Wes Anderson's 'The French Dispatch,' Pixar's 'Soul' and more.
"What are next year's Oscars going to look like?" It's a question the industry, awards forecasters and armchair pundits alike have been wondering as release schedules are scuttled and film festivals are canned amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
One festival that has yet to be canceled outright is the Cannes Film Festival, which historically serves as a major mile marker on the road to the Academy Awards. The French Riviera-based fest was set to take place from May 12-23, but organizers announced in March that it would be postponed until the end of June.
In April, the Festival de Cannes team announced scheduling it for the summer is "no longer an option" and that Cannes will likely not be held "in its original form" this year.
"We have started many discussions with professionals, in France and abroad. They agree that the Festival de Cannes, an essential pillar for the film industry, must explore all contingencies allowing to support the year of Cinema by making Cannes 2020 real, in a way or another," the release explains. "When the health crisis, whose resolution remains the priority of all, passes, we will have to reiterate and prove the importance of cinema and the role that its work, artists, professionals, film theatres and their audiences, play in our lives."
As for what the uncertainty of this year's Cannes means for the 2021 Oscars, that's, well, also uncertain. But last year's festival competition helped launch eventual contenders like Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Pain and Glory, with Parasite picking up the Palme d'Or before going on to win Best Picture during February's Academy Awards.
"Each and everyone knows that many uncertainties are still reigning over the international health situation," Cannes organizers concluded their statement. "We hope to be able to communicate promptly regarding the shapes that this Cannes 2020 will take."
UPDATE:
In lieu of a proper festival this year, Cannes announced its slate of would-be selections, which will premiere at festivals such as the Toronto International Film Festival or San Sebastian Film Festival (both with TBA plans) but will bear the coveted palm emblem of a Sélection Officielle.
On Wednesday, the festival announced what films would have been shown on the crescent this year, including Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch and the Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan-starring Ammonite.
The full list below:
THE FAITHFUL (or at least selected once before)
THE FRENCH DISPATCH by Wes Anderson (USA)
ÉTÉ 85 by François Ozon (France)
ASA GA KURU (True Mothers) by Naomi Kawase (Japan)
LOVERS ROCK by Steve McQueen (United Kingdom)
MANGROVE by Steve McQueen (United Kingdom)
DRUK (Another Round) by Thomas Vinterberg (Denmark)
ADN (DNA) by Maïwenn (Algeria/France)
LAST WORDS by Jonathan Nossiter (USA)
HEAVEN: TO THE LAND OF HAPPINESS by IM Sang-Soo (South Korea)
EL OLVIDO QUE SEREMOS (Forgotten we'll be) by Fernando Trueba (Spain)
PENINSULA by Yeon Sang-Ho (South Korea)
IN THE DUSK (Au crépuscule) by Sharunas Bartas (Lituania)
DES HOMMES (Home Front) by Lucas Belvaux (Belgium)
THE REAL THING by Kôji Fukada (Japan)
THE NEWCOMERS
PASSION SIMPLE by Danielle Arbid (Lebanon)
A GOOD MAN by Marie Castille Mention-Schaar (France)
LES CHOSES QU’ON DIT, LES CHOSES QU’ON FAIT by Emmanuel Mouret (France)
SOUAD by Ayten Amin (Egypt)
LIMBO by Ben Sharrock (United Kingdom)
ROUGE (Red Soil) by Farid Bentoumi (France)
SWEAT by Magnus Von Horn (Sweden)
TEDDY by Ludovic et Zoran Boukherma (France)
FEBRUARY (Février) by Kamen Kalev (Bulgaria)
AMMONITE by Francis Lee (United Kingdom)
UN MÉDECIN DE NUIT by Elie Wajeman (France)
ENFANT TERRIBLE by Oskar Roehler (Germany)
NADIA, BUTTERFLY by Pascal Plante (Canada)
HERE WE ARE by Nir Bergman (Israel)
AN OMNIBUS FILM
SEPTET: THE STORY OF HONG KONG by Ann Hui, Johnnie TO, Tsui Hark, Sammo Hung, Yuen Woo-Ping and Patrick Tam
THE FIRST FEATURES
FALLING by Viggo Mortensen (USA)
PLEASURE by Ninja Thyberg (Sweden)
SLALOM by Charlène Favier (France)
CASA DE ANTIGUIDADES (Memory House) by Joao Paulo Miranda Maria (Brazil)
BROKEN KEYS (Fausse note) by Jimmy Keyrouz (Lebanon)
IBRAHIM by Samir Guesmi (France)
BEGINNING (Au commencement) by Déa Kulumbegashvili (Georgia)
GAGARINE by Fanny Liatard et Jérémy Trouilh (France)
16 PRINTEMPS by Suzanne Lindon (France)
VAURIEN by Peter Dourountzis (France)
GARÇON CHIFFON by Nicolas Maury (France)
SI LE VENT TOMBE (Should the Wind Fall) by Nora Martirosyan (Armenia)
JOHN AND THE HOLE by Pascual Sisto (USA)
STRIDING INTO THE WIND (Courir au gré du vent) by Wei Shujun (China)
THE DEATH OF CINEMA AND MY FATHER TOO (La Mort du cinéma et de mon père aussi) by Dani Rosenberg (Israel)
3 DOCUMENTARIES FILMS
EN ROUTE POUR LE MILLIARD (The Billion Road) by Dieudo Hamadi (Democratic Republic of Congo)
THE TRUFFLE HUNTERS by Michael Dweck et Gregory Kershaw (USA)
9 JOURS À RAQQA by Xavier de Lauzanne (France)
5 COMEDY FILMS
ANTOINETTE DANS LES CÉVÈNNES by Caroline Vignal (France)
LES DEUX ALFRED by Bruno Podalydès (France)
UN TRIOMPHE (The big hit) by Emmanuel Courcol (France)
L’ORIGINE DU MONDE by Laurent Lafitte (France)
LE DISCOURS by Laurent Tirard (France)
4 ANIMATED FILMS
AYA TO MAJO (Earwig and the Witch) by Gorô Miyazaki (Japan)
FLEE by Jonas Poher Rasmussen (Denmark)
JOSEP by Aurel (France)
SOUL by Pete Docter (USA)
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