Features, Festivals, Films, Women Directors

Cannes 2017: Women-Directed Films We’re Tracking for This Year’s Festival

“Euphoria”
“The Beguiled”

While many other high-profile festivals have made strides towards closing the gender gap in their programming, Cannes is infamous for lagging behind the times. Last year, just three of 21 films competing for the Palme d’Or were women-directed, and in 2015, two of 17 films featured in the Main Competition were helmed by women.

Undoubtedly one of the world’s most prestigious and well-known film festivals, Cannes has a well-documented woman problem. Female filmmakers have historically been underrepresented at the event, and yet, we continue to hope for change. We’ve assembled 15 films directed and co-directed by women that we’re hoping to see on the program. This list is by no means exhaustive — there are dozens of other female-helmed titles from around the world that stand a shot. These are just some of the titles to catch our eyes, and that have a realistic chance of being completed in time to be unveiled at the fest, which runs from May 17–28.

Cannes will announce its 2017 lineup April 13.

“The Beguiled”— Directed by Sofia Coppola

Two of Sofia Coppola’s previous films, “Marie Antoinette” and “The Bling Ring,” have screened at the fest, she served as a juror in 2014, and her newest film, “The Beguiled,” promises to bring big stars to Cannes’ red carpet: Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, Elle Fanning, and Colin Farrell. Set during the Civil War, the film centers on a Confederate girls’ boarding school that is thrown into chaos after taking in an injured Union soldier (Farrell) to convalesce.

“Zama” — Directed by Lucrecia Martel

“Zama”

Considered one of Latin America’s most successful female directors, Lucrecia Martel has a highly anticipated epic on the way. Set in the 17th century, “Zama” tells the story of a Spanish officer in Asunción, Paraguay who awaits his transfer to Buenos Aires. Two of Martel’s previous films have screened in Competition — 2004’s “The Holy Girl” and 2008’s “The Headless Woman” — and she served as a juror in 2006.

“Beyond Words” — Directed by Urszula Antoniak

Urszula Antoniak’s new drama tackles a hot topic: Emigration. The film follows a Berlin-based Polish lawyer who receives an unexpected visit from his father. The plot is giving us “Toni Erdmann” vibes, and let’s not forget that Maren Ade’s Oscar-nominated dark comedy made its world premiere at Cannes. Antoniak’s 2011 drama “Code Blue” screened in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight sidebar, and she won the Golden Leopard at the 2009 Locarno Film Festival for “Nothing Personal.”

“Dark River” — Directed by Clio Barnard

Clio Barnard is on a hot streak. She followed up her acclaimed experimental doc “The Arbor” with another critical darling, “The Selfish Giant.” The narrative feature adaptation of the Oscar Wilde story debuted at Cannes 2013 in the Directors’ Fortnight program. Her latest offering, “Dark River,” is led by rising star Ruth Wilson (“The Affair”), who plays a woman returning home for the first time in 15 years to take over the family farm.

“Cobain” — Directed by Nanouk Leopold

“Cobain”

“Cobain,” Nanouk Leopold’s fifth feature, centers on a 15-year-old boy who struggles to help his pregnant, self-destructive mother get her act together. Leopold’s “Guernsey” screened in the 2015 Directors’ Fortnight program, and her two latest films, “The Brownian Movement” and “It’s All So Quiet,” both made big splashes at the Berlinale.

“Galveston” — Melanie Laurent

While Melanie Laurent is best known in North America as an actress in films such as “Now You See Me,” “Beginners,” and “Inglourious Basterds,” she’s also an accomplished writer-director with multiple feature credits. Her second feature, “Breathe,” screened in the 2014 Critics’ Week Section at Cannes, and she hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2011 edition of the fest. Galveston marks Laurent’s English-language debut, and centers on a hitman (Ben Foster, “Hell or High Water”) diagnosed with lung cancer at 40. Elle Fanning and Lili Reinhart (“Riverdale”) co-star.

“Radiance” — Directed by Naomi Kawase

“Radiance”

A seasoned Cannes vet, Naomi Kawase has previously screened six films at the fest: “Suzaku,” “Shara,” “The Mourning Forest, “ “Hanezu,” “Still the Water,” and “Sweet Bean.” “Suzaku” won the Camera d’Or, “The Mourning Forest” took home the Grand Jury Prize, and Kawase herself was honored with the Carrosse d’Or in 2009. Her latest project, “Radiance,” is about Misako, a film voiceover writer, and her friendship with Masaya, an older photographer who is slowly going blind.

“Kings” — Directed by Deniz Gamze Ergüven

“Kings” marks Deniz Gamze Ergüven’s follow-up to “Mustang,” her Oscar-nominated feature debut about repressed sisters living in a small Turkish town. Her new drama is set against the backdrop of the 1992 Los Angeles race riots and stars Halle Berry. “Mustang” made its world premiere in the Directors’ Fortnight in 2015, where it won the Europa Cinemas Label Award.

“Marvin” — Directed by Anne Fontaine

Anne Fontaine’s latest, “Marvin,” follows a gay man who fled his hometown and family after being shunned by them, an experience that inspired his smash-hit autobiographical play. Isabelle Huppert co-stars in the drama. Fontaine’s films regularly screen at top international film festivals including Locarno and Venice, and her comedy “Augustin” screened in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard program back in 1995.

“The Bookshop” — Directed by Isabel Coixet

“The Bookshop”

Set in 1959 in a small English town, Isabel Coixet’s “The Bookshop” follows a woman who opens a bookshop despite opposition from conservative locals. The prolific filmmaker debuted “Map of the Sounds of Tokyo,” a thriller about a contract killer, at Cannes back in 2009.

“Mary Shelley” — Directed by Haifaa al-Mansour

The third Elle Fanning-starrer on our list. In Haifaa al-Mansour’s follow-up to her award-winning debut, “Wadjada,” the “20th Century Women” actress plays “Frankenstein” author Mary Shelley. The biopic centers on 17-year-old Shelley’s tumultuous relationship with the married poet Percey Shelley and the work of writing her enduring masterpiece. Shelley was just 21 when “Frankenstein” was published.

“Good Manners” — Co-Directed by Juliana Rojas

If you loved “Prevenge,” Alice Lowe’s deliciously unconventional portrayal of pregnancy, you’ll want to keep an eye on “Good Manners,” another horror-inspired birth story. Co-directed by Juliana Rojas, the film follows another woman’s mysterious pregnancy. This one eventually gives birth to a violent werewolf. Rojas previously screened a short film at Cannes 2012, “Doppelgänger.”

“I Am Not A Witch” — Directed by Rungano Nyoni

“I Am Not a Witch”

Set in present-day Africa, Rungano Nyoni’s “I Am Not a Witch” centers on a nine-year-old girl accused of being a witch. The satire marks Nyoni’s feature debut. In 2012, she received a BAFTA nomination for Best Short Film for “Mwansa the Great,” the story of a boy who accidentally breaks his sister’s mud doll.

“Demain Et Tous Les Autres Jours” — Directed by Noemie Lvovsky

Noemie Lvovsky’s follow-up to “Redoubled” — which won the Directors’ Fortnight prize at Cannes in 2012 — follows Mathilde as she cares for her mother, who is struggling with dementia. Isolated and lonely, Mathilde finds happiness again whens she befriends her mother’s talking bird. Lvovsky also snagged Cannes’ France Culture Award in 2000 for her film “Life Doesn’t Scare Me.”

“Euphoria” — Directed by Lisa Langseth

The first film from Oscar-winning actress Alicia Vikander’s Vikarious Productions, “Euphoria” marks Lisa Langseth’s English-language directorial debut and her third collaboration with Vikander. The two previously worked together on Langseth’s “Pure” and “Hotel.” “Euphoria” is a drama about two sisters (Vikander and Eva Green) struggling to get along as they travel across Europe.

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