International films will lead the lineup

even Without the fancy Hollywood studio titles, that cannes film festival It looks poised to deliver a strong competitive slate full of new works from legendary authors.

The official selection will be revealed on April 9, and while many films have yet to be screened or submitted to Cannes president Thierry Fremaux and his committee, the 79th edition is expected to feature a mix of festival mainstays and up-and-coming films. The event will be bolstered by strong screenings showcasing French talent, a handful of buzzy English-language indies and new films from leading Asian filmmakers.

Here are the films that have garnered strong competition from across Europe: “1949” Cold War drama starring Sandra Hüller (“Project Hail Mary”), directed by Paweł Pawlikowski (“Ida”); Pedro Almodovar‘Bitter Christmas’ returns to Spanish-language cinema; Subversive Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn’s mysterious feature film return “her private hell,’ starring Charles Melton and Sophie Thatcher, by Rodrigo Sorogoyen.love” Javier Bardem and Victoria Luengo star as an estranged father and daughter duo, and their next film is “Minotaur.” Andrei ZvyagintsevRussian filmmaker twice nominated for an Oscar for “Loveless” and “Leviathan”; And Albert Serra’s “Out of this world” It stars Riley Keough as a member of the American delegation traveling to Russia during the war in Ukraine. Palme d’Or winner Cristian Mungiu’s English-language debut “Fjord,” starring Renate Reinsve and Sebastian Stan; and two films by emerging Austrian director Sandra Wollner: “Everytime”; and Marie Kreutzer (“Corsage”) in “Gentle Monster” starring Lea Seydoux and Catherine Deneuve.

As always, a mix of various French candidates will land somewhere. In particular, Stephane Brizé’s social drama “Un Bon Petit Soldat” starring Vincent Lindon and Alba Rohrwacher; Quentin Dupieux’s “Full Phil” (a hellish “Emily in Paris” rendition), a wild comedy starring Woody Harrelson and Kristen Stewart; Bertrand Mandico’s homage to the glory days of Italian cinema “Roma Elastica” starring Marion Cotillard and Noémie Merlant; “Venus Electrificata” by Pierre Salvadori starring Gilles Lellouche and Pio Marmaï; and Cedric Kahn’s drama “15/18.”

In Asia, Cannes will release Dystopia by Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda, who won the Palme d’Or. “Sheep in a box;” furthermore “suddenly,” A Paris-set drama from Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi, who won an Oscar for ‘Drive My Car’ starring Virginie Ephyra and Tao Okamoto.

Another international director who chose Paris as the setting for his next film is an Iranian director. Asghar Farhadi will present “Parallel Tales”.,” featuring a dazzling French ensemble led by Isabelle Huppert and Deneuve.

There should be at least a few highlights in the American indie scene. A particularly brutal crime story starring James Gray’s “Paper Tiger.” adam driverScarlett Johansson, Miles Teller. The film has been submitted to Cannes and is expected to screen at the festival. Gray is a regular at the Croisette, loved in France, and has already shown five films there, including ‘Armageddon Time’, ‘The Immigrant’, ‘Two Lovers’, ‘We Own the Night’, and ‘The Yard’.

An American film that has largely gone unnoticed and is likely to premiere as an official selection is “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma,” directed by newcomer Jane Schoenbrun (“I Saw the TV Glow”) and starring Hannah Einbinder (“Hacks”) and Gillian Anderson (“Sex Education”). This film was produced by Plan B and Movie.

Aside from this title, there may be a few more exciting surprises announced after the press conference (perhaps a big animated movie like “Minions and Monsters”?), but whatever. Premo Awning manifold In an interview last week, he said he wasn’t expecting any major studio films like “Mission: Impossible” or “Top Gun” this year. He also said the lighter U.S. presence at Cannes reflects broader industry changes, noting that studios are “producing fewer blockbusters and fewer auteur films than in the past,” and hinting there’s also a cost issue because they’re not “lightening up” when it comes.

This year’s pullback also highlights that studios have become increasingly wary of releasing tentpoles at major film festivals like Cannes, where they could be panned by critics before being released in theaters. As infamously happened in Venice at Warner Bros.’ “Joker: Folie à Deux.” never recovered At the Lido bash. This year, Steven Spielberg’s highly anticipated “Reveal Day,” starring Emily Blunt and scheduled for release on June 12, could have bowed to the Croisette, but Universal Pictures isn’t planning a festival opening. Meanwhile, Alejandro González Iñárritu’s ‘Digger’, starring Tom Cruise, is likely to premiere in Venice.

Ultimately, as Fremaux said last week, the festival doesn’t depend on Hollywood’s presence and “depends on nothing but the movies themselves.” In fact, last year’s Cannes film shined thanks to non-English language films. The list of premieres included Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value,” which won the Oscar for International Feature Film and shared Best Picture with Wagner Moura’s “The Secret Agent.”

Alex Ritman, Nick Vivarelli and Naman Ramachandran contributed to this report.