It turns out the story that the Cannes Film Festival turned down Jim Jarmusch‘s “Father Mother Sister Brother” is true.
IndieWire reports that Jarmusch confirmed that Cannes festival director Thierry Frémaux rejected his latest film for the competition lineup, a move that forced “Father Mother Sister Brother” to move on to a Venice premiere — where it went on to win that fest’s top prize, the Golden Lion.
“I submitted it to Cannes, and we were told, ‘It’s not selected for competition. We might put it in a different section,'” said Jarmusch. “To which I responded, ‘I haven’t made a film in five years. I’ve been in Cannes many times. That’s not appropriate to me.’ Competition’s very important to me in Cannes, not for the competition, but for the profile of the release of my film, so I can start getting the investors paid back, and I can make another film. It’s not about the awards.”
After news of the rejection, Jarmusch immediately pivoted to Venice instead. “So I told Thierry Frémaux, ‘No, I’m sorry, I think I won’t have the film in Cannes.’ And showed it immediately to Venice the next day,” the director continued. “Anyway, it’s OK. It was a good thing. And in a way, I really thank him for it because I got to go to Venice, and Cannes is in May. And I went up to my house in the Catskills for the month of May, and I wrote my new script. So, instead of going to Cannes, I have a new script which is in the works.”
That’s the first word of Jarmusch’s next film, a project he was hesitant to share more about. However, he did describe it as a “very female” movie and said he plans to shoot it in France next year.
Maybe that means another Venice world premiere for Jarmusch in 2026? According to him, it’s more likely than him ever returning to the Cannes Croisette. “I loved being in Venice with the film. I hadn’t been there in a long time, and I really was happy to be there,” Jarmusch said of the Italian festival. “Venice is so mysterious and strange and great, and the festival’s really great… Now I kind of never want to go to Cannes. After I gave my little speech up there, that I kind of improvised, someone in the back of the auditorium says, ‘Jim, you know we love you!’ And everybody applauded, right? They were giving me real, sincere love. It wasn’t 2,000 French hairdressers from L’Oréal in Cannes, you know what I mean? It was real. And that was really moving. I never felt that before.”
In other words, don’t expect a call from Jarmusch about his next film, Thierry Frémaux. “Father Mother Sister Brother” hits theaters on December 24, courtesy of MUBI. Watch a trailer for Jarmusch’s latest below.
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