For over seven decades now, the world's leading filmmakers, actors, and industry officials have flocked each year to the scenic shores of the French Riviera for Cannes Film Festival. After a two-year hiatus from its usual time slot in May due to the global pandemic, Cannes Film Festival will finally return to its regular dates in 2022 for its 75th edition. Serving as international cinema's highest of platforms, Cannes Film Festival has historically launched some of the world's most prestigious films and filmmakers.
From classics of cinema such as La Dolce Vita and Taxi Driver to last year's breakout premieres that included Drive My Car and Titane, Cannes has always served as a significant source of vitality in the film world. The 2022 edition of Cannes will undoubtedly preserve this reputation; here is a look at ten of the most anticipated film premieres at this year's Cannes Film Festival.
'Crimes of the Future'
Returning to the Croisette this year is Canadian auteur David Cronenberg, with his latest work, Crimes of the Future. The film stars frequent Cronenberg collaborator Viggo Mortensen, along with Léa Seydoux and Kristen Stewart. Crimes of the Future appears to return to Cronenberg's body horror sensibilities following his recent, more subdued films Maps to the Stars (2014) and Cosmopolis (2012). Mystery surrounds the plot of Crimes of the Future. The film's narrative seems to focus on Mortensen's character, a celebrity performance artist whose work centers around the metamorphosis of his organs in a futuristic world.
Cronenberg has long been well-known for exploring the body horror genre with films including The Fly and Crash. Judging by the teaser trailers for Crimes of the Future, audiences can expect another incredible, cutting-edge work from the director. Neon will be handling the American distribution of Crimes of the Future. Based on their recent Cannes track record, with Palme D'Or winners Parasite and Titane, Cronenberg's latest work could make a huge splash at this year's Cannes Film Festival.
'Decision to Leave'
Park Chan-wook, one of South Korea's leading filmmakers of the last thirty years, will be heading to Cannes this year with his latest movie, Decision to Leave. Known for his genre-shifting sensibilities that toe the lines of violence and sexuality, Park's Decision to Leave seemingly adheres to his signature style with a narrative that follows a female detective who unearths a covert fighting ring of shape-shifting spirits. Last in competition at Cannes in 2016 with the well-received period erotic thriller The Handmaiden, Park's Decision to Leave has already built much buzz among movie nerds and critics alike.
'Holy Spider'
After his last film, Border, topped the Un Certain Regard section at the 2018 edition of Cannes, Iranian-Danish filmmaker Ali Abbasi is set to make his first appearance in the Main Competition at this year's Cannes with his latest work, Holy Spider. Set in the Iranian city of Mashhad, Holy Spider will center around an unhinged man's murderous quest to rid the town of immorality and corruption. After the unusual charm of Border, many cinephiles are excited to see the direction Abbasi heads into with Holy Spider.
'Irma Vep'
Cannes veteran filmmaker Olivier Assayas first premiered his film Irma Vep at the festival in 1996; now, over twenty-five years later, the French auteur will premiere the television adaptation of Irma Vep at this year's Cannes. Produced by A24 and set to air on HBO, the television adaptation of Irma Vep stars Alicia Vikander in a meta role as an actress struggling to find her sense of place while filming in Paris. Like much of Assayas' work, Irma Vep's narrative serves as a meditation on the creation of art in the modern world. This year, Irma Vep stands out as one of Cannes's rare television premieres that will be screening.
'Scarlet'
The opening film in the Director's Fortnight section at this year's edition of Cannes will be Scarlet, directed by Italian filmmaker Pietro Marcello. Best known for his sumptuous 2019 period adaptation of Martin Eden, Scarlet will be Marcello's first film outside his native language. A time-spanning musical set in France during the interwar period, Scarlet centers around a young woman's liberation and stars Louis Garrel and Noémie Lvovsky. One of the most compelling and stylish up-and-coming filmmakers, Marcello's latest film will undoubtedly draw in the crowds at Cannes this year.
'Showing Up'
One of America's finest working filmmakers, Kelly Reichardt, will finally make her Cannes debut in the Main Competition this year with her latest work, Showing Up. Once again, teaming up with her frequent muse Michelle Williams (who also starred in Wendy and Lucy, Reichardt's 2008 entry in Cannes's Un Certain Regard section), Showing Up promises to depart from the director's typical naturalistic style.
Instead of taking place in the Pacific Northwest like most of Reichardt's films, Showing Up is set in New York City. Early press notes describe the film as a comedy centered around Williams, who plays an artist on the brink of her most important exhibition of her career. Best known for her unpretentious dramas, Showing Up's divergence from Reichardt's wheelhouse as a filmmaker makes it one of the most exciting premieres at this year's Cannes. A24 already has distribution rights for Showing Up, making it the company's second female-directed film competing for the Palme d'Or in 2022.
'Stars At Noon'
This year, legendary French filmmaker Claire Denis makes her first appearance at Cannes in the Main Competition since 1988 with her upcoming film, The Stars at Noon. Adapted from a novel of the same name, The Stars at Noon stars Margaret Qualley and Joe Alwyn as two English speakers who fall in love while attempting to flee Nicaragua during the later years of the country's three-decade revolution.
After her 2018 space opera High Life and romantic drama Fire from earlier this year, The Stars at Noon returns to Denis' typical wheelhouse with its examinations of turmoil and struggle in post-colonial countries. One of A24's handful of promising Cannes titles this year, The Stars at Noon will be one of the festival's most-anticipated premieres.
'Top Gun: Maverick'
Originally slated to premiere at Cannes back in 2020 before falling victim to multiple COVID-19 delays, the highly-anticipated Top Gun: Maverick will finally have its international premiere at this year's festival. A long-gestated sequel to the 1986 Top Gun, Maverick also stars Tom Cruise as Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, who is put in charge of a training group of young TOPGUN associates assigned to a high-profile mission.
Maverick costars include Val Kilmer, Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, and Jon Hamm. The flashiest Hollywood title to be showcased at this year's Cannes, Top Gun: Maverick, will garner significant buzz at the festival and draw huge crowds to the red carpet when Cruise and his supporting cast arrive.
'Triangle of Sadness'
After his last movie, The Square took home the Palme D'or in 2017, Swedish auteur Ruben Östlund will return to the Main Competition at this year's edition of Cannes with his latest work, Triangle of Sadness. A black comedy starring Woody Harrelson, Harris Dickinson, and Charlbi Dean, Triangle of Sadness centers around a charter of wealthy celebrities whose cruise vacation goes awry when their yacht sinks and leaves them stranded on a deserted island.
On the island, the captain of the boat, played by Harrelson, then brings out his Marxist ideology and a power struggle ensues between the wealthy vacationers and the boat's working-class crew. Known for his dry humor and criticisms of the modern world, Östlund's Triangle of Sadness will likely play as an intellectual watch for this year's Cannes attendees.
'Tchaikovsky's Wife'
Weeks after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Cannes Film Festival announced that it would not feature filmmakers with ties to the Russian government. As a result, filmmaker Kirill Serebrennikov, convicted of trumped-up embezzlement charges by the Russian government in 2020, is the sole Russian filmmaker revealed to have a premiere at Cannes this year with his latest film Tchaikovsky's Wife.
As its name suggests, the movie profoundly examines the life of Antonina Miliukova, the wife of the world-renowned Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky. Tchaikovsky's Wife focuses on Miliukova's perspective on her tumultuous and toxic marriage, which eventually drives her off the deep end. This will be Serebrennikov's second film competing for the Palme d'Or after last year's Petrov's Flu. Tchaikovsky's Wife will be one of the buzziest premieres at Cannes this year, between the Russian filmmaker's daring talent and his portrayal of an underappreciated figure of history.