The 73rd annual Cannes Film Festival was scheduled to take place from 12 to 23 May 2020. On 13 January 2020, Spike Lee was named as the president of the Jury. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in France, festival management announced on 14 April 2020 that the festival could not be held in its "original form", with alternative means of observing the festival being explored. It was cancelled for the first time since 1968.
Earlier, festival management considered holding the festival in June or July, after not cancelling the event. In mid-March, the festival's main venue, the Grand Auditorium Louis Lumière, was converted into a temporary homeless shelter. In May 2020, it was announced that no physical edition of the festival would take place, but a revised Official Selection of films was confirmed on 3 June 2020. Before announcing the list of films from the official selection, Thierry Frémaux the director of the Cannes Film Festival, said in an interview that he was talking with Spike Lee and also was hoping to have him as president of the jury on the 2021 edition. He also confirmed that Lee's film Da 5 Bloods was supposed to be the return of Netflix to the red carpet in the Out of Competition category.
In September, organizers announced that a limited outdoor festival, featuring screenings of four official selection films, the Short Film Palme d'Or competition and the Cinéfondation competition would take place on the Croisette from 27 to 29 October.Manori Ravindran, "Cannes Film Festival Plans Three-Day Special Event in October" . Variety, 28 September 2020. The Critics' Week program also launched a free online screening of its short film selections in October."Festival Scope presents the 2020 Critics' Week short films online" . Cineuropa, 22 October 2020.
Official sections The Official Selection has been divided in sub-categories, as directors or genres, not as competitors.
The Faithful (or at least selected once before) English title Original title Director(s) Production country Another Round Thomas Vinterberg Denmark DNA Maïwenn France Forgotten We'll Be Fernando Trueba Colombia The French Dispatch Wes Anderson United States Heaven: To the Land of Happiness Im Sang-soo South Korea Home Front Lucas Belvaux France, Belgium In the Dusk Šarūnas Bartas Lithuania, France, Serbia, Czech Republic, Latvia Last Words Jonathan Nossiter France, Italy, United States Lovers Rock Steve McQueen United Kingdom Mangrove Peninsula Yeon Sang-ho South Korea The Real Thing Kōji Fukada Japan Summer of 85 François Ozon France True Mothers Naomi Kawase Japan
The Newcomers English title Original title Director(s) Production country Ammonite Francis Lee United Kingdom, Australia Enfant Terrible Oskar Roehler Germany February Kamen Kalev Bulgaria, France A Good Man Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar France, Belgium Here We Are Nir Bergman Israel, Italy Limbo Ben Sharrock United Kingdom Love Affair(s) Emmanuel Mouret France Nadia, Butterfly Pascal Plante Canada The Night Doctor Elie Wajeman France Red Soil Farid Bentoumi France, Belgium Simple Passion Danielle Arbid Souad Ayten Amin Egypt Sweat Magnus von Horn Sweden, Poland TeddyLudovic and Zoran BoukhermaFrance
Omnibus Film English title Original title Director(s) Production country Septet: The Story of Hong Kong Sammo Hung, Ann Hui, Patrick Tam, Yuen Woo-ping, Johnnie To, Ringo Lam and Tsui Hark Hong Kong
The First Features English title Original title Director(s) Production country Beginning Déa Kulumbegashvili Georgia Broken Keysمفاتيح مكسرة Jimmy Keyrouz Lebanon, United States, France, Cyprus The Death of Cinema and my Father Too Dani Rosenberg Israel Falling Viggo Mortensen United States, United Kingdom, Canada Gagarine Fanny Liatard and Jérémy Trouilh France Ibrahim Samir Guesmi John and the Hole Pascual Sisto United States Memory House João Paulo Miranda Maria Brazil, France My Best Part Nicolas MauryFrance Pleasure Ninja Thyberg Sweden, Netherlands, France Should the Wind Drop (Presented with the ACID parallel section) Nora Martirosyan France, Belgium, Armenia Slalom Charlène Favier France Spring Blossom Suzanne Lindon Striding Into the Wind Wei Shujun China Vaurien Peter DourountzisFrance
Documentary Films English title Original title Director(s) Production country 9 Days at Raqqa Xavier de Lauzanne France Downstream to Kinshasa Dieudo Hamadi DR Congo, Belgium, France The Truffle Hunters Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw United States, Italy, Greece
Comedy Films English title Original title Director(s) Production country The Big Hit Un triomphe Emmanuel CourcolFrance Dear Mother (First feature film) Laurent Lafitte French Tech Bruno Podalydès My Donkey, My Lover & I Caroline Vignal The Speech Le Discours Laurent Tirard
Animated Films English title Original title Director(s) Production country Earwig and the Witch Gorō Miyazaki Japan Flee Jonas Poher Rasmussen Denmark, France, Sweden, Norway Josep (First feature film) Aurel France Soul Pete Docter United States
Short Films Competition The films selected for the short film competition were announced on 19 June, a few weeks after the rest of the official selections.Fabien Lemercier, "The short films vying for the Palme d’Or at Cannes unveiled" . Cineuropa, 19 June 2020. Despite the cancellation of the overall festival, the short films were announced with an indication that the competition would still proceed in the fall, with the exact dates and jury members to be named at a later date; in September, it was announced that the short films would be screened as part of the special outdoor screening series on the Croisette in October.
At the end of the Croisette screening series, the Short Film Palme d'Or was awarded to Sameh Alaa for the film I Am Afraid to Forget Your Face."Egyptian film wins a Golden Palm at the 2020 Cannes Film Festival" . Egypt Independent, 30 October 2020.
English title Original title Director(s) Production countryBenjamin, Benny, BenPaul ShkordoffCanadaBlue Fear Marie Jacotey and Lola Halifa-LegrandFranceCamille, ContactlessPaul NouhetDavidZach WoodsUnited States I Am Afraid to Forget Your FaceستاشرSameh AlaaEgypt, France, Belgium, QatarThe Lamb of God O Cordeiro de DeusDavid Pinheiro Vicente Portugal, FranceMotorway65Evi KalogiropoulouGreeceMountain CatShiluusLkhagvadulam Purev-OchirMongolia, United KingdomSon of Sodom Theo Montoya Colombia, ArgentinaStéphanieLeonardo Van DijlBelgiumSudden Light Sophie Littman United Kingdom
Cinéfondation The Short Films and Cinéfondation Jury composed of Damien Bonnard, Rachid Bouchareb, Claire Burger, Charles Gillibert, Dea Kulumbegashvili and Céline Sallette, has awarded the 2020 Prizes of the Cinéfondation film school competition on 28 October 2020 on the stage of the Grand Théâtre Lumière as part of “Cannes 2020 Special”. The First Prize was awarded to Ashmita Guha Neogi for the film Catdog, the Second Prize was awarded to Yelyzaveta Pysmak for the film My Fat Arse and I and the Joint Third Prize was awarded to Lucia Chicos for Contraindications and Elsa Rosengren for I Want to Return Return Return.Fabien Lemercier, "The short film Palme d’Or goes to I Am Afraid To Forget Your Face" . Cineuropa, 30 October 2020.
English title Original title Director(s) Production countryAgapéMárk BeleznaiHungaryCarcass CarcasseTimothée MaubreyFranceCatdogAshmita Guha NeogiIndiaContraindications ContraindicatiiLucia ChicosRomania CorteAfonso Rapazote, Bernardo RapazotePortugalThe Last Ferry From Grass Island Dou Zeoi Gu SiZhang LinhanHong Kong, United StatesWhen We Leave En AvantMitchelle TamarizFranceI Want To Return Return Return Elsa Rosengren GermanyMy Fat Arse And I Yelyzaveta PysmakPoland, UkraineBird's Song Sarah ImsandSwitzerlandChinese Wall Muralla ChinaSantiago BarziArgentinaNeurim Shaylee AtaryIsraelNobody Said I Have to Love You Nihče ni rekel, da te moram imeti radMatjaž JamnikSloveniaPile Toby AubergUnited KingdomTwenty SeonginsikKim Min-JuSouth KoreaTaipei Suicide Story KEFFTaiwanTamou Tzor Edery, Tom PrezmanIsrael
Cannes Classics The full line-up for the Cannes Classics section was announced on 17 July 2020. English title Original title Director(s) Production countryRestorationsIn the Mood for Love (2000) 花樣年華 Wong Kar-Wai Hong KongFriendship's Death (1987) Peter Wollen United Kingdom The Story of a Three-Day Pass (1967) Melvin Van Peebles France July Rain (1966) Июльский дождь Marlen Khutsiev Soviet Union (1977) Soizick Chappedelaine, René Vautier France Get Out Your Handkerchiefs (1978) Bertrand Blier Hester Street (1975) Joan Micklin Silver United States Who’s Singing Over There? (1980) Slobodan Šijan Yugoslavia Black Silk (1961) แพรดำ R.D. Pestonji Thailand New Year Sacrifice (1956) Hu Sang China Upthrown Stone (1968) Sándor Sára HungaryNeige (1981) Juliet Berto, Jean-Henri Roger France The Wasps Are Here (1978) බඹරු ඇවිත් Dharmasena Pathiraja Sri Lanka This is My Country (1984) Lino Brocka PhilippinesLa Poupée (1962) Jacques Baratier France The Hourglass Sanatorium (1973) Wojciech Has Poland America as Seen by a Frenchman (1959) François Reichenbach France The Ninth Circle (1960) Девети круг France Štiglic Yugoslavia Muhammad Ali the Greatest (1974) William Klein FranceMartin Scorsese’s The Film Foundation celebrate its 30th birthdayAccattone (1961)Pier Paolo PasoliniItalyThe Chess Game of the Wind (1976)شطرنج بادMohammad Reza AslaniIranFederico 100La strada (1956)Federico FelliniItalyVariety Lights (1950)Alberto Lattuada, Federico FelliniFellini of the SpiritsAnselma dell’OlioItaly, BelgiumÀ Bout de souffle and L’Avventura turn 60Breathless (1960)Jean-Luc GodardFranceThe Adventure (1960)L'AvventuraMichelangelo AntonioniItalyDocumentaries 2020, Andreas FregeGermanyAlida Valli: In Her Own WordsMimmo VerdescaItalyCharlie Chaplin, The Genius of LibertyFrançois Aymé, Yves JeulandFranceBe WaterBao NguyenUnited StatesBelushiR.J. CutlerPaloma Rocha, Luís AbramoBrazil
Independent sections Critics' Week
The following films have received a special and official label, delivered by the Critics' Week: English title Original title Director(s) Production countryFeaturesAfter Love Aleem Khan United Kingdom, FranceGold for Dogs Anna Cazenave Cambet FranceThe Swarm La Nuée Just Philippot Skies of Lebanon Chloé Mazlo Beasts Naël Marandin Short FilmsAugust 22, This YearGraham FoyCanadaDustinNaïla GuiguetFranceForeignerForasteraLucía Aleñar IglesiasSpainGood Thanks, You?Molly Manning WalkerUnited KingdomHumongous!Aya KazawoeJapanMaalbeekIsmaël Joffroy ChandoutisFranceMarlon BrandoVincent TilanusNetherlandsMenarcheMenarcaLillah HallaBrazilTowards EveningTeymur HajiyevAzerbaijanWhite GoldfishJan Roossens, Raf RoossensBelgium
Directors' Fortnight
A full Directors' Fortnight selection could not be announced due to it being incomplete when the festival was cancelled. However, two titles were announced in July 2020 so that they could utilize the Director's Fortnight label.
English title Original title Director(s) Production countryKajillionaire Miranda July United StatesWe Are Who We Are Luca Guadagnino United States, Italy
ACID
The following films have received a special and official label, delivered by the ACID (Association for the Distribution of Independent Cinema).
English title Original title Director(s) Production countryCoalesce Jessé Miceli Cambodia, FranceTightrope Walkers Funambules Ilan Klipper FranceThe Seeds We Sow Nathan Nicholovitch Michele Pennetta Switzerland, ItalyThe Last Hillbilly Diane Sara Bouzgarrou, Thomas Jenkoe France, QatarFar From You I Grew Marie Dumora FranceShould the Wind Drop (Presented with Cannes Film Festival's Official Selection) Nora Martirosyan France, Belgium, ArmeniaLast Days of Spring Isabel Lamberti Netherlands, SpainWalden Bojena Horackova France, Lithuania
The ACID Trip #4 program, which should have been dedicated to young Chilean cinema, has been postponed to the next edition, in 2021.
References
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