The 2016 Cannes Film Festival is now just days away and it is promising to be another great showcase of movies from around the world.
Cannes Film Festival 2016
Once again, the programme is a mix of well-established directors and actors alongside emerging acting and directing talents. While some films will battle it out for the prestigious Palme d'Or.
We take a look at some of the movies that we are looking forward to, both in and out of competition.
- Café Society - Woody Allen
Woody Allen's latest film Café Society has the honour of opening the 2016 festival on Wednesday, for what is his first feature film since Irrational Man.
As well as being in the director's chair, Allen has also penned the film's screenplay. The filmmaker has brought together another impressive cast as Kristen Stewart, Jesse Eisenberg, Blake Lively, Steve Carell, Corey Stoll, and Anna Camp are all set to star.
This will be a third feature film together for Stewart and Eisenberg; who have already starred in Adventureland and American Ultra in recent years. It is the first time that Stewart has worked with Allen and a second film project for Eisenberg; he starred in To Rome with Love back in 2012.
Café Society follows a young man who arrives in Hollywood during the 1930s hoping to work in the film industry. There, he falls in love and finds himself swept up in the vibrant café society that defined the spirit of the age.
Allen is a master of creating character driven drama and it is always exciting when one of his movies is on the horizon.
Even though Café Society is screening out of competition, it will surely get the 2016 festival off with a bang.
- Loving - Jeff Nichols
For me, Jeff Nichols is one of the best and most exciting filmmakers around at the moment and Cannes will see him unveil his new film, Loving.
Loving is the second film of 2016 for Nichols, who has already brought us Midnight Special. This new film will see him reunite with Michael Shannon and Joel Egerton; this is his fourth feature with Shannon and his second with Egerton.
Nicholas has already brought us movies such as Take Shelter, Midnight Special, and Mud in recent years and Loving sees him show off his writing skills as well as his directing ability.
Shannon and Egerton are joined on the cast list by Marton Csokas, Ruth Negga, Jon Bass, and Nick Kroll.
The movie follows Richard and Mildred Loving, an interracial couple, who are sentenced to prison in Virginia in 1958 for getting married.
Nichols is no stranger to the Cannes Film Festival with his 2012 film Mud also competing for the Palme d'Or. The filmmaker really has been making a name for himself with his recent film projects and Loving is one of the Cannes 2016 movies that I am looking forward to the most.
- Julieta - Pedro Almodóvar
Pedro Almodóvar is another filmmaker who is a bit of a favourite at Cannes, with the likes of Volver and Broken Embraces both competing for the Palme d'Or in the past.
Julieta is the latest film that is selected to compete for this prestigious prize as he returns to the director's chair for the first time since I'm So Excited! back in 2013.
Julieta is based on three short stories from the book Runaway by Alice Munro, which has been adapted into a screenplay by Almodóvar himself.
Adriana Ugarte and Emma Suarez are set to play a younger and older version of Julieta and are joined on the cast list by Inma Cuesta, Rossy de Palma, Michelle Jenner, and Daniel Grao.
Julieta is a teacher of fifty-five. She writes a long letter to her daughter, Antía, trying to explain all the things she has kept secret from her over the last 30 years. When she has finished her confession, she doesn't know where to post the letter. Her daughter abandoned her when she was eighteen and Julieta hasn't heard from her in the past twelve years. She has searched everywhere but now realizes that Antía has become a total stranger to her.
Julieta is about destiny, guilt complex and the unfathomable mystery that leads some people to abandon those they love, erasing them as if they meant nothing. It is also about the pain that this brutal desertion provokes in the victim.
- The Neon Demon - Nicolas Winding Refn
When you sit down to watch a Nicolas Winding Refn movie, you never know what you are going to get... that is what makes him so exciting as a filmmaker.
Refn is back in the director's chair for the first time since Only God Forgives with his new feature film The Neon Demon. As well as being in the director's chair, Refn has also teamed up with Mary Laws and Polly Stenham to pen the film's screenplay.
The Neon Demon sees the filmmaker team up with actress Elle Fanning for the first time as she takes on the central role of Jesse.
Fanning is part of an all-star cast as Keanu Reeves, Christina Hendricks, Jena Malone, and Bella Heathcote are all set to star.
When aspiring model Jesse moves to Los Angeles, her youth and vitality are devoured by a group of beauty-obsessed women who will use any means necessary to get what she has.
No director creates movies quite like Refn and I am always excited to see what he delivers next. The movie is set to compete for the Palme d'Or at this year's festival.
Refn Best Director at Cannes for his work on Drive but he has never managed to scoop the Palme d'Or with any of his movies so far... could this be his year?
- Elle - Paul Verhoeven
Paul Verhoeven has brought us movies such as RoboCop, Total Recall, and Basic Instinct during his career and is set to return to the director's chair with Elle. This is his first feature since Tricked back in 2012.
Elle is a big screen adaptation of the novel by Philippe Djian and has been adapted by David Birke. The drama/thriller is set to see Isabelle Huppert of Michelle and it is another film that is in the mix for this year's Palme d'Or.
Huppert is joined on the cast list by Virginie Efira, Christian Berkel, Anne Consigny, and Jonas Bloquet.
Michelle is the wealthy owner of a video game company, who is brutally raped in her home by a stranger. After the event, she first becomes paranoid, then starts to seek out her rapist to exact revenge.
Some of Verhoeven's films have been pretty brutal in the past with some going on to gain a cult following. Elle is promising to be a tense and rather dark drama and I cannot wait to see what he delivers this time around.
- It's Only the End of the World - Xavier Dolan
Xavier Dolan is a filmmaker who has been whipping up a storm in recent years with Mommy and Tom at the Farm and now he is back with It's Only the End of the World.
It's Only the End of the World is Dolan's first film since Mommy, which was a huge critical hit back in 2014. It was the film that really did help put him on the map and it is exciting to see him back.
It's Only the End of the World (Juste la fin du monde) is based on the play by Jean-Luc Lagarce and has been adapted for the big screen by Dolan, who is showing off his writing skills once again.
Gaspard Ulliel takes on the central role of terminally ill writer Louis and is joined on the cast list Marion Cotillard, Lea Seydoux, Vincent Cassel, and Nathalie Baye; it really a super talented cast list.
It's Only the End of the World follows Louis, a terminally ill writer, returns home after a long absence to tell his family that he is dying. He has not been home in twelve years and the reunion is filled with tension and doubt.
The film will not only compete for the Palme d'Or, but it will also receive its world premiere at the festival later this month.
- The BFG - Steven Spielberg
Out of competition, there are some big films to look out for... and they don't come bigger than The BFG as Steven Spielberg returns to the director's chair.
Spielberg is set to put his stamp on the classic Roald Dahl story of the same name in what is his first feature since the success of Bridge of Spies. It is fantastic to see him return to the family film genre - E.T. remains one of my favourite films of all time.
It is always exciting when a Spielberg film is on the horizon and The BFG is set to be one of the must see and biggest films of this summer. I really cannot wait to see what he does with a story that we all know so well.
Mark Rylance reunites with the filmmaker for the second time as he takes on the title role. Rylance first worked with Spielberg last year on Bridge of Spies; for which he won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar.
Rebecca Hall, Bill Hader, Penelope Wilton, Jemaine Clement, and Ólafur Darri Ólafsson are all on board. We are going to be introduced to Ruby Barnhill, who takes on the role of Sophie.
The BFG is the exciting tale of a young London girl and the mysterious Giant who introduces her to the wonders and perils of Giant Country. The BFG is one of Roald Dahl's most iconic books and this will be the first time that it has been brought to the big screen as a live-action film.
- The Nice Guys - Shane Black
Another of the summer 2016 films that I am looking forward to is The Nice Guys as Shane Black returns to the director's chair. This is only the third feature film of Black's career and comes after success with Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Iron Man 3.
The Nice Guys sees Black team up with Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling as they take on the roles of enforcer Jackson Healy and private detective Holland March.
The duo is joined on the cast list by Matt Bomer, Kim Basinger, Keith David, Ty Simpkins, and Angourie Rice.
The Nice Guys takes place in 1970s Los Angeles, when down-on-his-luck private eye Holland March (Gosling) and hired enforcer Jackson Healy (Crowe) must work together to solve the case of a missing girl and the seemingly unrelated death of a porn star. During their investigation, they uncover a shocking conspiracy that reaches up to the highest circles of power.
The Nice Guys does have a Kiss Kiss Bang Bang feel about it and is set to screen out of competition at the festival.
Other movies that you cannot afford to miss at the festival include Paterson by Jim Jarmusch, Ma'Rosa by Brillante Mendoza, and Money Monster by Jodie Foster.
The Cannes Film Festival 2016 runs from 11th - 22nd May.
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