Buyers are finally wise to the fact that Cannes is driving the Oscar race and even the specialized box office. Everyone wants to find the next “Anora,” “The Substance,” “Emilia Perez,” or “Anatomy of a Fall.” And more buyers like MUBI, Metrograph, Sideshow, and other upstarts have emerged to take on the likes of Neon and A24, who come to Cannes armed with several titles already set to debut.
Below, we’ve identified 13 movies looking for homes that could be the next awards breakout, including new films from Lynne Ramsay and Richard Linklater and the debuts of Kristen Stewart and Harris Dickinson.
All titles presented alphabetically.
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“The Chronology of Water” (Un Certain Regard)
Director: Kristen Stewart
Stars: Imogen Poots, Thora Birch, Jim Belushi, Tom Sturridge
Buzz: Even if it’s in a sidebar for a first-time director, Kristen Stewart’s debut should be a hot ticket with a lot of interested buyers after news of her desire to write and direct an adaptation of Lidia Yuknavitch’s memoir broke way back in 2018 and only finally got cameras rolling last year.
“Die, My Love” (Competition)
Director: Lynne Ramsay
Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Robert Pattinson, Sissy Spacek, LaKeith Stanfield
Buzz: The first film from the “We Need to Talk About Kevin” director in eight years was a late addition to the festival competition and is described as a portrait of a woman engulfed by love and madness and caught in a haze between her husband and her lover, all set in rural America.
“Enzo” (Director’s Fortnight)
Director: Laurent Cantet and Robin Campillo
Stars: Pierfrancesco Favino, Élodie Bouchez, Malou Khebizi
Buzz: The opening night film of the Director’s Fortnight sidebar is a posthumous entry from “The Class” director Laurent Cantet, who died in April. “BPM” filmmaker Robin Campillo finished the project, which is a coming-of-age story of a teen who takes up a masonry apprentice to break free from a bourgeois upbringing.
“Exit 8” (Midnight)
Director: Genki Kawamura
Stars: Kazunari Ninomiya
Buzz: Would you expect that Cannes would premiere a film based on a video game? This film is an adaptation of a buzzy indie game available on Steam about a man trapped in an endless stretch of seemingly identical subway tunnels and needing to pay careful attention to find his way out.
“It Was Just an Accident” (Competition)
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Madjid Panahi
Buzz: The latest film from the Iranian master behind “Taxi” and “This Is Not a Film” is back at Cannes for the first time since 2021 and in competition for the first time since “3 Faces” in 2018 won Best Screenplay. “It Was Just an Accident” pairs him with the production company behind “Anatomy of a Fall.”
“Lucky Lu” (Director’s Fortnight)
Director: Lloyd Lee Choi
Stars: Chang Chen, Fala Chen, Carabelle Manna
Buzz: Destin Daniel Cretton produces this film that’s an expansion of a 2022 short called “Same Old” that won the Palme D’Or for Best Short Film and marks director Choi’s feature debut.
“Nouvelle Vague” (Competition)
Director: Richard Linklater
Stars: Zoey Deutch, Guillaume Marbeck, Aubry Dullin
Buzz: Filming in black and white in the vintage French New Wave style, “Nouvelle Vague” is the story of the birth of the French film movement and the making of Jean-Luc Godard’s masterpiece “Breathless,” one Linklater told IndieWire reminded him of the experience of making his own first film.
“Peak Everything” (Director’s Fortnight)
Director: Anne Émond
Stars: Patrick Hivon, Piper Perabo
Buzz: This romantic drama hails from the director of “Young Juliet” and the producer of last year’s winner in this very sidebar of Director’s Fortnight, the Canadian film “Universal Language.”
“The Plague” (Un Certain Regard)
Director: Charlie Polinger
Stars: Joel Edgerton
Buzz: Charlie Polinger, described as a wunderkind of fringe theater, is only making his directorial debut with “The Plague,” a psychological thriller anchored by a trio of young newcomer actors at a summer camp, but he’s a hot rising name who is already next making an A24 movie starring Sydney Sweeney. The film is said to be visually impressive, have great young performances, and is an analysis of the meltdown a 14-year-old can go through while going through puberty.
“The Secret Agent” (Competition)
Director: Kleber Mendonca Filho
Stars: Wagner Moura, Udo Kier, Gabriel Leone
Buzz: A period political thriller from the Brazilian director of cult film “Bacarau,” which won the Cannes Jury Prize in 2019, this one stars “Civil War” and “Narcos” breakout Wagner Moura in a film that should have some domestic legs.
“The Wave” (Cannes Premiere)
Director: Sebastian Lelio
Stars: Daniela López, Avril Aurora, Lola Bravo, Paulina Cortés
Buzz: Before he takes on the Carl Sagan biopic “The Voyagers,” the director of “A Fantastic Woman” has a #MeToo protest musical about a woman who becomes an unexpected central figure in a feminist movement. See some first look images here.
“The Young Mother’s Home” (Competition)
Director: Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne
Stars: Elsa Houben, Lucie Laruelle, Janaina Halloy
Buzz: The Belgian brothers didn’t get an award from the Cannes jury with their last competition film “Tori and Lokita” from 2022, but their social-realist dramas almost always find award recognition and a theatrical home.
“Urchin” (Un Certain Regard)
Director: Harris Dickinson
Stars: Frank Dillane, Megan Northam, Amr Waked, Karyna Khymchuk, Shonagh Marie
Buzz: The directorial debut of “Babygirl” and “Triangle of Sadness” star (and future John Lennon) Harris Dickinson, Dickinson wrote “Urchin” himself about a homeless man in London struggling to break free from an ongoing cycle of self-destruction. Dillane is already getting some high marks for his authentic portrayal of a homeless drifter and addict from those who have seen it in rough cuts.
