director: Wuthering Heights
In Competition at Cannes 2016: American Honey
A teenage girl joins a traveling magazine sales crew and gets caught up in a life of hard partying as she travels the midwest with a band of misfits. Starring Sasha Lane and Shia LaBeouf.
Paul Verhoeven (MiamiFF24 in 2007) Director: Zwartboek (Black Book)
In Competition at Cannes 2016: Elle
Paul Verhoeven returns to Cannes for the first time since he premiered Basic Instinct there in 1992 with the psychological thriller Elle. When a successful businesswoman Michelle (Isabelle Huppert) is attacked in her home, it changes her life forever. But when Michelle sets out to track down the unknown assailant, it throws the two headfirst into a shocking game, one that at any minute can spiral out of control.
Xavier Dolan: (MiamiFF30 in 2013) Director: Laurence Anyways
In Competition at Cannes 2016: Juste La Fin du Monde (It’s Only the End of the World)
A terminally ill writer returns home after a long absence to tell his family that he’s dying. Canadian filmmaker Xavier Dolan won the Jury Prize in 2014 for his powerhouse drama Mommy.
Jean-Pierre Dardenne & Luc Dardenne (MiamiFF14 in 1997) Directors: La prommesse; (MiamiFF23 in 2006) Directors: L’enfant (The Infant); (MiamiFF29 in 2012) Directors: Le gamin au velo (The Kid With a Bike)
In Competition at Cannes 2016: La fille inconnue (The Unknown Girl)
A doctor attempts to uncover the identity of a patient who died after she refused her treatment.
Jim Jarmusch: (MiamiFF31 in 2014) Director: Only Lovers Left Alive
In Competition at Cannes 2016: Paterson
Set in the present in Paterson, New Jersey, this is a tale about a bus driver and poet. Starring Adam Driver.
Brillante Mendoza: (MiamiFF25 in 2008) Director: Tirador (Slingshot); (MiamiFF27 in 2010) Director: Kinatay; (MiamiFF27 in 2010) Director: Lola
In Competition at Cannes 2016: Ma’Rosa
Ma’ Rosa has four children. She owns a small convenient store in a poor neighborhood of Manila where everybody appreciates her. To make ends meet, Rosa and her husband, Nestor, resell small amounts of narcotics on the side. When they get arrested, Rosa and her children are ready to do whatever necessary to buy her freedom from the corrupt police.
Ken Loach: (MiamiFF27 in 2010) Director: Looking For Eric
In Competition at Cannes 2016: I, Daniel Blake
I, Daniel Blake follows a middle-aged carpenter and a single mother who connect after finding themselves unexpectedly in need of state welfare.
Hirokazu Kore-eda (MiamiFF22 in 2005) Director: Dare mo shiranai (Nobody Knows)
Un Certain Regard section at Cannes 2016: After the Storm
Dwelling on his past glory as a prize-winning author, Ryota (Hiroshi Abe) wastes the money he makes as a private detective on gambling and can barely pay child support. After struggling to find a place in his son’s life, he finds the perfect opportunity to truly bond again in the form of a stormy summer night.
