As the 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival looms, a cavalcade of previews for films in competition for the coveted Palme d’Or arrives. Here’s one from the first wave of titles: Karim Aïnouz‘s “Firebrand,” which stars Alicia Vikander as Katherine Parr, the sixth and last wife of England’s King Henry VIII.
Jude Law joins Vikander as Henry VIII in Aïnouz’s film, about the end of the King’s reign and the battles of will, gender, and belief that reverberate between their marriage.
Here’s an official synopsis for “Firebrand”:
In blood-soaked Tudor England, Katherine Parr, the sixth and last wife of King Henry VIII, is named Regent while tyrant Henry is fighting overseas. Katherine has done everything she can to push for a new future based on her radical Protestant beliefs. When an increasingly ailing and paranoid King returns, he turns his fury on the radicals, charging Katherine’s childhood friend with treason and burns her at the stake. Horrified and grieving, but forced to deny it, Katherine finds herself fighting for her own survival. Conspiracy reverberates through the palace. Everyone holds their breath – for the queen to slip up, for Henry to take her head like wives before. With the hope for a future free of tyranny at risk, will Katherine submit to the inevitable for the sake of King and country?
Alongside Vikander and Law, “Firebrand” also stars Erin Doherty, Simon Russell Beale, Sam Riley, and Eddie Marsan. Ruby Bentall, Byrony Hannah, and Maia Jemmett also star. Patsy Ferran and Junia Rees round out the main cast.
“Firebrand” is Aïnouz’s English-language debut, and he directs a script from Henrietta and Jessica Ashworth. Gabrielle Tana produces through Brouhaha Entertainment. Aïnouz has had success at Cannes before. He won the Un Certain Regard award at the 2019 festival for “Invisible Life,” and his previous film, “Mariner Of The Mountains,” premiered at Cannes in 2021. “Central Airport THf,” Aïnouz’s documentary about Berlin’s Tempelhof Airport, also won the Amnesty International Award at the 2018 Berlinale.
So will “Firebrand” win the Palme d’Or for Karim Aïnouz? Only time will tell, and the start of the Cannes Film Festival edges ever close. The 76th edition of the festival begins on May 16. Take a look at a first-look photo from “Firebrand” below.
