Visionary director Pedro Almodóvar is officially bound for the Cannes Film Festival. After previously saying he intended to debut his latest short film, Strange Way of Life, at the event during a podcast with singer Dua Lipa back in March, the festival itself confirmed his new film would be featured in the Official Selection. Almodóvar will also be in attendance at the festival and, after the screening, he'll be brought on along with the filmmaking team for a conversation about his new film.
Most of the details of Strange Way of Life have been kept under wraps to this point, though it is known that it's expected to be a western about two men in love in a manner that's been compared to Brokeback Mountain. It also stands as the director's second English-language experience behind The Human Voice from 2021. To lead the short, Almodóvar landed television megastar Pedro Pascal alongside Ethan Hawke, both of whom will also be present during the festival. Last year, we received a few shots of the two together decked in their best cowboy outfits alongside the director, but Cannes will finally give the first full look at the two in action. Pedro Casablanc, Manu Ríos, George Steane, José Condessa, Jason Fernández, Sara Sálamo, Ohiana Cueto, and Daniela Medina round out the cast.
In his official statement about the selection, the director was still relatively quiet about what's in the film, though he did give some insight into the title. He said that it "alludes to the famous fado by Amalia Rodrigues, whose lyrics suggest that there is no stranger existence than the one that is lived by turning your back on your own desires." In that previous interview with Dua Lipa, he described the project as a queer western exploring masculinity in its deepest sense, though he also didn't want to box it into just one category.
Image via Iglesias Más & Agustín Almodóvar
Strange Way of Life Adds to a Stacked Cannes Roster
Whatever Almodóvar has in store, his latest short film only bolsters a Cannes lineup full of some of 2023's most-anticipated films. The director has numerous brilliant titles to his name from Volver to Parallel Mothers, but he'll be joining a few other prolific filmmakers this time around including Martin Scorsese with his latest starry outing Killers of the Flower Moon. Fans are also eager to see the latest chapter in the Indiana Jones franchise with Dial of Destiny which is also slated to make its world premiere.
We'll get our first glimpse at Strange Way of Life when Cannes arrives from May 16 to May 27. Check out a previous interview with one of the film's stars Pascal below.