It appears that the Cannes Film Festival and director Quentin Tarantino were able to their wish. Finishing just in the nick of time, the filmmaker has lined up the prestigious event as the location for the world premiere of his upcoming film “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.”
THR is reporting that Tarantino’s latest film is the headliner of a new batch of films that are late additions to the upcoming Cannes lineup. ‘Once Upon a Time’ is joining a stacked group of films that are competing for the coveted Palme d’Or this year. Filmmakers such as Pedro Almodovar, Xavier Dolan, Terrence Malick, Bong Joon-ho, Ira Sachs, and Ken Loach have already been announced as having projects in competition this year.
It was up in the air whether or not Tarantino would be ready with his new film in time to make the festival, which begins on May 14. Cannes director Thierry Fremaux spoke publicly about his desire to have the film in the competition, as did producers on the project. And it appears that they worked tirelessly to have it ready.
The importance of the festival, obviously, stems from the fact that Tarantino has had a lot of history at Cannes. This year marks the 25th anniversary of his “Pulp Fiction” world premiere at the French event. So, it’s only fitting that on this milestone year, the filmmaker would return to Cannes with a new movie.
But Tarantino isn’t the only person just announced as bringing films to Cannes. Palme d’Or winner Abdellatif Kechiche was also added to the competition with the second part of his “Mektoub, My Love” film series. Actor-turned-filmmaker Gael Garcia Bernal will premiere his upcoming film, “Chicuarotes,” as a special screening, joining other screenings for Patricio Guzman’s “La Cordillera de los Suenos,” Leila Conners’s “Ice on Fire,” and Dan Krauss’s “Ward 5B.”
Another surprise announcement comes from French filmmaker Gaspar Noe, who is scheduled to premiere a mid-length film, titled “Lux Aeterna,” in a special midnight screening. The film is said to be about witches and stars Charlotte Gainsbourg and Beatrice Dalle.
Lastly, and certainly not least, Lorenzo Mattotti’s “La Famosa Invasione Degli Orsi in Sicilia” and Larissa Sadilova’s “Odnazhdy v Trubchevske” both join the Un Certain Regard lineup.
As mentioned, the Cannes Film Festival begins on May 14.